Dr. Marlene Mints Reed

Favorite Awards & Honors: Carnegie Foundation Award as Alabama Professor of the Year in 1994; Selected as a Top Ten Birmingham Woman by the Birmingham Business Journal in 1995; Selected as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of America; Chairman of the Board of Christian Women's Job Corps; President of Southwest Case Research Association; and Member of the Board of the North American Case Research Association; Past President of Network Birmingham.

Education: Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University; Master of Business Administration from the University of Louisiana at Monroe; and Doctorate of Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University.

Personal Business Philosophy: The application of the Golden Rule in one's dealings with others.

Favorite Quote: From the book of Esther in the Old Testament: "Who knows but though art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this."

Advice to women in business: Women have special insights into human behavior that are invaluable in the workplace.

Best advice ever received: From my Dad, "You can do anything you want if you work hard enough at it." He thought that was for me to be the first woman professional baseball player.

Secret to surviving in business: Be attentive to your customers.

Your strongest inspiration: My parents.

What being in business has taught you: I have owned a bookstore, and my greatest lesson was the importance of paying attention to customers and their needs.

Secret to dealing with employees: Encourage them and help them develop their skills by equipping them with the resources or training they need to succeed. Then you thrive and so do they.