Executive Mentors Wanted. Only Millennials Need Apply.
Inga Beale, 54, the chief executive of the insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London, has said
that her junior mentor, who is 19, has a “totally different perspective” and leaves her “inspired.” Melanie Whelan, 40, the chief executive of SoulCycle, holds monthly meetings with her younger mentor, whom she has credited with helping her get “hip with what the kids are doing these days.”
“It’s like reconnecting with your lost youth,” said David Watson, 38, a managing director at Deutsche Bank who has
been mentored by Fernando Hernandez, 29, an engineer in the Wall Street bank’s global markets technology division.
An entire cottage industry now peddles advice to youth-obsessed executives, with books like “Understanding Millennials”
and events like “Millennial Week,” a two-day festival meant to “promote and present ideas reflecting the impact of Generation Y on culture and society.” Millennial consultants now advise companies like Oracle, Estée Lauder and HBO, charging as much as $20,000 per hour to give executives advice on marketing their products to young people.
is talking to 25-year-olds.”
Tiffany Zhong, 20, began mentoring Kara Nortman, 41, a partner at the venture capital firm Upfront Ventures,
after Ms. Nortman asked her for advice on dealing with a new generation of tech entrepreneurs.
When Mr. Watson, the Deutsche Bank managing director, was first paired with Mr. Hernandez through his firm’s millennial mentoring program, he was skeptical
that useful advice could come from someone nearly a decade his junior.