In the fourth episode of the CNBC Changemakers and Power Players podcast, CNBC Senior Media and Tech Reporter Julia Boorstin spoke with Mayor of Phoenix Kate Gallego about how she bet on herself during a time of personal struggles, led one of America’s fastest-growing cities through a massive tech boom, and why she believes being an introvert has become her greatest superpower.
Listen to the full episode here. New episodes drop every Tuesday.
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GALLEGO ON DRIVERLESS CARS
JULIA BOORSTIN: You have really been a leader with driverless cars. You decided you really wanted to lean in here. Why and how’s it going?
MAYOR KATE GALLEGO: For us, we have had a pretty chronic shortage of drivers. So we’ve had a hard time getting long haul truckers in this market. We had a hard time getting solid waste equipment operators to pick up the trash like there was a real workforce need in this area. So from a workforce perspective, having some autonomous vehicles made sense. I do also really like the innovation. We are the largest autonomous vehicle zone in the world. Phoenix Sky Harbor, which the city of Phoenix operates, is the first international it’s the first airport period to have Robo taxi service autonomous vehicles. So you can go from downtown Phoenix to the airport in an autonomous vehicle. That was a real risk. We did a lot of testing, and we made sure we did it safely. But to be the mayor to go first, you don’t know, right, one-way streets, people who are running late, a lot of people who are not familiar with the driving environment. We were definitely nervous. It’s always easiest to be like the mayor who goes third because someone else works out all the kinks. But if you want to build the city of the future, you got to go first. In our case, investing in technology has really paid off.
GALLEGO ON RUNNING FOR MAYOR
BOORSTIN: What led you to decide to run for mayor. It’s a very personal story. You didn’t have grand political ambitions. What brought you here?
GALLEGO: Well, I originally got an MBA and I was hoping to be a clean tech entrepreneur. I got involved with the city volunteering with Environmental Quality Commission. I was definitely not on the track for public service, but I really fell in love with the city and I also felt like Phoenix maybe could aim a little bit higher. So I started this crazy career path in my 20s, and then ended up wanting to run for mayor, but it came at a really difficult time in my personal life. I went through a divorce. My mom was diagnosed with cancer and I was pregnant all at the same time, so originally thought that this maybe was not possible for me, just too much going on personally. I had one particularly pivotal moment where a group of my girlfriends took me out and sat me down and said, we will have your back if you do this. We will make sure that you have the support to be a great mom and a candidate. You are going to hate yourself forever if you don’t do this. I also listen to country music and there was this moment where there’s a song, if you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. And I like was listening to that song, being like, I am sitting it out right now. So I was worried for the rest of my life I would regret not taking the chance and betting on myself. And so I decided to do it.
GALLEGO ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
BOORSTIN: I want to talk about the way you’ve made Phoenix such a tech hub, a tech leader. Do you feel like your vision for the city and what you’ve been trying to accomplish in your multiple terms as mayor has been shaped by your perspective as both a mom, a working mom, and also a daughter, trying to help out?
GALLEGO: It absolutely has been. I think I’ve really tried to make sure we have jobs and even opportunities where you don’t have to be working 10 shifts to succeed. We’re also a city that still very much remembers the 2008 real estate downturn. So, I bought my first home in the single month peak of the 2008 market and never built equity. It’s sort of funny to be on CNBC because that was not a great investment, but that like going through having so many friends losing their homes, having just huge stress over finances, really motivated me to try to build a more diverse economy that wasn’t so linked to one sector, real estate. So I’ve made big bets in areas like semiconductors. Right now, TSMC is investing $165 billion in the city of Phoenix. You’ve seen so many big AI deals announced, but often one of the things they have in common is those chips will be made in Phoenix. So we hope we’re future proofing.
GALLEGO ON BEING AN INTROVERT
BOORSTIN: Some female CEOs who are introverts have told me that they think it can be a superpower because it makes them better listeners because they’re not anxious to jump in and get a word in edgewise. How do you think being an introvert has been an advantage to you other than getting you to do more prep work ahead of time? Do you think it makes you a better listener?
GALLEGO: I do think it makes me a better listener. I also think I’m willing to be part of a team, and I don’t always have to be at the forefront. A deal like TSMC requires every level of government to get it done and if I don’t always have to be at the forefront, maybe as part of as a team we can be more successful. I often find when I’m out in front being like, trying to get credit for everything, I’m not at my best. But when I can do it with my colleagues, I am much more successful. You know, we often talk about, if you want to go far, you go with a group and that has definitely been a benefit of being an introvert.
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