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Wisdom From The Top | Q&A with Hope Scott

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Hope Scott

“Life’s short. Buy the festival tickets and wear the lashes.” If you don’t know Hope Scott, you might be surprised to learn these were the ten words of wisdom she shared from the podium as she was honored at the 2018 San Francisco Business Times  Most Influential Women awards gala in San Francisco. Hope Scott oversees the operations of Blue Shield’s Corporate Integrity and Risk Management organization in her role as Vice President, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer for Blue Shield of California. Under her leadership, Blue Shield has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies six times, including in 2018. This year our Compliance and Ethics Program also received Compliance Leader Verification™, a designation granted to companies with best-in-industry ethics and compliance programs.Her impressive career in healthcare includes leading privacy compliance in 27 countries and 53 U.S. states and jurisdictions. However, the reason why people at all levels across the organization seek Hope’s advice and counsel is because she is an empathetic listener —someone who understands how to achieve a win-win resolution. Once you get to know Hope through our Q&A series, you’ll want to buy the festival tickets and wear those lashes too.

1. Who or what inspires you and why? 

Hope Scott with son, Nicholas
Hope Scott with son, Nicholas

My amazing son, Nicholas Saponaro, inspires me!  He, and his peers who – on their own terms and through their own ingenuity - are creating new technologies for finance, communications, and human engagement platforms. They are inventing careers that weren’t even imagined when they were born in the early 1990s. This ingenuity truly inspires me.  His confidence and courage, his can-do attitude, and his willingness to fail, learn, and move on to greater success the next time are a marvel to behold.  The “road less-traveled” has become the “road I’m building” to this generation of entrepreneurs and socially aware world citizens.

2. How did you get “a seat at the table? 

I put in the time and hard work to earn a seat at the table. When it wasn’t offered or wasn’t available to me, I took myself to another table where my experience, talent, and vision were not only welcomed, but celebrated!

3. What are you reading or binge watching?

I just finished the fifth Game of Thrones novel, “A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5” by George R. R. Martin, and I have started reading Stephen King’s new novel, “The Outsider."  On the non-fiction front, I’m reading "What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful" by Marshall Goldsmith and "How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job" by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. 

I, of course, continuously binge watch “The Office” (US version).

4. What has been the highlight of your career? 

Being able to champion, influence, and even inspire the wonderful people I have been privileged to mentor over the years, and watching them succeed and excel in their chosen fields.

5. How do you stay motivated? 

I never do anything I don’t want to do, and I never stop having fun!

 

This post is part of our new Wisdom From the Top series. Click here to read our first post featuring Kimberley Goode, another Blue Shield Most Influential Women award recipient.