WW CEO Mindy Grossman: 'We can have productive discomfort' to drive change in the workplace

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, Mindy Grossman, WW CEO, joins Yahoo Finance's The First Trade with Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi to discuss different ways to support women and diversity in the workplace. Grossman also weighs in WW's recent quarterly earnings report.

Video Transcript

BRIAN SOZZI: Only 23% of C-suite executives across the globe are female. That's according to a new report from human resources consulting firm, Mercer. It's part of Verizon Media's recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, I'd like to bring WW international CEO Mindy Grossman, and frankly, a friend of the show.

Mindy, always good to-- always good to see you. And I was thinking back last night. Out of all the gazillions of questions I've asked you through the years, I don't think I've ever asked you how did you get, and why do you think you've got some of these top jobs? CEO of HSN, CEO at WW International. What is it about that career arc?

MINDY GROSSMAN: Well, I think what you just heard from [INAUDIBLE]. You know, what is really important is I wouldn't necessarily say courage and bravery, but risk-taking and boldness and being the essence of transformation has always been something that I put forward. I think the second reason is I've always been confident to surround myself with incredible talent. And I have focused on making others successful. And by doing that, ultimately, I've had greater success.

Brian, as you know, I've been a fierce advocate for diversity my entire career. And I do believe that the companies that I've been part of have had success because they've committed to diversity. And if you look at our company, for example, our board alone has six men, six women, two black women. My executive team is over 50% female. But more important than that, there are diverse voices and thought at the table, so we can have productive discomfort. And that's why companies that are more diverse ultimately will have longer term sustainable success.

BRIAN SOZZI: That's a great point about the board. How did you-- how did you put that or drive that change at WW?

MINDY GROSSMAN: So if you're going to create change, particularly around diversity, you have to make sure what you do is actionable, measurable, and sustainable. And companies that have put forth metrics and determination and action plans are ones that are able to drive change most effectively. You have to have the support and alignment with your board. The CEO has to commit. It can't just be a human resource function, although our CHRO is my greatest partner. And it has to be clear as to the why. And the why is not just a social commitment, but it's a business commitment.

And even though we're celebrating as you will, the fact that, you know, women make up now more of the Fortune 500, it's still only 7.4%-- so 33. And in a world where it's 50% of the population and actually, more than 50% of college graduates today, it just makes sense that we have to be more measured and actionable to create the change that we need.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Mindy, you've said that you think of yourself as a CEO who happens to be a woman. Talk to me about that and that perception? And should we have more people in the business world see it that way as opposed to saying, oh, look, look, look-- know she's female first, CEO second.

MINDY GROSSMAN: Absolutely. You know, Alexis, the qualities of great leadership are actually genderless. And then you bring your individual talents or your individual qualities to the table. And the world is changing today in that a great example-- vulnerability used to be considered a weakness. Today, it's a strength. Being able to have a quality of leadership that is more collaborative and more purposeful-- again, those are the qualities of leadership that are critical today and that any CEO has to bring to the table regardless of their gender.

BRIAN SOZZI: Mindy, who else have you turn to in terms of female leadership? Who do you go to for advice and who has served as inspiration for your career?

MINDY GROSSMAN: So in terms of when I consider, let's call it, my tribe or my network, you know, it's very, very diverse. I spend a lot of time with younger women, whether it's entrepreneurs or women in business, because I need to keep learning every day. And it's not just other CEOs-- and certainly, there's many that I admire-- but also, some of my greatest mentors have been men. I was very fortunate to work for a Phil Knight or a Barry Diller, et cetera.

And I think it's really important that as women CEOs if we have this platform, use the platform to educate others. Not just talk to other women, but talk to men about the importance of diversity and be that voice that is going to ensure that people understand why it's so important, and ultimately, creates greater business success.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I think that is such an excellent point we don't hear made enough, Mindy, because it's not us against them, right? It's not the females against the male, as I've had a number of male mentors in my life. And, you know, how important is it that we work collectively and not, you know, it's gender against gender?

MINDY GROSSMAN: It's really critical. And it's critical that we have enough mass, for example. So just having one woman is a very isolating experience. You really need to make sure that diversity across all areas is a focus, because it's going to create the best conversations, the best strategies, and the best results.

BRIAN SOZZI: And Mindy, what are you working on now in terms of diversity? I mean, you've clearly made great strides, but how do you-- how do you take it to the next level?

MINDY GROSSMAN: Yeah, that's a great point, Brian. So, you know, Kim Seymour, who is my CHRO, and I have partnered, and we said, to our organization, as much as we have made progress, we need more and we need it more quickly. And so we did massive listening throughout the organization and we have put a lot into place to accelerate our diversity efforts. And that's around our Black, certainly, population and growth, but also, diversity across all metrics.

And we have plans in place-- and to my earlier point-- that are actionable, measurable, and sustainable. And everyone in the organization is aware of that and will be measured against that for their diversity efforts.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah, I just want to switch gears a moment to talk about the business, because last week, WW was out with earnings coming in slightly below estimates on both the top and bottom line, but an area that you were really shining, digital subscribers, at a record level now, up 23% to 5 million members. Do you see this transition to online fitness sessions to be the new normal even post the pandemic? And does that have you looking long and hard at your actual brick and mortar footprint? Do you need that many studios when we come out the other side of this?

MINDY GROSSMAN: Well, certainly, we were in the throes of our digital transformation to relevant technology experience company with this human-centric overlay as well as the move from not just being the leader and global science-based healthy weight loss, but a full ecosystem of wellness across nutrition, activity, mindset, sleep, for example. You use the example we integrated fit on-- video fitness into our app. And what we have seen throughout this, and, you know, it started way before to end Q2 with 5 million subscribers, which is a Q2 high, and basically unchanged from a typical seasonal peak in Q1 was really, as a result of a great acceleration in digital memberships, up 23%.

Now to your point, we have looked at our physical footprint and we are reducing it. A combination to keep the ones that we own, operate, branded. But we also switched all our workshops during this pandemic to virtual workshops. Literally in six days, trained 15,000 coaches and guides and launched virtual workshops. And they continued to this day, even though we are opening up our studios.

But what we also saw in the quarter in addition to the digital growth overall subscriber growth at 9%, the flow through to margins, we ended with 60% margins, as well. So, you know, the trajectory of the business really is a result of certainly everything we've done with our programs, our engagement. That's why retention is still at an all time high. But, you know, now, it's just accelerating those efforts, because people have a great need to reassess and we prioritize their health and wellness and we will be that partner.

BRIAN SOZZI: Well, Mindy, I must say, every time I talk with you, I learn a ton and this time was no different. We'll leave it there for right now. Mindy Grossman--

MINDY GROSSMAN: Love the conversation.

BRIAN SOZZI: WW International.

MINDY GROSSMAN: Thank you.

BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, likewise. We always appreciate it. Good to see you. Stay safe we'll talk to you soon.

MINDY GROSSMAN: You too.