Mia King is the current Director of Upscale Brand Programs and Innovation at Choice Hotels International. As Director of Brand Programs and Innovation, Mia operationalizes brand programs through clear communication of brand updates, detailed implementation toolkits, and intentional pilots to test & learn in the field. In addition to enabling brand programs, she informs brand strategy and identifies opportunities to improve the guest experience.
Mia has worked across industries with Fortune 500 companies to improve their customer journeys. As a management consultant with Bain & Company she optimized million-dollar budgets, designed brand strategy, and identified areas to drive growth and retention for global brands.
Mia has a passion for equity and inclusion, especially in the arts space and has pursued this through both full-time and volunteer engagements. Past engagements include the Museum of Modern Art and the Katonah Museum of Art. She is passionate about ensuring equal access to arts programs and widening the pipeline of audience members and donors. She brings this enthusiasm to her role as a trustee on the USA Board of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. In her free time, when not in a museum or theatre, she loves to read fantasy and is writing her own dystopian fiction novel.
1. Thinking back, what led you to join BOW?
I joined BOW because it seemed like a great place to learn from fellow women and gain great exposure to different career paths. BOW also facilitated phenomenal networking opportunities with different companies that were hugely helpful in my intern/job search.
2. What is your coolest accomplishment and/or favorite memory from Duke?
Some of my favorite memories revolve around the Baldwin Scholars program, e.g., our freshman retreat. Like BOW, Baldwin was a space created for women-identifying individuals and I learned so much from that space. I still do!
3. Could you talk a little about your transitions between different jobs?
I had internships across industries: software engineering at Microsoft, teaching with Breakthrough Collaborative, Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs, and consulting at Bain & Company. Consulting stuck the most and I went into my senior year with a job offer. Bain had a very structured path most people took where you worked for three years, went to business school, and then returned to Bain to pay back the school sponsorship. I applied to b-school my senior year of undergrad so I was sure I'd do three years at Bain and then go to school - it was a natural break point in my consulting trajectory. Instead what happened is I took a sabbatical called an 'externship' to work in industry outside of Bain for 6 months during my third year right before I was supposed to leave for b-school. I ended up at the Museum of Modern Art doing analytics and customer strategy. I LOVED it and felt much healthier / happier outside of the consulting world. So I gave up my reserved seat at Stanford and decided to leave Bain and go into the industry. It was a really tough decision but one I knew was the right one for me at the time. I went to Macy's (a recruiter found me) to do customer strategy and got laid off a year later. During my time at Macy's, I got certificates in data science and user experience research & design. I didn't love my role and invested in building skill sets to get me closer to a job I'd love. While I was unemployed I did a lot of soul searching and luckily had saved enough to wait things out until I found a job I really loved. I learned something from each previous job that helped me make a truly informed decision about my current role: Director of Upscale Brand Programs and Innovation at Choice Hotels International.
4. Were you expecting to end up in the current industry you are working in?
Not at all. I've always loved to travel but was never really exposed to corporate positions in the hospitality industry. Now it feels like the perfect fit, but I worked in so many different industries before I got here.
5. How has mentorship factored into your path?
It's played a HUGE role. My mentors cheer me on along the way and ask the tough questions that help to push my thinking during times of stagnation. They're also just infinitely more experienced so have a lot of knowledge to pull from. If I'm ever facing a challenge - personal or professional - odds are they have already been through it and can weigh in on it. I think it's also important to recognize not everyone will be a mentor but you can still keep in touch with them like you would a mentor. Networking is so important and has helped me get several opportunities.
6. What advice do you have for current BOW members trying to navigate their job search?
Don't be too hard on yourself! You likely won't get your job perfect on the first try, but the good news is you're never stuck anywhere. Of course, there are circumstances that make it easier or harder to leave a job. I'm not saying quit without a backup plan, but I am saying it's okay to go back to the drawing board when it comes to your career. When thinking through jobs, try to remember everything you didn't like or wanted in your last role(s) and make sure your next role gets you one step closer to that aspiration.
7. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I'm only 4 months into my current role at my new company, but I think there's a lot of room to grow and learn here. I see myself at this same company but in a more senior role 5 years from now. I might eventually go back to business school, but I think I'd go abroad if I do decide to go. I have a dream of reliving my study abroad memories :)
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