Debby Soo, CEO @ Opentable
Debby currently serves as the CEO of Opentable. She stepped into her role in August 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Previously, Debby spent the past 10+ years at KAYAK, where she joined as an intern and spent many years building up KAYAK’s international presence, from launching in 30+ countries to serving as the GM of the APAC business. Most recently, she was the Chief Commercial Officer at KAYAK and OpenTable, responsible for P&L ownership and revenue-generating activities.
In this episode we spoke with Debby about the following:
How she navigates feelings of “otherness” that manifest in both her personal and professional life
Why it’s important for people to recognize the structure or paradigm they’re working within and learn how to successfully operate within or not be in them
Why she believes there are no wrong turns, especially early in your career
You can listen to her below or wherever else you get to your podcasts.
On growing up lonely, spending most of her time with adults and reading books
“I actually think there is a silver lining to most things in life. Being a lonely, only child, spending most of her time in a room full of adults and in books, meant that I became savvy and navigating adults. I think because of that; I have a pretty high EQ.
That served me very well in my life, both personally and professionally. I was a voracious reader; it would just bring me into many different worlds.
.. I think that a lot of people take those things for granted. Reading was also a way for me to speak a certain way and to learn the vernacular of a progressive upper-middle-class working professional. Or an intellectual that would later get into Stanford. I think for a lot of Asian Americans, whether you are relaxing or not, we are always observing because we are straddling two worlds.”
On leaning into her authentic self at work due to merit
“So you know I like the fact that I grew up with a lot of adults around me, right? Due to that, I feel like, in general, I am very good at reading a room and figuring out how to conduct myself, almost as a chameleon. For example, when I was an Investment Banker at Citi Group, I learned how to play poker. All of the star associates would get invited to the Managing Director’s house for poker nights on Fridays, so I taught myself how to play and was able to hold my own.
I feel like in my career, there have been a series of events where I look around and try to figure out how to conduct myself while still being authentic to who I am and what I represent. It’s interesting now because at Opentable, in most meetings, I am probably the most senior person at the company. At work, I feel like I can handle myself better because I have a lot of things I can fall back on. I know my business inside and out. I have KPIs, I have the degrees that I have earned, and a slew of other things that give me credibility.
But in the personal realm, I do not have any of that. No one knows I am the CEO of Opentable. No one cares. In those moments, I am just an Asian woman who works. At work, the results should hopefully speak for themselves; there’s merit, right? In [that environment] it doesn’t matter that I do not look like anyone else because hopefully, I am doing a good job.”
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Until next time,
Jay and Angie