An unconventional upbringing, a formidable role model for a mother, and a strong family connection have propelled sister and brother Paula and Cornell Boggs to success.
It's not often talented siblings excel in the same profession. But Paula Boggs and N. Cornell Boggs III are the only African American family members leading legal departments at Fortune 500 companies. Paula Boggs is 13 months older and the executive vice president, general counsel and secretary at Starbucks in Seattle, Wash.; Cornell Boggs is the chief legal officer and group vice president at Coors Brewing Company in Denver, Colo. Although they are not quite as well-known as other sibling pairs in sports or entertainment, they are luminary giants to those in the legal industry, and their successes are just as hard-won and inspiring.
Along with their two younger siblings, Paula and Cornell Boggs grew up in an uninhibited environment overseas, which has played a strong role in their character development and their career successes. They credit their mother, Janice Barber, for instilling in them the drive and passion that has led to their long list of impeccable accomplishments and their willingness to mentor others.
Exotic Family
Paula, Cornell, their sister Lynette, and brother Dallas (originally named Othello) Boggs spent the 1960s in segregated Chesterfield County, Va., where their father, Nathaniel Boggs Jr., was a professor at the historically black Virginia State College and their social worker mother studied to obtain a teaching certificate. Paula Boggs remembers living in "a dual society," attending the only integrated school in Petersburg, Va.—a Catholic institution—yet living within a community that she says was "100 percent" African American.
"At an early age, I was exposed to African Americans who were incredibly talented, and that formed my expectations of what it meant to be a black person," says Paula Boggs. At the same time, she adds, "In every class in my school, there were never more than five black kids out of 40 or 50. So I learned how to live and adapt in different environments."
That skill was crucial when, in 1972, the Boggs' parents divorced. (Their father died in 1997.) Their mother, who had just begun teaching in Richmond, Va., learned of an opportunity to spend a year in Germany teaching at a school for military children through the U.S. Department of Defense. Though single and with four children in tow, Barber says she jumped at the chance. "I said, 'This is a marvelous thing—nobody in my family would ever travel outside of the U.S.' "
Barber and her brood landed at an Army base in Karlsruhe, Germany, and spent two years there before heading to Vicenza, Italy, where she met and married Marlin C. Barber, Command Sergeant Major in the Army, who is now retired. The blended family—which included two of her new husband's four children—ended up back in Germany, where the Barbers continued to live until 1989, when Janice Barber was transferred to Italy before retiring to San Antonio, Texas in 1995.
Cornell and Paula Boggs and their mother have fond memories of life overseas. They all agree that they never experienced racism or discrimination in Europe. "There, we experienced friendliness," says Barber. "People were very accepting."
She recalls while in Italy, her sixth grade class took a two-week ski trip with a group of Italian schoolchildren. Her children went as well, and her youngest son Dallas befriended the ski instructor, who offered to take the young man home with him for the weekend. After learning from her school's principal that the man and his family were good people, Barber agreed. "Those people loved him—they were so good to him," she recalls. To this day, Dallas Boggs has stayed in touch with the family. "We made lasting friendships there," says Barber.
Cornell Boggs was involved in sports and other activities. Over the years, he was on his schools' wrestling, soccer, football, and track teams, and frequently traveled to other European cities for games. "We had ways of participating in whatever culture we were exposed to," he says. Living overseas, Cornell Boggs adds, "made me appreciate differences in other people and respect different opinions, backgrounds, and cultures."
The family was close, in part due to his mother's caretaking, he says. But he remembers what it was like having his mother as his principal. "I clearly couldn't get in trouble," Cornell Boggs laughs. "My mother had a unique ability to make children believe they were going to see Jesus that day if they did not behave. You didn't mess around."
During that first year in Germany, when the Boggs children were 6, 9, 12, and 13, Barber says she would spread out a map each week and hold family conferences about where to go in Europe that weekend. "We'd decide what town we'd like to explore," she recalls, adding that they frequently camped throughout Germany, Austria, and Italy in a donated family tent. "We carried it everywhere we could possibly go—we had this thirst to learn everything we could [because] we thought we were only going to be there a year."
