“Speak up” Michele Rousseau from Expedia

Meet Michele Rousseau, SVP, Global Marketing & Creative at Expedia. Michele leads global brand marketing and marketing operations, including brand and comms strategy, plus campaign management and production. She uses her voice to stand up for what she believes in and show others what a positive impact a leader can make. 

Michele sat down with Jocelyn Hudak, Senior Director, Content and Digital Marketing, for an interview in our Pass the Mic booth at Cannes Lions. Tune in to the full interview below and get ready to be inspired. 

Speak up. 

Highlight: “Speak up. So much of the time I feel like we don't feel that we can, and we have that burning thing inside of us that we do know the answer. We do have a point of view and an opinion, but are too afraid to speak, especially in either male-dominated meeting rooms or just louder people. Everyone is different, but just speak out with what you kind of believe in or what your beliefs are.” - Michele Rousseau

Give everybody space. 

Highlight: “You need to give everybody space. We kind of have this saying, which is, 'Whoever created the work goes on to present the work.' And I find that, especially with female leadership, there's that real sense of inclusivity, which I think is important, especially for the young people coming up.” - Michele Rousseau

Find emotionally intelligent people.

Highlight: “So much has been written about [emotional intelligence] and people's different approach to that, and just having complete self-awareness and social awareness of the room. And I find that if you have meetings with emotional intelligent people, things get done quicker, easier decisions get made. Almost kind of like telepathically. There's just less conflict.” - Michele Rousseau

You don’t have to be the loudest. 

Highlight: “I learned an amazing lesson... from a girl who worked in my team at Expedia Group called EJ. She was moving, relocating from that career office into the London office, and I was interviewing her for a promotion for a different role… And she just taught me such a really important lesson. You don't have to be the loudest in the room. And it's true.” - Michele Rousseau

Like Michele said, we’re passing the mic to others and making space for the next generation of women. For more inspiration from powerful women, check out our Pass the Mic Page.