Cecilia Andrews: Building Your Authentic Brand

06/22/21 • 59 min

In this episode, Cecilia Andrews, Director of Intellectual Property for Novelis, Inc., shares her approach to building an authentic brand and delivering high-impact value for clients and colleagues. Cecilia relates her career path from aspiring mechanical engineer as an undergrad to top patent guardian and IP legal strategist for a global firm. Growing up in New England, she navigated different cultures as a first generation American whose parents had immigrated from Argentina. She grew up bilingual but not quite fitting the conventional mold of “Latina.” Like her two older sisters, she won a scholarship to Vanderbilt University where her professional sights shifted from engineering to patent law.
After Vanderbilt Law School, she interviewed in Atlanta, fell in love with the urban forest atmosphere and joined a large firm. With a fellow lawyer’s advice and help, Cecilia moved to a patent boutique where her career took off. Eight years ago she joined Novelis and embraced the challenge of earning respect from older, mostly male, colleagues by learning to be seen as a contributor of value in every engagement.
Highlights include:

From New England to Memphis – a Connecticut Latina goes South: 7:15
Choosing Atlanta to start her career: 12:40
How great mentors opened doors for her: 15:30
The Cecilia Andrews way of building a personal brand: 17:00
Winning peer respect as a woman in a largely male field: 23:00
The critical process of developing trust: 25:40
Going in-house – how her viewpoint shifted: 32:00
How the power of wellness has changed her life: 36:24
Her perspective on interacting with different cultures: 43:20
Cecilia’s “first and foremost” – her goals as Mom: 49:38
Strategic approach for being the “first or only” at the table : 56:15

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Learn more about April Abele Isaacson
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at [email protected]
Learn more about Kilpatrick

**The opinions expressed are those of the attorneys and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm or its clients. This podcast is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

From New England to Memphis – a Connecticut Latina goes South: 7:15
Choosing Atlanta to start her career: 12:40
How great mentors opened doors for her: 15:30
The Cecilia Andrews way of building a personal brand: 17:00
Winning peer respect as a woman in a largely male field: 23:00
The critical process of developing trust: 25:40
Going in-house – how her viewpoint shifted: 32:00
How the power of wellness has changed her life: 36:24
Her perspective on interacting with different cultures: 43:20
Cecilia’s “first and foremost” – her goals as Mom: 49:38
Strategic approach for being the “first or only” at the table : 56:15

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Learn more about April Abele Isaacson
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at [email protected]
Learn more about Kilpatrick

Previous Episode

Huong Nguyen: Uncompromising Authenticity

Huong Nguyen is currently Vice President, General Counsel, of Fosun Pharma USA Inc. She has spent the majority of her nearly two-decade law practice actively working in the pharmaceutical industry as both an in-house counsel and a private practitioner, with deep and wide-ranging experiences in litigation, IP, compliance, M&A, BD and commercial transactions, and employment. Throughout this time, she has partnered with a wide variety of cross-functional groups, and has directly counseled senior management and Boards of Directors in her areas of expertise. Huong received her BA at the University of California, Los Angeles and her JD at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Arriving in the U.S. as a child refugee from Vietnam, after her family was separated in the aftermath of Saigon falling to the North Vietnamese and her father being sent to a re-education camp, Huong had to learn a new language, reintegrate with her family, and find a new identity in her adopted country. In this episode, Huong shares her story of never giving up, devising solutions to whatever situation she found herself in, and creating a path that is truly her own. She is a gay Asian-American woman who’s achieved success in traditionally inhospitable terrains, such as the patent bar while staying true to her authentic self. Her grit, determination, and grace under extreme circumstances are truly inspiring.

Highlights include:

How Huong’s family fared after the fall of Saigon (2:03)
The fraught journey to America (4:20)
How to speak to kids about challenging topics (12:30)
The melting pot and how diverse a single family can be (14:20)
The long-lasting effects of trauma (18:00)
The principles that shaped Huong’s worldview (19:45)
Starting to succeed by flourishing academically (21:09)
Building self-respect and community through sports (27:51)
The military comes calling, and Huong answers the call (31:16)
The military in 1992: you can be gay, but we’ll kick you out for gay conduct (35:00)
Choosing authenticity (36:40)
A surprising pivot to philosophy, then law school (42:03)
The importance of diversity in outside counsel pitch teams (48:27)
Paying it forward – giving your kids a better life (53:36)
Walking into a room with senior management and feeling like you belong, authentically (60:51)

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Learn more about April Abele Isaacson
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at [email protected]
Learn more about Kilpatrick

Next Episode

Jamie Graham: Charting Her Own Course

Jamie Graham is currently Associate Director and Senior Patent Counsel at Boehringer Ingelheim USA. Prior to joining Boehringer, Jamie practiced patent law for 30 years at Kilpatrick Townsend, many of them as a partner. At the firm, she focused on IP issues relating to biological and chemical technologies, particularly in the areas of biotechnology, diagnostics, immunology, and pharmaceuticals. A registered U.S. Patent Attorney since 1986, Jamie claims title to being the first female patent attorney in Atlanta, back when there were fewer than 25 registered patent attorneys in the entire city.
In her science work, Jamie conducted enzyme isolation and characterization research at Sloan-Kettering, and cardiac and allergy drug disposition/metabolism research at Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd. She also performed graduate research in neuroimmunology and virology, including HIV research conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jamie co-founded Women in Bio (WIB) Atlanta, was active in Women In Technology (WIT) to help build women’s careers, and promoted STEM initiatives through a variety of organizations. As an American Cancer Society (ACS)-GA Board member, Jamie successfully led the regional ResearcHERS Initiative – an inaugural nationwide program with a goal of $3,000,000 to fund women-led cancer research – working with 12 high profile female community leaders and ACS executives.
Jamie charted a unique course in her career, scrambling the traditional steps of a patent practitioner to create her own path to success as a lawyer, a scientist, an engaged community member, and most importantly to her – as a mother. For example, she was already a member of the patent bar and a licensed, practicing attorney when she went to graduate school for a degree in molecular biology. She was five years out of law school when she asked to be a summer associate at Kilpatrick Townsend, intending to stay a summer, then staying 30 years.
Highlights include:

Experiencing formative female leadership in college
Being the only woman in a meeting and learning to not make copies – or coffee
Making career decisions based on childcare considerations
A trick for making women be heard in meetings
Juggling the demands of a high-powered career and caring for aging parents
Learning from Madeleine Albright
Building a nationally recognized patent practice by hiring women
Voting for diversity with your time and attention
Discovering patent talent on an Uber ride
Supporting female cancer researcHERS
Launching a new career chapter after a storied 30-year stint at one law firm
Early-morning partner meetings and small children
The value of making deci

Thanks for listening to Sidebars! Connect with us:

Learn more about April Abele Isaacson
Check out other insights from Kilpatrick
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Questions or feedback? Reach out at [email protected]
Learn more about Kilpatrick

Sidebars - Cecilia Andrews: Building Your Authentic Brand

Transcript

Cecilia Andrews00:00:00.029

I wanted to make sure that people took me seriously, that my value was based on what I contributed, what I brought to the table and not based on my gender, not based on my ethnicity, not based on any other box that I checked. I really wanted it to, to have a brand all of my own that was built on Cecilia and the high quality work that I deliver my ability to communicate well with clients. And it just became really clear to me in that moment