Alternative Careers for Former Wall Street Women

by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)

Is there life after Wall Street? With unemployment rates at an all time high and the financial industry in turmoil as a result of the economic downturn, some Wall Streeters are considering major career changes. Opportunities exist as long as the former investment types are willing to think outside of the traditional career trajectory to new livelihoods – counter terrorism, for example.

Recently the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been recruiting ex Wall Streeters. The agency seeks economic analysts to assess illicit financial activities, including networks used by terrorist and criminal groups, financing and procurement of weapons of mass destruction, money laundering and corruption among foreign governments and companies. Backgrounds in international finance, banking, or business are part of the requirements. But displaced and discouraged workers can put their backgrounds to work in less dramatic ways too. 

Kevin Jones, the co-founder of the Social Capital Markets Conference and the founder of Good Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in social enterprises, says he sees a lot of Wall Street women looking for more meaning from their work. The social capital market invests in social enterprises and provides investment experts to put their skills to work to make a difference in their work.  “It is the intersection of money and meaning around investing,” says Jones.  “I see Gen X women who realize the transaction they were in before – some part of the trade off just doesn’t make sense anymore.” He says these women, and some men too, are looking at what they were getting (wealth) versus what they had to give up (personal time and flexibility) and no longer see the value. The good news for these people, says Jones, is there is more money flowing into the social capital market, more jobs and more new funds. And, the skills honed on Wall Street are transferable.

Karen Fenaroli, a vice president at executive recruiting firm, EFL Associates who specializes in high level finance and operational searches in a variety of industries sees many opportunities for former Wall Street executives to transfer their skills. “Wall Street is the Ivy League,” says Fenaroli. “It’s like P&G or being at Wharton or Stanford. It’s a rarified environment that has a unique magic.” As a result she says, “A really good Wall Street executive comes out on fire because she can use her rolodex.”

Fernaroli counsels those in transition to “find the leverage in your rolodex with the highest points of contact that you had on Wall Street. Ask yourself who is going to take a risk on me?” She says if someone has been making money for a firm and partnered with them, then they have built trust and can fit into that organization. Whether the Wall Streeter has worked with consumer packaged goods, food or retail companies, they can make a transition into that business. “Literally uproot yourself and go into that industry,” she says. Fenaroli also suggests looking beyond New York. “There is life after Wall Street, “she says. “People can take a portable rolodex and do work in their pajamas in Chicago.”

While Fenaroli is helping ex-Wall Streeters make career transitions, Judy Peltz, a former staffing executive herself, had to broker her own career transition. Peltz owned a staffing company for investment bankers but her business was affected by the financial crisis and she closed her shop. This year she made a complete career change and opened Griswold Special Care, a non-medical home care franchise.

Says Peltz of her experience, “A woman of a certain age, generally, who had been productive, I would always advise to go into sales selling a viable product working for a good company.” Fenaroli agrees that a sales career makes sense for Wall Street veterans. “If you’ve been on the Street and you’ve been used to being in that sales capacity, you just continue it and become a vice president of sales.

She added, “You can do anything but you might need to take a step back and put your ego back in your briefcase.”