A Recipe for Success feat. Krissy White ’23

Owl Have You Know

Krissy White '23 caught the hospitality bug after graduating from Northeastern University in 2006. She put her undergraduate degree in public & organizational communications to work immediately by joining the front office team of the St. Regis Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Krissy spent the next eight years living and breathing the luxury hospitality life, working at Forbes 5 Star and AAA 5 Diamond distinguished properties. Later, she was promoted to progressively more challenging front-office leadership roles in Charlotte, NC, and Half Moon Bay, CA and Dubai.

Since returning to Houston in 2014, Krissy has worked in operational and human resources at LegalEASE, where she has advanced to executive vice president of operations. In 2019, after realizing the market was missing a true French bakery, she and her husband, pastry chef Otto Sanchez, opened Magnol French Baking in Spring Branch, Houston.

Krissy joins host Maya Pomroy ’22 to talk about her singular career journey, from cutting her teeth in Dubai's hospitality industry to returning to Houston and pursuing her passion for pastries with her husband.

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Episode Guide:

00:39 Life After the Executive MBA

02:06 Early Career in Hospitality

04:10 Rising Through the Ranks

08:54 A New Adventure in California

11:15 International Experience in Dubai

14:48 Returning Home and New Beginnings

17:43 Starting Magnol French Baking

27:10 Pursuing an MBA at Rice University

33:16 Reflections and Advice for Future Rice students

41:27 Future Plans

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

On making the world a better place on a daily basis through Krissy’s work

16:51: I really wanted to like the common thread with the hospitality and Magnol, and all of the insurance company I've been working for since then. And to this day, I'm still working for now has been, I just, in my own way, want to help make the world a better place. And I would love to be able to feel like I'm doing that on a daily basis. Now, I'm in senior leadership, and so there's a little bit less connection with the actual member that we're helping, but it's still there. I'm able to make bigger differences on a larger scale and work with a pretty large team here—about a little over 100 team members. And then, of course, when I'm over at Magnol, being able to speak with the guests is, I mean, the best part.

Krissy reflects on the most fulfilling part of the Rice Program

[34:53]: Maya: In terms of the Rice program, what have been the most fulfilling parts of it for you?

[35:01] Krissy: I mean, definitely the friendships that were formed with those that you really pour into and that others are willing and ready to pour into as well, from areas of the world that I never would have met otherwise. But also for me, the end of the program international trip, our class went to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. That was a profound experience for me.

On the pitfalls of perfectionism and taking risks

[32:19] Krissy: I think for those who have a high performing or high potential or whatever term you want to use for people that like to try hard and accomplish things.

[32:28]: Maya: Perfectionist?

[32:31]: Krissy: Yeah. That there's this kind of—it's not a dark side, but it's not the most maybe healthier, positive thing that you start to think, well, maybe I just won't start something that I'm not totally guaranteed will be successful to the level of success that I hold dear. And so I just won't even start because I don't want to take that chance. And that's not the life worth living.

Show Links:

• Transcript

Guest Profile:

• Krissy White | LinkedIn
• Magnol French Baking
• LegalEASE

Listen to OWL entrepreneurs Hassan Panahi, Taylor Ann Adams, and Delaney Berman in this episode titled "Giving Entrepreneurs the Tools to Change the World" here: https://business.rice.edu/owlhaveyouknow-season-3-episode-19