POWER FORWARD

HOW SPANX FOUNDER SARA BLAKELY BUILT HER BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS THROUGH DRIVE AND PERSEVERANCE AND CONTINUES TO CHAMPION WOMEN EVERYWHERE

- LAURIE BROOKINS

HOW much does Spanx founder Sara Blakely believe in the power of travel? Consider that when she sold a majority in the company in 2021, she capped the sale by gifting every employee-a team that at the time totaled 750 people-with two first-class tickets and $10,000, to be used to visit any destination in the world.

"I wanted every one of them to create a memory," Blakely explains. "If they were going to remember Spanx, I wanted them also to connect it to this unforgettable experience." Blakely said team members visited Europe, Africa, Australia and many points beyond: "One woman went on her honeymoon to New Zealand, another couple went to Thailand," she remembers.

"Another woman who went to Africa told me it had been on her bucket list her whole life. I'm so glad I did it, because the stories that arose from that decision were incredible." Less than five years after Blakely sold Spanx to global investment firm Blackstone for $1.2 billion and stepped back from her day-to-day role as CEO, that anecdote stands as an almost mythic example in corporate culture of how to reward employees and recognize their contributions to a company's success.

"It symbolizes not only how much travel means to me, but also the ability to create memories from travel," she adds.