Kathleen Matthews spent 25 years as a TV news anchor in Washington, D.C., before going corporate, becoming EVP & Chief Global Communications & Public Affairs Officer at Marriott (MAR).
“Seize the moment” is her career mantra. And now, it appears, Matthews is doing that again: by running for Congress.
Jumping on an opportunity that popped up this week—following Sen. Barbara Milkulski (D.-Md.)’s retirement plan and the just-announced intention of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to vie for her open seat—Matthews will run to replace Van Hollen in the House, according to Politico.
This latest career switch makes perfect sense for Matthews, considering her rules for long-term success. She shared these three pieces of advice with Fortune last year:
1. “Push past fear and embrace change in order to keep growing. Too often women play it safe, rather than stretch past their comfort zone.”
2. “You don’t want to be a plant with a root system that has outgrown your pot. To flower and bloom, you need to keep re-potting.”
3. “Always be on the lookout for people to replace you when you do move into that bigger pot. This enables you to create a legacy, provide opportunity and pay it forward.”
Matthews was flying from Berlin to Johannesburg today and couldn’t be reached for comment. But she told Fortune last year that the move to Marriott in 2006 was “the scariest thing I ever did.” Running for office—a move that her husband, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, considered in 2010 when he flirted with a Senate bid—could be even more daunting.
All the better, by her standards. Beyond seizing the moment, Matthews contends, you stay healthy by adapting and fearlessly changing throughout your career.
Read “Why employees love staying at Marriott” by Fortune‘s Leigh Gallagher.