One of the family's favorite pastimes was going on weekly Volksmarches, 10-kilometer walks throughout Europe that were advertised in newspapers. According to Barber, participants would walk through towns on their own, experiencing the culture. "We learned so much about the countries and got a chance to talk to the people. It became a way of life for us," she says. "We never would have had that experience had we stayed in Virginia."
Paula Boggs recalls another distinction in comparison to Virginia life. "We were a family of four kids with a single mom. In a military environment, where almost everyone else has a dad by definition, we were well known throughout Europe as this family that was different," she says with a chuckle. "We had this single mom and the four of us. So we were very exotic apart from race."
Being African American was "not a big deal" within the military, Paula Boggs stresses, since the bases were fully integrated. But in the 1970s, she did sport an Afro—and laughs recalling the attention. "Germans did come and touch my hair because they had never seen anything like that," says Paula Boggs. "That was another form of being exotic."
Barber believes that all four of her children have superior social skills because they had to handle themselves in foreign countries. "It gave them a chance to see things in another light that they never would've seen had they stayed in the U.S.," she says. "It encouraged them in their quest to be something."
Strong Character
For Barber, there was no question as to whether or not her children would attend college. All four—plus her stepchildren—desired to return to the United States for the experience. Barber says she was honest with her children about what the family could afford, but stressed that attendance was not an option. "I told them, 'I can't tell you which college you're going to go to, but there are many ways you can get there,' " she says.
Paula Boggs chose the military route and earned a Reserve Officers Training Corp. (ROTC) scholarship to Johns Hopkins University. Cornell Boggs worked his way through Valparaiso University, where he also went to law school. As explained by Barber, because there were six children to send to college, there was no money for the parents to take them to the United States. So the children had to fly from Germany on a military plane to the United States. "They had no momma to go with them and fix their rooms—they had to go on their own," she says. "They had it pretty hard in a way, but it made their character strong."
Barber also was steadfast regarding her children's monthly allowance. She recalls Cornell Boggs' first year of college, when he asked her to send him airfare home to Germany for the summer. She told him he had to come up with half his tuition for the following year before she would send him anything. "He had to prove he had an honest job," says Barber. That led to Cornell Boggs signing up for the Marines and experiencing basic training. "It made him a man—he had his own money to go back to school and he made the Dean's List from that point on," his mother says proudly, noting that he was awarded an honorable discharge when he realized the military was not for him as a long-term career.
His sister, however, thought the military was in her future—most likely in diplomacy—when she earned an Army ROTC scholarship. One of her professors encouraged her to go to paratrooper school. "He said, 'You are about to enter a man's army. You need an edge,' " Paula Boggs remembers, adding that she was—and is—afraid of heights. But, her professor explained, "The edge for you is having your wings, because if you're airborne in the Army, you will command a level of respect that is exceptional within the institution."
Jumping out of airplanes changed her life—and people's perceptions of her in business, says Paula Boggs. In most of her offices throughout her career, she has hung her airborne certificate on her wall. When colleagues—especially men—see it and realize her feat, "It changes the dynamic of the relationship," Paula Boggs says, because they realize in their "macho culture" that she is just as tough.
Cornell Boggs, too, stayed tough throughout college. A journalism major, he became interested in law by talking with Richard Duesenberg, retired senior vice president and general counsel of Monsanto Corp., and a board member of the law school who often counseled students. "He was crisp, sharp, and sure of himself—the kind of person you want to emulate," Cornell Boggs says of his mentor. Cornell Boggs also was selected as part of the undergraduate Honors Council, which dealt with student infractions of the school's Honor Code. Listening to, researching, and judging cases also piqued his interest in law, he says. "I liked the investigative and judicial process we used to deal with issues," he recalls. "It became something I thought would be a neat baseline to a broader jurisprudence system in law."
Upon graduating from Valparaiso in 1980 and after completing an internship as a fire and police beat reporter for a Gary, Ind., newspaper, Cornell Boggs decided law was his future. His sister had graduated in 1981 from Johns Hopkins University with an undergraduate degree in international studies and was entering the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Paula Boggs says she was "surprised, but excited and proud" when her brother conveyed his law aspirations.
