The Lost Leaders

The Lost Leaders presents the personal stories of women who achieved success in corporate leadership, but have chosen to abandon their careers, providing a fascinating glimpse of the culture that exists in the contemporary corporation.

"In The Lost Leaders, Rebekah Heppner gives voice to the exodus of executive women from corporate America. This compelling collection of oral histories provides a behind the scenes account of why these talented women left and why they are not going back. Their stories bring to life the cultural barriers that undermine women's efforts to get to the top." - Marianne Cooper, Lead Researcher, Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In; Professor of Sociology, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University, USA

"Training her anthropologist's eye on corporate culture, Rebekah Heppner provides an inside look at the slow process of workplace change to accommodate the influx of women, the waste of resources involved, and the great survival skills of her subjects. The Lost Leaders is a captivating, eye-opening read." - Elizabeth Gregory, Professor, University of Houston, USA; Author, Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood

"The Lost Leaders is a fascinating and highly readable tale about the reasons that successful women have chosen to leave high level corporate positions. Based on a series of in-depth interviews and the author's own experience, narratives and analyses illuminate the challenges that successful women of varied ages and backgrounds have faced in the corporate workplace, and why they chose to step down from the unusual heights to which they had climbed. Diversity initiatives and 'family friendly' policies paint a thin veneer on an obstinate culture of masculine power that places ambitious women in a nexus of awful choices and inherently conflicting demands. This book offers a thought provoking counterpoint to popular manuals about how women can achieve success and satisfaction in corporate positions; a nuanced critique of the culture of Corporate America." - Susan Greenbaum, Professor Emerita, University of South Florida, USA

"Much has been written about women leaders; rarely does one hear them speak. . . Heppner suggests that firms not recognizing the values and needs of women lose valuable employees; this hurts the organization, and may be responsible for some loss of international competitiveness." - CHOICE, Highly Recommended

Rebekah Heppner is one of the lost leaders. Following a successful career in business, she earned a PhD in cultural anthropology, making her uniquely qualified to contextualize the women's stories with thoughtful, informed commentary.