Her Story
About Carla
Carla Proby serves as Legal Executive Assistant at Rollins in the pest control industry in Atlanta, Georgia. She has held this position for about 18 months and brings more than 20 years of experience supporting executives across multiple sectors. Her career began in 1999 or 2000 as assistant to the department chair of the engineering department at Arizona University. She later worked as executive assistant to the president of Harry Norman Realtors, the general counsel at Mercedes-Benz USA, the VP of Engineering at Cox Communications, and the general counsel and CFO at Aaron's rent-to-own furniture company. Additional early roles included director of a nonprofit in Tempe, Arizona, substitute teaching, and customer service positions at Alaska Airlines. Proby earned a Bachelor's of Business Management from the University of Phoenix and a Master's in paralegal studies, along with a certificate in paralegal studies and a certificate in airline reservations. She views herself as a business partner to executives, emphasizing leadership and organization, and credits her success to shadowing her mother, the first African-American woman to direct the Governor's Office of Affirmative Action in Arizona. Proby values honesty and ethics, particularly in legal settings, and promotes Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs on LinkedIn. She advises young women entering the field to pursue degrees or certifications with an end goal of becoming executives or professionals such as lawyers or judges, maintaining the mindset of a CEO.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carla
01What do you attribute your success to?
My mother was the first African-American woman to become the director of the Governor's Office of Affirmative Action underneath the first woman governor in Arizona. By shadowing her and learning from her, that's where I attribute all of my success to.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Start with a program or degree and have an end goal like wanting to be a lawyer or judge or executive. Have the mindset of being the CEO rather than just an assistant. See yourself as the executive and pick a certification or school while building your career. Have the mindset that you'll be the CEO, learning from meetings and minutes to advance your career.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is the shift of the economy and political environment bringing stress on businesses, with executives feeling challenged every day. Opportunities include learning and utilizing AI and technology like Microsoft Co-pilot to make tasks faster, which companies are embracing.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Do the right thing when no one's looking. Especially in the legal department, honesty and ethics are key because we have access to a lot of information. My father was a retired police officer in Arizona and always told me you never want to feel like you're looking over your shoulder, so just do the right thing.
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