Since graduating from law school—Paula Boggs in 1984 and Cornell Boggs in 1985—their careers have intersected. In 1987, Cornell Boggs became a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC, where Paula Boggs was at the Pentagon and later part of the White House legal team during the Iran Contra affair. Then Cornell Boggs left Washington to join the law department at Monsanto Corp. He later held successively higher positions at Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., Intel Corp., and Tyco International Ltd., where he was recruited by General Counsel William B. Lytton—who had hired Paula Boggs at the White House—to build a legal team for the new Plastics and Adhesives division. In December 2005, Cornell Boggs joined Coors.
Outside of corporate life, he has mentored young minority attorneys through the Chart Your Own Course Foundation, and is on the board of his alma mater, winning the Alumni Service Award from the university and from the law school. He has also been on the MCCA® board of directors since 2001, and served as president of the Association of Corporate Counsel's St. Louis chapter in 1999. A past president of the Valparaiso University School of Law Alumni Association, Cornell Boggs' other awards include the St. Louis Sentinel "Yes I Can" award for being a role model to minority youth. And in addition to all of the other hats he wears and his job as a general counsel, Cornell Boggs ran two marathons in 2002.
While Cornell Boggs entered corporate life earlier than his sister, Paula Boggs also has enjoyed a stellar career in business. After her years in the nation's capital, she moved to Seattle to become an assistant U.S. attorney, and later joined the partnership of the law firm Preston Gates & Ellis in 1995. After two years there, she followed her brother's corporate lead and was named legal vice president for products, operations and information technology at Dell Computer Corp. She joined Starbucks as general counsel in 2002 and has been credited with diversifying the legal department and making pro bono work a priority. Both Paula and Cornell Boggs have been named by Corporate Counsel magazine as attorneys to watch, and this year, Paula Boggs earned a Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association (ABA).
Like her brother, Paula Boggs is active in many community organizations. She is president of the board of the Legal Aid for Washington Fund (LAW Fund) and is a board member of the Seattle Art Museum, Premera Blue Cross (as chair of the investments committee) and the Starbucks Foundation (serving as secretary). She is also active in the ABA's diversity and mentoring activities, and is a member of the ABA's House of Delegates. Paula Boggs chairs the Audit and Insurance Committee of The Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees and has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law. Her awards include the Corporate Legal Times and LexisNexis 2003 Distinguished Legal Service Award and, along with her company, the Washington State Bar Association's 2005 Excellence in Diversity Award.
The siblings' accomplishments have only deepened their relationship, Paula Boggs says. "Our professional lives have crossed paths a number of times over the years and all the while, we've become closer friends," she reflects. "My brother is my biggest cheerleader and I am his at the end of the day. You need that when you're doing the kinds of things we do. No matter how bad his day, he knows he can call me and we can have a great conversation, and the same is true with me." Cornell Boggs agrees. "We've always been very close friends apart from being siblings," he says. While the two do not necessarily discuss their jobs when they talk or see each other, "She's been a good example to follow—she's an excellent leader."
The two share qualities that make them good leaders, Cornell Boggs explains. "We're organized, we are direct, we show empathy, but we are also people who understand what we need to do to get the jobs done and appropriately keep management apprised of situations of which they need to be made aware," he says. Their sister, Lynette Boggs McDonald, an accomplished County Commissioner in Clark County, Nev.—which includes Las Vegas—shares those traits. "All of us are very hard workers—we network, we know how to communicate. We're just movers and shakers," she says. As for her older siblings, she is not surprised by their success. "Everything they have done in their careers has led them to this place—they have earned what they have been given in life. They deserve to be there and have a right to be there," she says. "I am very proud to be able to watch the progression of their entire lives and see them get to this place."
Making a Difference
Both Paula and Cornell Boggs recognize the significance of being the only African American family duo running legal departments of top global companies. But, as their sister states, they were always taught they could be and do anything. "It's a testament to my mother and stepfather and my natural father's strength, courage, and ability that we felt comfortable taking on these opportunities," says Cornell Boggs. "We didn't feel we should have not applied [for positions] or involved ourselves in the process because we were African American."
Paula Boggs, a sought—after public speaker, says listeners often tell her it is inspirational to see her as the general counsel of Starbucks. "What it tells people is that we are making progress in this country and in this profession," she says. "A whole host of people come up to me and say, 'You make a difference and I'm so happy to see you in this role.' That tells me that it means something."
