Each month at the WBE Breakfast we have an inspirational speaker. Thank you to all of our speakers!  Our speaker for February 2010 was:

Jean Bartell Barber

Building Your Own Business Legacy

Bartell Drugs is the oldest family owned drugstore chain in the nation. Founded in 1890 by a young pharmacist named George Bartell Sr., the company continues to thrive with 57 stores throughout the Puget Sound region. Together, the Bartell family and employee associates have built an extremely successful company. And Jean Bartell Barber, the founder’s granddaughter, and current Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the company, once wanted no part of it.

“Life is a circle, grasshopper,” that famous phrase coined by Chinese Master Po of the 1970’s TV series Kung Fu, is a fitting description for Jean’s career journey. With a burning passion to prove herself (and sidestep the family business), Jean secured her education in business and began her career in the banking industry. After a series of successful jobs she eventually landed at North Carolina National Bank. As chance would have it, banking deregulation had just commenced and Jean had the unprecedented opportunity to work with bank economists and one of the industry’s top executive teams to spearhead the beginning of interstate banking. In this powerful, mostly male-dominated world, Jean’s ability to make assumptions, take leaps of faith, and create practical working models from little existing information established her as a trusted banking expert. But like many women who marry and have children, it wasn’t long before Jean found herself at a crossroads. With three children and a husband, she returned to Seattle and turned her keen analytical and forecasting skills on Bartell Drugs.

Today, after navigating through 9-11 and the onslaught of mega retailers, Jean will tell you that business survival depends upon the ability to understand the competitive landscape and know your company’s edge. Join us on February 11th as she shares the core elements of strategic planning and how to insure that your business is built on its strengths, so that it too will last for generations to come.

Biographical Information:

With 30 years of experience in banking and finance—including a Masters of Business Administration specializing in finance from The Wharton School--Jean Bartell Barber is the Vice Chairman and Treasurer of Bartell Drugs, the nation’s oldest drugstore chain, and Co-Chairman of the board of Henbart, LLC.

Granddaughter of the company’s founder, George H. Bartell, Sr., Barber works alongside her older brother, George D. Bartell (CEO and Chairman). As Vice Chairman and Treasurer, her areas of responsibility include finance, risk management, administration, human resources, and strategic planning. Over the past seven years, Barber has also spearheaded the Executive Training Program at Bartell Drugs, which trains employees for executive level positions within the company.

Prior to becoming Vice Chairman, Jean Bartell Barber was CFO of the company for 9 years and spent an additional six years dealing primarily with risk management, property/casualty insurance and computer management.

After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration, Barber worked as a loan officer at Seafirst Bank in correspondent banking. She rejoined Seafirst Bank in their asset/liability management department after graduating with distinction from The Wharton School’s MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to become assistant vice president of the balance sheet management department at NCNB (later renamed Nations Bank) and the treasurer of a home building business in North Carolina before moving back to Seattle to continue her involvement in the family business.

Barber is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of Seattle Pacific University. In 2008-09 she was Co-Chair of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Blue Ribbon Task Force for the City of Seattle. She resides in Edmonds with her husband, Dave, and their three children.