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Doner LA Exceptional Women Out West Zihla Salinas

'Always remember your value': Exceptional Women Out West podcast featuring Zihla Salinas, EVP & managing director, Doner LA

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By Doug Zanger, Americas Editor

July 28, 2016 | 3 min read

Independence and passion are two traits that can either get you far in life or make you self-destruct. For Zihla Salinas, managing director, Doner LA, success was the only option.

Zihla Salinas, EVP & managing director, Doner LA

Zihla Salinas, EVP & managing director, Doner LA

The self-described half-Cuban, half-Dutch, six-foot-tall “aggressively blonde” EVP and managing director has helped the agency grow over the last year-and-a-half that she has been with the company, and she has done so through her love of creativity, her conviction and that independent streak which she attributes to her mother.

“That even started from the age when I was seven years old and we would go to the dentist office. She would ask me to go check myself in at the dentist. She wouldn't do it for me. She wanted me to go up to the receptionist, sign my name in, and tell them that I was here for my appointment,” said Salinas.

Even with her strong will, Salinas knows how to be warm, humble, work within a team while driving success, and know how to lose gracefully in a tough business in an even tougher town. She's also committed to making the right sacrifices to move ahead — and one story on her path involved Keith Richards (a bit of a classic).

Most importantly, though, she wants women in the business to know their value and speak confidently, looking to women who have already made it for mentorship, so more women can rise to executive positions.

Exceptional Women Out West is a podcast that highlights and celebrates both the great achievement, lives and POV of amazing women in the Western US and Canada. Listen to previous episodes here. If you would like to nominate women out west to be part of the show, please contact North America Editor at Large, Doug Zanger.

Doner LA Exceptional Women Out West Zihla Salinas

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