Alumna returns to Penn as a success

Rebecca Matthias spent her undergraduate years at Penn convinced she would one day be an architect. But after a startling realization in, of all places, a women's clothing store, Matthias found her true calling. Today, Matthias is the chief operating officer of Mothers Work Inc., a $300 million publicly owned company that manufactures and sells maternity ware in a variety of price and style ranges. A 1975 College graduate, Matthias addressed more than 25 College students yesterday in Logan Hall as part of the Robert Fox Lessons in Leadership Program. Matthias discussed the history and future of her company as she guided the audience through a brief Powerpoint presentation. She told the students the idea for her company came to her while shopping for business maternity clothing. "If I was having trouble finding clothes, I figured others probably were too," Matthias said. So, in 1982, she and her husband -- who serves as the chief executive officer of the company -- spearheaded the creation of the Pennsylvania-based specialty clothing corporation. Speaking of the struggles she had to endure during the first 10 years of building her business, Matthias named perseverance as the one quality that kept her going. The difficulties ranged from finding enough time for both her domestic life and her career as well as learning the simple tricks of the trade. "I wish I'd gone to Wharton," Matthias joked, as most of the audience laughed loudly and School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston raised his hands in protest. "Balancing a family and a career is still an impossible task for women," she said. "You have to make a choice for yourself, what do you want out of your life." Matthias encouraged the audience members to take the leap into starting their own businesses, calling it "challenging, to take nothing and make something out of it." She spoke fondly of her years at Penn, describing them as "four years of experimentation" because she participated in a variety of activities -- she joined the women's squash team and played cello in the Penn Orchestra -- in which she always wanted to get involved. "I gained a lot of confidence here." Chuck Brutsche, the associate director of the Lessons in Leadership series, said Matthias was an ideal speaker because "she's made a leadway since she's graduated." Several students in the audience, almost all of which was female, said they liked that Matthias offered applicable real-life advice. "I liked that she recognized she had to make sacrifices with her children, but that she could teach them as a role model," College senior Kim Bardy said. "Her wandering entrepreneur spirit doesn't just apply to business. It applies to life in general," College sophomore Henry Brigham said. "It illustrates how low and high you can go and still laugh at it later." Last week, Martin Franklin, chief executive officer of Marlin Holdings Inc., returned to campus to be the first speaker of the semester. University President Judith Rodin is scheduled to speak in two weeks. "This series gives students a perspective of what it's like 20, 30 years out of school," Preston said. "[Matthias is] clearly a wonderful leader in her field."

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