Meet Katy Motiey

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katy Motiey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Katy, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My family immigrated to the US during the Iranian Revolution. I knew then that there was no leaning on family support and that if I was going to have any kind of lifestyle or be able to support myself once I was out of school I would need to keep my head down and work hard.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a high tech executive with a legal background. I graduated law school over 30 years ango and have been general counsel for 3 public companies and several private companies before that. I have worked for 7 CEOs. At my current company, when I joined the Company, it was a turnaround and I joined with the agreement that I would manage other departments. I currently run our Legal and Real Estate & Facilities Departments. In the early days I also had HR. I’ve been here for 9+ years. In 2020, together with various company leaders, I launched the Corporate Responsibility program which encompasses DEI and philanthropy, environmental and product sustainability, and data privacy and governance. With over 30 years of experience I have a passion for mentoring especially the younger generation that is looking to attend law school and grow their career. On a totally different note, I most recently published a novel based on a true story. I started working on the book 15+ years ago and it was totally rewarding to get it launched. The book is about some true events that happened to my mother in 1970’s Iran (pre-revolution) and I reached my goal of getting published on Mother’s Day in May of 2024. I narrated the audible version during the summer and the book (in its various formats, hard cover, soft cover, ebook and audible) is available on Amazon. What a ride and a huge sense of accomplishment.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities, skills or areas of knowledge that have been most impactful in my journey are 1) perfecting my communication skills, 2) keeping my head down working hard and getting very good at what I do, and 3) finding good mentors along the way. My advice to people who are early in their journey … keep your head down, work hard and do what you love to do… very well. And, stay somewhat in the moment and do not look too far ahead. Your career will ebb and flow and things and circumstances will change along with your interests and physical location. Try not to set your goals too far ahead… maybe look 5 years ahead not much more than that.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My mother has been the most helpful in helping me overcome challenges and to build and develop the essential skills, qualities and knowledge to be successful. During the 1970’s she had some legal challenges, in Iran, after my father passed away. The day my father passed away, she was served with custody papers and was launched into a custody battle and later a civil lawsuit in order to keep my brother and I. The patriarchal laws in Iran gave my father’s side of the family legal custody and guardianship of us. All of that said, my mother stayed in the moment, positive and surrounded herself with strong people, family members, friends and ultimately colleagues when she started working. All of this is the subject of my newly released novel “Imperfect.”

Contact Info:

Image Credits

The photo of the Shah and the one of the US and pre-revolution Iranian flags… I found on a google search.

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