Tyco General Counsel William B. Lytton, who knows both siblings well, also recognizes their contributions. He first met Paula Boggs in 1987 when establishing a team of lawyers at the White House during the Iran Contra affair. He had heard of Paula Boggs as a result of her Army lawyer experience, and brought her in for an interview. "She walked in wearing a green Army officer's uniform with the insignia that said she was a paratrooper," Lytton recalls. "I thought, 'Aha, this is an interesting person.' "
The two worked closely during the six months of Congressional hearings, after which he went back to his law firm and she stayed in her position. Through Paula Boggs, Lytton met Cornell Boggs, and says he was "immediately impressed" by him. After Lytton started at Tyco in 2002, he hired Cornell Boggs in June 2003 to oversee the legal department of a new business segment. During Cornell Boggs' first day, at a highly charged meeting of a few hundred people, Lytton remembers Cornell Boggs inserting his ideas within 10 minutes. "He really demonstrated the type of leadership I think is so important," says Lytton, citing the drive and intelligence of both Boggs siblings. "They are focused people who get things done and who can help move others to get things done."
Lytton, who has met Barber and her husband, says he talks often with Paula Boggs about her family of achievers. "They're great role models for anybody—male, female, of any race. They are models of what leadership is all about," he says, referring to them as "magnet leaders." "Cornell and Paula attract people who admire their ability, style, and integrity, and they, in turn, are attracted to that in others."
That assessment collaborates with Barber's parenting philosophy, which she says was to be open and consistent. "I've let them know what I could do and what I could not afford to do," says Barber. "When children are growing up with peer pressure, I'd say, 'We have our own standards.' "
Barber made sure her children set priorities at an early age, and says she and her second husband modeled the behavior they expected. "I was a person of my word and I did not go back on it," she says. "I would tell them, 'If you get in trouble or break the law, if you go to jail, I will not bail you out because you know the difference between right and wrong.' That kept them out of trouble." Today, Barber can look back on her children's success and marvel at her blended family, which includes 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Cornell Boggs has three children, Lynette Boggs McDonald has two, and Dallas Boggs has one child. Though the family is scattered throughout the country, they unite as often as they can and talk frequently. Barber says her children are good to her-paying for her visits and taking her and her husband on family vacations. She could not be prouder.
"They have grown beyond my expectations. I knew they were going to do something well, but they have exceeded my furthest dreams," says Barber, who lost her own parents when she was in her 20s. "Neither saw me in the world of work. My prayer for my own children was, 'I hope I can see them in the world of work,' and God has really blessed me to see them succeed."
THE SMITH FAMILY
In addition to the Boggs' family, another pair of general counsel "keep it in the family" in the legal community—Brad Smith is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corporation, and his wife, Kathy Surace-Smith, holds the same position at SonoSite Inc., in Bothell, Wash., which manufactures portable ultrasound equipment. The two, who have been married 23 years, met as undergraduates at Princeton University, and then graduated from Columbia University law school together in the mid-1980s.
Like the Boggs siblings, the Smiths, who are Caucasian, have had stellar careers. After law school, Brad Smith clerked for federal court judge Charles Metzner in New York, and Kathy Surace-Smith was an associate at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. In 1986, the couple moved to Washington, DC, where Brad Smith joined Covington & Burling. Three years later, the couple moved to the London offices of their firms. Soon after they arrived, a Columbia law professor recommended Kathy Surace-Smith for a position at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which she accepted. In 1993, Microsoft tapped Brad Smith to head its European legal and corporate affairs team in Paris, and Kathy Surace-Smith began work for Alcatel, the international telecommunications company headquartered in Paris.
Microsoft brought the Smith family, along with their two small children (currently ages 11 and 14), back to the United States in 1996, when Brad Smith was named deputy general counsel in charge of worldwide sales. Kathy Surace-Smith took a job at Metawave Communications, a telecommunications equipment provider, before joining SonoSite in 2002. Brad Smith was promoted to his current position in 2001.
The Smiths are an example of how talented two-career couples can find success personally and professionally.
Melanie Lasoff Levs is a freelance writer based in Atlanta, Ga.
From the September/October 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®