Voice of Experience: Paula L. Rogers, President, Institutional Capital

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Right now what I love about the industry is how dynamic it is,” said Paula Rogers, President of the Chicago-based investment firm Institutional Capital.

She explained, “Things are constantly changing, constantly improving, constantly evolving. I love this industry and it has provided me with a rewarding career.”

Rogers provided some key insight into how she’s built a rewarding career in investments and how women can rise to the top of the industry.

Managing Relationships

Rogers graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and was recruited to Eastman Kodak to work in sales in Chicago. “I took advantage of the University of Chicago’s night program to earn my MBA, and then I transitioned to Northern Trust,” she said. Rogers then took on roles at Goldman Sachs and Wanger Asset Management, and has worked at Institutional Capital since 1997.

“I would say some of the operational and client servicing improvements I’ve implemented at Institutional Capital are what I’m most proud of,” she said.

Rogers is also enthusiastic about helping advance her people. “It’s developing people within the firm, helping them achieve their career objectives and helping them become stronger from a skills perspective. This is really what excites me now.”

In fact, she explained that she wishes she had fully learned the importance of building relationships earlier in her career. “Relationships are an important part of being successful in business in addition to being technically competent,” she said. “I wish I had known that when I was first coming out of undergrad.”

Women in Investment Management

Rogers said she doesn’t see any specific challenges for women in the investments industry. “I don’t think about it that way. The way I think about it is ‘what generally are the things people need to do to be successful?’”

She continued, “I’m fortunate because I’ve had great success in this industry as a female – and I’ve never looked at it as ‘what am I doing that is different than a man who is successful?’”

“To be successful, you have to be competent, you have to be highly educated, you have to be motivated, and you have to have the relationships to get ahead. I don’t necessarily see any barriers or challenges specific to women.”

“Because the industry is so competitive and results-oriented, managers are just looking for people who can get the job done.”

In fact, she said, her advice for people new to the industry is to really focus on what results your company needs in order to advance your own career. “Understand the end result and be part of the team that achieves that result. Again, because this is a very competitive, results-oriented business, really understand the criteria by which your management and firm is being evaluated. Be sure you’re doing the things that help management and your firm meet that criteria.

Additionally, she said, make sure you yourself are competitive. “Have a solid education – that might mean working toward additional certifications. Work long hours. Be technically competent. And don’t forget relationships. Basically, work hard and get along with others.”

For senior women, she advised, “Help be a role model for your employees for both women and men.”

She continued, “My advice is for senior management teams to share advice with junior people on how to achieve success. To take that advice to them – it’s a win-win. You get people to do their job better, and they build the intellectual capital for your next management team.”

Setting the Tone from the Top

As President of a small company, Rogers said, she works to ensure equality within her firm. “I don’t want it to be such that I have to have a program in place to advance women. I want development to be an integral part of our firm for women, men, whoever.”

“At the end of the day, what will support the advancement of any person is the orientation that you just want to be the best and brightest representative of the firm – morally and ethically as well.”

She continued, “It’s important that you set up a culture at the firm to support all capable and competent people. We have 55 employees at Institutional Capital – and this may be materially different for firms that are bigger. At our firm, we have transparency on how people are treated, developed and promoted

“We have programs in place to advance all of our people,” she added.

In Her Personal Time

“I do believe in work life balance,” Rogers said.

“I have one seventeen year old son who is going off to college, so our 24/7 right now is trying to help him get to the next stage of his life!”