Liese Kambour

I’m not sure why I didn’t send anything in for the book. Maybe I got the 25th reunion letter and tossed it in the trash unopened. After all, thanks to the age-defying properties of red wine, I’m not old enough to have a 25th reunion. But then I got the book and it was addictive. So in case anyone is still reading, here’s my last minute offering.

I am Sr. VP of Tax for Time Warner. I’ve got a smart/strong/sexy husband (Larry) and 2 awesome kids (Sofia, 7, and David, 5).

How did I get here? After law school, I worked at Paul Weiss (one of those big NYC law firms), where I eventually made tax partner. Along the way I did a bunch of deals for various media/entertainment clients, including Time Warner and Viacom. That’s how I found Larry – he was in the Viacom legal department, and I made sure to give good client service. We got married, had Sofia, and then Time Warner called to say they needed a new head of tax and would I be interested. It was Spring 2001, they were giving away stock options, and lots of us thought the internet bubble hadn’t popped, just deflated a little. Oh well. Many worthless stock options later, I’m still here. I didn’t strike it rich, but I did discover it’s good to be the client.

What else? I still ski, I’m learning to snowboard, and I’m training at mixed martial arts. I hoped to be testing for black belt this summer, but I busted my ACL and needed surgery and lots of rehab. I do lots of mom stuff too – bake birthday cakes, sew Halloween costumes, read books (I’m so glad they’re old enough to enjoy books with a plot now).

What don’t I do? Get enough sleep. See enough grown-up movies. Or read enough grown-up books. Or go dancing enough. I don’t speak Italian. I don’t know how to temper chocolate. But there’s time – I’m not that old yet.