card division. Driving from Washington to Baltimore four nights a week, she attended the evening division of the University of Maryland School of Law. If that were not tasking enough, she had to do this under Sears’ radar, since the company generally frowned on people improving their careers outside of prescribed channels. Only her immediate boss knew—and helped; since Edwards also had to work one night a week, he arranged for her to work on Fridays, her one night off from law school. She threw her chips on the table in 1981 when an open-


ing was created in the Sears Washington, D.C., offi ce of governmental aff airs. T e new vice president had just been promoted to head the offi ce and needed someone to replace himself. “It was totally off my career path and in violation


of all the hierarchical standards at the company,” she says, “but I told him I wanted the position he had just vacated. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Her investment in risk would pay off . Two years later she


was promoted to director of government aff airs for Sears’ subsidiary Dean Witter Financial Services Group Inc., and gained tremendous visibility within the senior ranks of the company and among politicians and agency heads. In the process, she says, “I found that I could be calm and measured in a crisis, with a capacity for synthesizing ideas.” In 1988, she was invited to become general counsel of the business unit of Discover Card. “Taking the job was risky because it meant moving to Chicago, where I knew nobody—and we had two infants,”


The Necessary Steps: Bridging the Gap 38


CURRENTLY IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE INFLUENTIAL WIFE OF NEW CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN, Anne Gust, now Anne Gust Brown, was an executive at global retailer Gap Inc. from 1991 to 2005, including four years as general counsel. As recounted by Lauri Shanahan, who succeeded Gust as GC in 1998 and then later as chief administrative offi cer, Gust made a persuasive fi rst impression. “A friend had told me of a potential opportunity at


Gap,” relates Shanahan. “Anne was the fi rst person I talked to there, and I was immediately struck by her business savvy, openness, and sense of humor. She did not seem lawyerly at all.” In a subsequent inter- view with Gap founder, the late Don Fisher, Shanahan told him she much preferred the business side and that her interest in being a lawyer was waning. “I told Anne that I really thought I had blown it with Don,” says Shanahan, “but she just laughed, and I accepted the job offer that followed.” That was in 1992, and in what would evolve into


a very close friendship, Gust guided Shanahan into the job. “The culture at Gap was uniquely stable and refreshing, with a strong focus on taking risks and relying on your gut,” says Shanahan. “Anne developed people in the moment and believed in letting people shine. She didn’t hesitate to push you out of your comfort zone.” Gust saw Shanahan’s managerial potential even


when Shanahan herself did not, and helped drive her toward success. “There were no hidden agendas with Anne,” continues Shanahan. “Anne was all about authenticity and integrity and open debate on how to


DIVERSITY & THE BAR® JULY/AUGUST 2011


solve problems and keep the business aligned and moving forward. She taught me how to handle the tough issues and conversations, and ultimately, to believe in myself as a leader.” Invested with the spirit of Gust’s leadership,


Shanahan would in turn help develop her successor, Michelle Banks, in a near replay of her own story with Anne. “At fi rst, Michelle saw herself as an individual contributor and not the team leader,” says Shanahan. “Seeing her great integrity and terrifi c legal mind, I knew she could be more—my challenge was to set her up to want that bigger role.” To help Banks realize this vision on her own, Shanahan pushed Banks into unfamiliar work and responsibilities. “It was a journey we took together, and as she expanded her perspec- tive, as I had with Anne, she began having fun and seeing new possibilities,” says Shanahan, who left Gap in 2008 to serve on corporate boards and estab- lish her own investment consultancy. “When I fi rst joined Gap in 1999, becoming


general counsel never crossed my mind, in part because I had fi gured that Lauri would be there for the long term,” recounts Banks, who took over the general counsel role from Shanahan in 2006. “Lauri was in my court all the way, though. Once she had decided that she wanted me to be her successor, she took all the necessary steps to ensure that I got the exposure, the credibility, the credit, and all the things I needed to be a viable candidate. Even after I got the job, she took the time to guide the transition of responsibilities to me. She was my fi rst female men- tor, and the quintessential guide.”


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