86. Is It Time for a New Challenge?

What Rules!?: A career podcast for women of color

We chat with Brianna Hinojosa-Smith, Chief Legal Officer of Digital & Technology for Yum! Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company.

Brianna was doing just fine as a senior patent attorney at Microsoft before Yum! Brands came calling (during the pandemic!) with an opportunity to switch to the restaurant industry, a new field for her.

“Here I was looking to do something completely different, in an industry that I knew nothing about,” says Brianna. “I have four to five people that I really respect their input and they all gave me great advice.”

Brianna shares how she decided to accept the new challenge and who she turns to for career advice.

Is it time for you to take on a new challenge? We discuss the signs it’s likely time to change course, who you should talk to about it, and some revealing questions to ask yourself when making big decisions.

We also cover how to decide if the timing is right to take on a new challenge and working in your zone of excellence vs zone of genius.

Theme: Change Course Without Hesitation

Episode Highlights:

• Changing course with your career
• Being curious
• Having a growth mindset
• Are you doing your job with your eyes closed?
• Questions to ask yourself when considering a big career move
• Working in your zone of excellence vs zone of genius
• Is it the right time for a new challenge?
• Who to talk to when making big decisions
• Saying no to an opportunity when the timing isn’t right
• How leaders can advance multicultural talent and build diverse teams

Mentioned in this episode:

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks

Brianna’s Bio:

Briana Hinojosa-Smith joined Yum! Brands in August of 2020 and currently serves as their Chief Legal Officer, Digital & Technology. In her role at Yum!, Brianna oversees a broad range of commercial and technology-related legal matters, including commercial contracts and licenses, data rights and intellectual property protection, as well as funding strategies to commercialize data and technology.

Additionally, Brianna manages Yum!’s global patent portfolio, including coordinating the evaluation and filing of patents across the four brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Habit Burger Grill) and Yum!.

Prior to joining Yum!, Brianna was a Senior Patent Attorney at Microsoft where she supported the Devices business (including Xbox/Gaming and Surface) in the areas of patent prosecution, conflict matters and licensing, as well as general legal support for the Devices client.

In her 20-plus years as a patent attorney, Brianna’s experience includes patent prosecution, acquisition due diligence, patent licensing and litigation, patent monetization, validity and infringement analysis, and trademark and copyright protection.

Prior to joining Yum!, Brianna worked in both the private and public sector including Gardere & Wynne, BlackBerry, Nortel and Uniden.

Brianna earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Trinity University in San Antonio, a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Arlington. When Brianna is not working, she enjoys serving her community as an elected official, spending time with her family, running and writing.

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