An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I read it at a time when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my career and his story resonated with me. It helped me understand that we all have control over our perspectives and how we choose to see things. We also can turn our own experiences into meaningful impact in the world.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Audrey Liu.
Audrey Liu, EVP and Head of Design at Lyft. Liu is the leader behind the development of the Women+ Connect, a new feature where women and nonbinary drivers and riders have the option to prioritize matching with one another. Lyft launched this to five early access cities in September and just recently launched it in more than 50 additional cities.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Growing up, I was always pretty creative, but I didn’t know that there was a career out there called design. It wasn’t until I was working my first full-time job at an art magazine that I was introduced to graphic design, decided to take a night class in packaging design, and was told by that teacher that it seemed I had more interest in designing the products inside of the packages than the packages themselves. So, I switched to a product design night class and in our first class, the teachers told us about the origin of the OXO peeler (the one with the black rubber grip) and how it was designed for people with arthritis, who experienced pain when using a traditional metal peeler. I knew then that I wanted to design products that changed lives for the better. Since graduating from design school, I’ve worked at a consultancy called SYPartners, Thumbtack, and have been at Lyft for the last 5+ years.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
After leaving consulting, I joined a tech company to learn the ropes of how to launch and build products in-house. I was expecting a slow ramp-up, but about six weeks into my new role, I suddenly found myself having to lead the entire team and being responsible for tripling the size of it by the end of the year. It was unexpected (←understatement). I’d never managed more than 2 team members and I didn’t know how to build an effective recruiting process, so I cold-called a couple of leaders and asked them if I could buy them coffee in exchange for all of their advice and tips. It was a steep learning curve, but it forced a lot of growth in a short amount of time.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many(!), but I’ll just talk about two. I joined SYPartners right out of design school and in my nearly eight years there, I was fortunate to get to work alongside some really tremendous minds. Two of those were the co-founders, Keith Yamashita and Susan Schuman. From Keith, I learned the power of creativity and thinking beyond the bounds of reason. From Susan, I learned the power of pragmatism. From both, I learned that the potential for doing great things exponentially increases when you are having fun while you’re doing it.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I read it at a time when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my career and his story resonated with me. It helped me understand that we all have control over our perspectives and how we choose to see things. We also can turn our own experiences into meaningful impact in the world.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
“Begin with the end in mind.” It’s a quote from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and it continues to serve as a great reminder to me to start with clear goals — for the day, for a project, for your life — and then work one step at a time to achieve them. This is even more critical when you’re working on a team. If you’re not aligned on where you’re all going, then you’ll inevitably end up in different places and you’ll spend the entire journey trying to pull one another towards different goals. By starting with the end in mind and aligning on that first, everyone can work with more autonomy and feel empowered to do their part to get the team where it needs to go.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I am the daughter of two Chinese immigrants who started a variety of different businesses while my brothers and I were growing up to support our family. As a result, I’m a big believer in products that make it easier for people to have access to economic opportunities. I joined Thumbtack because of its mission to empower entrepreneurs to make a living doing what they love to do, and I joined Lyft, because I was drawn to the opportunities the platform created for all of the drivers who rely on Lyft for flexible work opportunities that can help pay the bills, or bridge the gap between two jobs, or help put their kids through school. Lyft is also a mission-driven company and has supported initiatives that I am extremely proud of like our Lyft Up program — designed to make sure everyone has access to affordable, reliable transportation to get where they need to go.
Can you share with our readers what you are doing to help empower women to become leaders?
Broadly, I mentor up-and-coming women leaders and share my own experiences with them. I hope to help demystify what it means to be a leader and how to balance all of the things that come along with work and life. I also take every opportunity I can to connect them to any potential opportunities.
This might be intuitive to you but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become leaders?
As a designer and as a leader, I always think about how the future is determined how the world is shaped around us, and how important it is that that world and that future represent the perspectives of everyone, not just a select few. Diversity of thought improves the quality of debate and the outcomes for everyone, so if there aren’t women represented at the highest levels of leadership (whether on a team, or at a company, or in the government) to represent those additional points of view, then our future will be designed for the needs of someone else. Representation matters. I have been fortunate to work for some amazing women and it helped shape my expectations of leadership and helped me shape my path and goals. As you grow as a leader, and in other roles in your life, you need to be able to rely on others who have come before you to lean on for advice and to get you through. For all of those reasons and many more, more women need to become leaders, and society and organizations need to support more women in leadership.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’m not great at posting on various social networks, but when I do, you can find me on X as @helloaudreyliu or on LinkedinYou can also always download the Lyft App to see what the entire team is up to there!
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
Lyft’s Audrey Liu: Why We Need More Women Leaders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That Happen was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.