Empowered — RV’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) for women — strives to foster a community that inspires, supports, empowers, and educates women and allies of all gender identities. And one of our favorite ways to inspire and empower our community is simply by sharing the wisdom of the amazing RV women we get to work with every day.
On this month’s Empowered leaders feature, we hear from Benét Wilson, Senior Editor at the Points Guy. We discuss what she’s learned while at RV, her passion for travel and where she’s jet setting to next. Check out her conversation with Editor Giselle Cancio below.
Giselle Cancio: Walk us through a day in the life as a Senior Editor at The Points Guy.
Benét Wilson: There really is no day-to-day life. With travel roaring back, the only thing I can count on is our 9:30 a.m. daily editorial meeting! I will say it’s never boring.
GC: What launched your love for travel?
Benét Wilson: I am the proud daughter of a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. I took my first plane ride in 1971 on a Pan Am Boeing 747 jumbo jet from New York City to London, and it was magical. We lived in Europe for five years, so my family took full advantage of that and traveled around the continent – and I was hooked. Eight years after graduating from college, I applied for a job as an aviation journalist. I still marvel that all these places pay me to indulge in my childhood hobby!
GC: For someone wanting to transition into (or break into) the travel industry, what’s a piece of advice you’d give them?
Benét Wilson: Go off the beaten path. Travel writing is such a crowded field, it can be so hard to breakthrough. For example, I freelanced for TPG before I was hired. My two pitches – “Meet the Man Who Chooses the Wines on United Polaris Flights” and “Food Truck Craze Lands at the Airport” – were accepted because they were travel-related but different.
GC: What’s something you’ve learned throughout your tenure at TPG/Red Ventures?
Benét Wilson: I’ve learned that you can never take for granted the joy of working with a really great team of people.
GC: What’s one of your favorite travel destinations and why? Where are you headed next?
Benét Wilson: This is such a hard question for someone who has traveled to all 50 states and more than 60 countries. It’s like asking me to choose which child I love the best!! Instead, I’ll say the next place I want to visit is Mauritius. My next trip is to Cabo San Lucas in May for a work/fun trip with my 16-year-old
GC: What does being empowered in the workplace mean to you?
Benét Wilson: It is such a blessing. I’ve had the chance to experience that several times since I came to Red Ventures in May 2019, and trust me – I do not take it for granted.
Now some fun…
- If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I need to live somewhere that’s warm year-round. I am so done with cold and snow. - If you could share a meal with anyone (living or departed), who would it be and why?
It would be my paternal grandfather, Bennie Wilson. He was the person I think loved me more than anyone else (sorry mom and dad). - If you could switch lives with an animal, which animal would you choose and why?
I would be my sister’s Yorkie, Simba. That dog just lives his very best life every day because my sister makes sure of it.
THIS OR THAT
- Physical books or digital books?
- It kills me, but digital. But nothing beats the smell of a new book.
- Salty or sweet?
- Sweet.
- Coffee or tea?
- Coffee (but I’m a tea lover too).
- Television or music?
- Television.
- What’s worse: Laundry or dishes?
- Laundry.
Loved this Empowered feature? Check out our previous one with Shelley Hoffmann, Senior Director of Content Marketing and Video at Healthgrades.
