Mike Wolanin | The Republic Cummins Chair and CEO Jennifer Ramsey answers questions after her keynote speech during the annual Great Girls, Wonderful Women luncheon at Foundation for Youth in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.
Cummins, Inc CEO and Chair Jennifer Rumsey has mixed feelings when it comes to media highlighting that she’s the first woman to lead the company since its creation.
“I’m the CEO of Cummins not because I’m a female,” she said. “I’m the CEO of Cummins because I’m the right person for the job at this time. And I want to motivate and inspire people to set bigger goals for themselves, to break the glass ceilings that still exist or the concrete ceilings that exist for some people. And I hope that by what I’ve accomplished in my own career I can do that. And at the same time, that shouldn’t be the headline.”
The Foundation For Youth held its ninth annual Great Girls, Wonderful Women luncheon on Thursday, with Rumsey giving the keynote address.
More than 300 people attended the event, according to Ashley Abner, who is part of the event’s planning committee. This included local leaders from education, city government and community organizations, as well as young girls from local schools.
Proceeds from the event help fund scholarships for FFY’s programming. As of Thursday afternoon, organizers had surpassed their $50,000 goal and raised $55,441.78, said FFY Chief Development Officer Karina Willats.
“The need is getting larger, just like our event keeps getting larger,” Abner said.
The theme of this year’s luncheon was “Unfold Your Wings,” with speakers encouraging attendees to take flight even amid hardships.
Turning from a caterpillar into a butterfly is “not all sunshine and rainbows,” said co-emcee Emily Wart, a Columbus North High School junior and FFY staff member.
“They actually have to come completely apart in order to reform into something new,” said co-emcee Skye Nicholson, founder of Soul’s Truth Coaching.
She and Wart said that this can also apply to people as they encounter challenges but ultimately emerge transformed.
They added that the programming at FFY are one way to help the community’s children grow and experience new things.
“You can support all of our little caterpillars here today,” Nicholson said.
Rumsey found the event’s theme of metamorphosis to be fitting for her.
“For those of you young girls here, at your age I really had no idea what I wanted to do and what I would become,” she said.
The process of figuring that out has been a lifelong journey, she said, and each person’s journey is shaped by who they are and the people around them.
For Rumsey, this circle of support included her family and mentors such as Cummins’ former Chief Technical Officer John Wall. Wall, who Rumsey would go on to succeed as chief technical officer, encouraged her to pursue engineering because she was good at math and science.
“I get asked often about advice for how you find your career and you grow in your career,” she said. “And I think one of the key aspects of that is finding that balance of knowing yourself and what you’re good at and having people around you that help you see those things and think about how you use them.”
While there were times in her career when she was the only woman in the room, her confidence was buoyed by having a support system.
In looking at statistics for female leadership in Fortune 500 companies, Rumsey said progress is being made, but there’s more work to do — work that starts with the very people listening to her as they activate their own metamorphosis.
“It starts with identifying those supporters and mentors that exist around you,” she said. “And I’m guessing for many of you, they’re in this room, some of them are in this room. Find people that will help you see what you can do, will challenge you, will speak truth to you, and also support you when things get tough. Know yourself, find ways to stay true to who you are, and also challenge yourself to think about how you leverage those strengths that you’ve thought about and other strengths to grow.”
How to give
To donate to the Great Girls, Wonderful Women fundraiser, go to foundationforyouth.com and click on “DONATE TO GGWW.”
For a photo gallery from the event, visit https://www.therepublic.com/
