Elizabeth Schneider, Managing Director, Citisoft

By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

“Education is continuous. The day I stop learning is the day I’ll die,” said Elizabeth Schneider, the managing director at Citisoft.

She credits her mother for instilling this value in her. “My mother was the oldest of nine children in a very poor family. My mother, who barely spoke English at the time, took on the role of trying to educate herself and raise her brothers and sisters in a very tough time right during the Depression. She realized that if you look at education as a lifestyle and more than academic you will grow and learn things that will propel you forward much more quickly than just classroom learning. From an early age, my siblings and I were involved in learning in all forms: drama, dance, community service, sports, and travel.”

After graduating from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science, Schneider entered into the evening MBA program at Babson College. And shortly thereafter, she got her first break at Fidelity Investments in entry level fund accounting. “[The man] who hired me took a chance and hired me [even though I had no experience working with securities].” Schneider continued, “Unlike today, there wasn’t anywhere in the academic world that focused on trading operations. At the time, the only way you learned this was through experience. [My boss] gave me the opportunity to get in there and learn.”

The chance clearly paid off as Schneider was quickly moved up into other operational roles, where she continued to develop her professional skill set. After six years, “I had gotten to a point where juggling the MBA plus 60 hours a week at work plus the domestic demands of two kids began to take its toll. I needed a breather,” said Schneider.

The Workplace as an Opportunity to Learn

She retired from Fidelity to spend time with her children who were four and two at the time. Said Schneider, “It wasn’t until I took that time off that I really understood how important my work was to me. That work wasn’t just a 9 to 5 job that I got paid for. Every day I went into work, there was something to learn.” After being home for about a year, she decided to go back to work.

She started with a contract position at home furnishings and fashion retailer Laura Ashley, implementing an accounting system. A few months after the contract position turned into a permanent one, Schneider realized that her passion really was back in the securities industry and found a project development position—heading a team of project leaders and business mangers—at Mellon Trust. Around the same time, she also had her third child and finished her MBA.

A few years into her career there, she came across a completely different job opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up. “There was interesting job opening at John Hancock funds—a new investment decision support position. They were looking for someone who had knowledge of investment operations as well as the relevant business applications. They needed someone to come in and define the role, and to establish a new investment support capability for the portfolio managers and trading staff.”

Schneider was the right person for the job. She joined John Hancock as the general director of investment decision support. In her three years there, she had the opportunity to develop the middle office operation, which, added Schneider “was really new to the industry at that time.” When the company’s focus on preparing for Y2K caused most other programs to be placed on hold, Schneider spoke with a partner she had worked with at PwC [on a John Hancock project]. Said Schneider, “The rest is history. I went over to PwC and started my consulting career.”

After three years at PwC, the consulting business was acquired by IBM. “We went from a partnership to one of the largest corporations in the world. It was a very interesting transition,” said Schneider. “Within IBM, I had the opportunity to understand how a global firm operates internally as well as globally.”

Shaping the Industry

With ten years of consulting experience at IBM/PwC, Schneider left to join Citisoft earlier this year. “One of my goals is to be able to shape, build and deploy solutions not just for the current but also for the industry for the future. At IBM, the approach is a little longer to market.”

In her current role as managing director of Citisoft, Schneider is responsible for developing solutions that are tailored for her clients in the investment management industry. “The ability to react to regulations and operational needs of our client quickly is instrumental in adding value to our client. That was something that has absolutely thrilled me: to be able to come and have that kind of impact.”

Finding Work-Life Balance: A Family Issue

Her biggest accomplishment, however, is her ability to balance her work and life.

“When I had my third child, my husband and I understood that work-life balance isn’t a personal issue, it is a family issue. He proactively volunteered to stay home and play Mr. Mom, something that was somewhat unusual in the early 90s. He understood that I was passionate about moving ahead and had some great opportunities. And the fact that we have three sons made it a nice, natural fit.” Schneider added that knowing that he was home with the children gave her a level of comfort about their well-being. “It allowed me to do what I needed to do—especially all the traveling required of me as a consultant—without having to worry.”

Schneider believes that there will always be challenges for women in the industry. “One of the things I tell the young women I work with is that there is no perfect environment out there. You’ve got to know yourself and use your own moral character to make a decision as to how to deal with those obstacles. You’ve got to look more to the value you bring to the organization and whether you are learning and continuing to grow. And, most importantly, if there is an obstacle, and you can’t go over it or around it, you’ve got to find a different path. There are always other options because it is a very big world. As long as you know which direction you are heading in, you’ll get there; you just may need to step around some of the mindsets that are out there.”

And Schneider knows that she’s fortunate. “I’ve had lots of little successes along the way and a lot of great people I’ve worked for who have given me the opportunity to execute my vision and be successful.” She advises women to not be stopped or upset by what others think of them. “Women tend to be underestimated in a corporate environment. I know that there are women who get upset about it but I look at as a great opportunity to surprise them and show them what I can do.” Finally, Schneider said, “Take pride in what you can bring to the table. And find value in everything you do because every task—no matter how small— is an opportunity to learn.”