Voices of Experience: Heather Gates-Massoudi, Director, Venture Capital Services, Deloitte
by Caroline Shannon (Akron, Ohio)
For Heather Gates-Massoudi, balancing work and personal life has always been a juggling act. When she was in her twenties, it was all work and no play, with her spending much of her time cranking out audits or investment banking deals long into the night. Then, as her early thirties rolled around, Gates-Massoudi found herself squeezing in more personal time, including annual vacations to exotic locales. The same went for her late thirties, when she was able to take time off for her maternity leaves and to spend time with her family.
“Which leads me to today, where balancing means enjoying the time I spend at work and enjoying the time I spend with family and friends,” says Gates-Massoudi, 40, who is the director of venture capital services at Deloitte. “I feel incredibly balanced today taking time to work out, learn with my children, laugh with my spouse, spend with friends and being thoughtful, but efficient at work.”
And Gates-Massoudi’s thoughtful efficiency is exactly what got her where she is today. Graduating with her bachelor’s of arts in accounting from Colorado University, she moved right on to public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand which is now PricewaterhouseCoopers. Despite a brief hiatus, she spent nearly a decade there before continuing on to investment banking at Hambrecht & Quist, where she worked on initial public offerings in corporate finance. Once her work was done there, she joined venture-backed company, Participate Systems, as the vice president of business development and general manager of channel partnerships, eventually, leading to her position at Deloitte.
She now manages relationships with venture capital firms and brings in new venture fund clients with their portfolio of companies.
But getting to where she is today wasn’t always easy. One of the most important lessons she learned, in fact, was that some of the greatest pressure she was feeling was often coming from herself and the personal expectations she had set.
“For example, I would find myself completely burnt out and exhausted after a particularly difficult transaction or time of the year, and didn’t realize until years later that it was me taking on too much work and responsibilities that had created my own burn out,” says Gates-Massoudi. “I hadn’t learned the art of setting boundaries. I see that a lot in young, motivated people today.”
Gates-Massoudi said another tough lesson in the business world is that “women in leadership and general partner roles are still a rarity.”
“While the struggles at the lower levels are not what they used to be, women at the executive levels continue to experience a lonely existence,” she says. “Many of the women I know in the business have learned to tailor their behavior to be more similar to men’s.”
But Gates-Massoudi is quick to point out the exceptions.
“Having said that, it’s an incredible challenge and very rewarding when you have successes,” she says. “The win is sweeter when you have to work harder to get it. It’s also fun to have such a small group of women to work with.”
She cites the success of Ann Winblad or Heidi Roizen as inspiration for business women.
Gates-Massoudi said she also has a few tips of her own, including:
1.Set challenging, but realistic goals for yourself: I think we are the hardest on ourselves setting expectations above what is really necessary to do a good job and be a long-term value to your organization.
2. Take some time for yourself once in awhile to rejuvenate and put things in perspective. The several times a week I take time out to work out and get my balance back pays back huge dividends in my ability to focus at work and enjoy my life.
3.Take time to recognize and support others in the organization. Whether it’s men or women, the time that you spend really getting to know others in your organization pays huge dividends to you and creates a wonderful, enjoyable place to work.
4. Make sure you let leaders and those around you in the organization know what accomplishments you have made and what your expectations are around your future. Many women are not good about promoting themselves and are afraid to ask for what they deserve. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.
And, just like any successful woman, Gates-Massoudi suggests a tough-girl approach that will keep you running with the big boys:
“Join the business and hang in there,” she said. “Once we have critical mass, then the environment can only begin to change.”
