Liz Cook

I attribute my success to having incredible mentors and learning to be compassionate as a leader. My first boss Tasha at Force 3, who's now at Cisco, was the best boss of my lifetime and my biggest inspiration for being a leader. She made it so we could be ourselves and didn't matter who you were in the room, she cared what you had to say. I'll never forget when she sat down and took the time to explain marketing concepts to me, and I was shocked that she would take that time. She taught me about playing the game in the corporate world, and she had compassion and was kind. When my first child was born and I was having panic attacks about leaving him at daycare, she let me leave early to go pick him up because she knew I couldn't handle it. The biggest thing I learned as a leader was just be compassionate for your people, and they'll want to work for you. She's only a year older than me, which makes it even more incredible. My biggest driver now is truly supporting women, because I know what it's like to have even women bosses who are not supportive and don't show up. My biggest goal is to be the greatest support and resource for other women to feel empowered. I want to help show someone who was me 10 years ago what is possible, because I never thought I would be here. I never thought I would be in the role that I'm in, running the organization that I'm running. I didn't have the confidence initially. I want to run an organization where women are not afraid to own their seat at the table. I just read a book, Start With Yourself by Emma Greed, and it was so inspiring because it taught me that you don't have to know everything. Men are so easy to be like 'I don't know' and just move on, but early in my career, I would lie and make up an answer because I was afraid of not knowing. Now my favorite line is 'I'm curious, I'm seeking to understand' and I try to change my terminology to make sure that it's okay to not know. I also make sure my team knows we're all adults with lives, and we are not here to live and die by the work. At my current company Torq, my CMO allows me to do what I need to do and just writes 'onward' - I don't have to ask for permission, and I finally feel trusted. That autonomy and trust is what I try to instill in my team.

The best career advice I've learned is that imposter syndrome is very real, but it's not true. Nobody knows what they're doing every day, and we cannot always be perfect. Everyone has had a time where they have to figure it out and learn. You are not the first, and you are not the last, so you deserve to take up space. You deserve to be there, and you deserve to ask questions and learn, because the person that is three or four levels above you started out not knowing either. You just have to remind yourself of that. I also learned from my first boss Tasha about playing the game in the corporate world. I remember there was one instance with this complete asshole guy, and she told me 'listen, you're not gonna like what I have to say. I know this sucks, I know this feels yucky, and we just have to play the game right now.' She explained it to me, and ever since then, I've taken into account that you have to play the game. She taught me everything about how to be a professional in the corporate world with compassion and kindness. Another important lesson I've learned is about changing your terminology. Early in my career, I would lie and make up an answer because I was afraid of not knowing. Now my favorite line from the book I just read, Start With Yourself, is 'I'm curious, I'm seeking to understand.' It's important to make sure that it's okay to not know, because men are so easy to say 'I don't know' and just move on, but we feel like we have to have all the answers. We should always be learning, not pretending to know everything.

My advice to young women entering this industry is that imposter syndrome is very real, but it's not true. Everybody knows what they're doing at some point. Everyone has been at a place where they have to figure it out, and they had to learn. You are not the first, and you are not the last, so you deserve to take up space. You deserve to be there, and you deserve to ask questions and learn, because the person that is three or four levels above you started out not knowing either. You just have to remind yourself of it. It's also really important to seek out positions and companies that allow you to have flexibility and autonomy, to go forward and do your thing and learn through your own decision making without having to ask for permission. This is something important to me and something that I've brought into my leadership role, encouraging others to feel that they are trusted. I've had to ask old bosses before, 'Do you want my opinion and do you want my expertise, or do you just want me to say yes?' Because you can pay me a lot of money to just be complacent, but that's not okay with my ethos of who I am and how I want to work, and I'm not okay with that. So be your own advocate, use your voice, and find a place where you can truly own your work and feel empowered to learn and grow.

One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is balancing evolving organizational demands with the need to keep employees engaged, supported, and aligned with changing workplace expectations. At the same time, I see this as a strong opportunity for HR to become more strategic, people-focused, and impactful in shaping workplace culture and performance. Throughout my career, I’ve been motivated by mentors, colleagues, and the employees I’ve worked with, all of whom have influenced how I lead with integrity, empathy, and accountability. I remain deeply committed to growing in this space, expanding my impact, and continuing to support organizations in building stronger, healthier teams. Outside of work, I stay grounded through family time, hiking, and horseback riding, and I value connecting with other women in my network to share experiences, inspire one another, and contribute meaningfully to each other’s growth and success.

The most important values to me are compassion, authenticity, and being present for the people in my life. In my work, I've learned that the biggest thing is to just be compassionate for your people, and they'll want to work for you. I want my team to feel like they can be themselves and that it doesn't matter who you are in the room, I care what you have to say. I make sure my team knows we're all adults with lives, and we are not here to live and die by the work. I want women to not be afraid to own their seat at the table and to feel empowered. In my personal life, it's all about being with my family. I have three children - a nine-year-old son, a seven-year-old son, and a four-year-old daughter. I've been with my husband for 17 years. We were freshman college sweethearts, and it's been incredible. My family is from Italy and Argentina, and my grandmother is still alive, so as much as I can, I try to see her and spend time with her, with my parents, and my siblings. To me, it's all about being with them and spending quality time together. We love to travel, and every year we make it a point to have a vacation just my husband and I, and then a vacation with the kids. We went to Mallorca last year and loved it so much we're going back in a couple weeks for our anniversary. Reading is also important to me - I'm a big Sarah J. Maas fan, and all the romantic series are always on my Kindle. I've also had to do a lot of work with my therapist to get to a place where it's okay to see mommy work. I travel a lot, and I really felt guilty about it, but I've learned it's okay to be a working mom and to show my children, especially my four-year-old daughter, what women in leadership look like. My husband actually quit his job last year after 13 years in sales to get his master's in education, so he's a stay-at-home dad now, and I'm proud to be setting that example for my kids.