You should never minimize yourself or shrink to make other people comfortable. At the same time, I think it’s important to meet people where they are — finding common ground, showing humanity, and treating people with respect goes a long way.
How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, life, and family in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women,” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, life, and family as a powerful woman.
As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Laura Relovsky.
Laura Relovsky is Executive Producer at Bandit Editorial New York, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the post-production industry. Throughout her career, she has worked with leading brands including Nike, Pepsi, Samsung, the NBA, ESPN, Budweiser, Dove, Meta, Verizon, New York Lottery, and Wild Turkey, and previously held executive producer roles at Mad River Post and Progressive Image Group. Prior to joining Bandit, she also served as a producer at Fluid NY and as a business manager and producer at Vito DeSario Editing, building a reputation for delivering exceptional creative work across advertising, branded content, and broadcast projects.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I had a pretty typical childhood growing up in New Jersey. I was very active in high school, then went on to Rutgers University, where I graduated with a dual degree in Communications and English Literature. Like many people after college, though, I was still figuring out my path.
While I was in school, my parents opened a video store, long before Blockbuster and the big chains existed, which was pretty groundbreaking at the time. One store quickly grew into five, and my brothers and I all worked there, with me managing one of the locations during the summers. It was an incredible experience, and watching my parents build something so successful from nothing was really inspiring.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
After college, I landed an entry-level role as a print traffic assistant at an ad agency in Midtown through a friend. It wasn’t necessarily a career path I had planned, but it gave me my first real exposure to the advertising world, and I quickly realized I loved the pace, creativity, and energy of the industry.
About a year later, another friend introduced me to legendary editor Hank Corwin at Lost Planet. She had started working with him as his business manager, and through that connection, Hank introduced me to another editor, Vito DeSario, who was launching his own company and looking for a business manager. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about post-production or editorial, but I decided to take a chance and interview anyway. Somehow, at just 23 years old, I got the job.
From there, I completely immersed myself in the world of post. I learned everything on the fly, the creative process, client relationships, production workflows, and what it really takes to build great work. It was a crash course in the industry and an incredible education that ultimately shaped the career path I’m still on today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Not so much something that “happened to me,” but one of the most interesting parts of my career was starting an editorial company when I was 25 years old, out of my apartment in Weehawken, with virtually no capital, no office space, and no experience starting a company. I partnered with an editor who had a strong following, and somehow we convinced BBDO to trust us with their coveted Diet Pepsi Super Bowl campaign, despite the fact that we were basically three people with no office, no equipment, and no track record.
I still give them a lot of credit for taking a chance on us. After working almost 60 straight days on the campaign, operating out of another facility, we finally had enough billings and capital to officially launch the company, buy equipment, and begin building out a loft space in SoHo. Looking back, all I can really call it is pure gumption.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I’d say the three traits most instrumental to my success have been gumption (see above!), a strong work ethic, and the ability to deal with all different types of people and personalities. My work ethic definitely came from my parents and grandmother, and it carried me through plenty of late nights and high-pressure moments throughout my career. And honestly, being able to connect with and navigate all kinds of personalities is probably my superpower — especially in a relationship-driven industry where building trust and working well with people is invaluable.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?
It’s a tough question, and honestly, I wish I knew the answer. If we all truly understood it, maybe it would be demystified, and we could finally move on and exist more harmoniously. I do think strength, in any person, in any form, can sometimes feel intimidating, and that’s universal. Historically, though, strength may have been seen as less expected from women, which can make reactions to it feel more obvious or awkward. That said, I do believe this has shifted significantly over time, and it’s far less pronounced today than it once was.
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
It has to be a multipronged effort — everyone has a role in changing the perception, including parents, teachers, universities, corporations, the media, local communities, and government. The way women in leadership are talked about, represented, and supported shapes how future generations view strength and authority. It also becomes much harder to create meaningful change when the messaging from the top reinforces outdated ideas instead of helping move the conversation forward.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I still believe women leaders face challenges that their male counterparts often do not. Pay disparity continues to exist, and I think women still feel they have to prove themselves more consistently in order to be taken seriously. There’s also the added pressure many women place on themselves to be almost superhuman, successfully balancing careers, motherhood, family life, and leadership roles all at once. I also think ageism tends to impact women differently and often more harshly than men. In my industry, I’ve seen older women pushed toward retirement or overlooked earlier than men in similar positions. Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.
Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?
The ad industry — especially when I first entered it and when I had my daughter — was very unforgiving. Long nights, weekends, and 50–60-hour workweeks were the norm, and as a divorced single mother, balancing career and family was incredibly difficult at times. I was often late picking her up, and there were moments where her extracurricular activities suffered because of my schedule. There was definitely a lot of guilt that came with that.
But looking back, we truly made it work. We became incredibly close, and the time we did spend together was meaningful, quality time. Having a strong support system was invaluable — my parents, especially my father, helped enormously during her younger years. As my career progressed, I became better at setting boundaries and finding a better balance between work and personal life, but it definitely did not come without struggle.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Commitment
Commitment in whatever you do — but commitment doesn’t mean compromising yourself or your life.
2. Having a good support system
This includes family, loved ones, co-workers, friends/peers, and mentors.
3. Believe in yourself, know yourself
Understanding who you are and trusting your instincts is foundational to navigating any leadership path.
4. Prioritizing self-care and stress management
I am still working on this one, but it is essential for long-term sustainability.
5. Being skilled at working with others / Empathetic leadership
The ability to connect with diverse personalities and lead with empathy is what truly makes a leader effective.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Michelle Obama and her husband 😉
Thank you so much for these insights! We wish you continued success!
Read full article HERE.