Voice of Experience: Suzanne Muir, Global Client Partner, Capco

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Suzanne Muir, a Global Client Partner at Capco, a financial services consulting firm, women would benefit by reaching out to one another more often. “We don’t collaborate enough. I don’t see enough women keeping up with peers. Women need to stick together and I really encourage a lot of that.”

In fact, she is helping launch a new mentoring circle initiative at her firm. “We launched our executive women’s network about two years ago, and over time it’s really gelled into a great group of women at all levels. Now we want to add that mentoring component.”

Each circle will include a senior woman and nine to ten junior women with the goal of attracting and retaining high performers. “The junior women will lead and facilitate the circles and bring ideas and thought leadership forward to create their own community of interest. They are still looking for their best fit in their career, and giving them a sense of community will enable them to feel comfortable. I think that’s important.”

She continued, “Our future leaders are those women, and it’s incumbent on us to provide that path forward.”

Career in Sales

Muir started her career at Digital Equipment in the early 90s working in sales and marketing, and while it was mostly marketing, she explained, she was able to be involved in interesting work. “It introduced me to the corporate world,” she said. “I was surrounded by a number of women in sales who were not a lot older than me, and they had taken me under their wing. They showed me the ropes and what sales was all about.”

A few years later, Muir landed a job at GE Capital and her career started taking off. Now a Six-Sigma greenbelt, she credits the Six-Sigma methodology with helping unlock her personal best. “It’s the foundation of everything I do,” she explained. “It guides how I look at things and operate, through a process of define, measure, analyze, improve and control.”

She spent ten years consulting to tier-one clients in the telecom industry, and then joined BearingPoint, managing Tier 1 financial institutions and insurance companies. That experience ultimately led her to Capco. “I’ve always had a consultative approach, analyzing the needs of the client. That made me a little different from my colleagues doing the usual sales actions. My foundation set me apart.”

After three years at Capco, in 2012 Muir made partner, one of a handful of women to do so. “It stands among my most important professional accomplishments in life,” she added.

Industry Changes

“As a new partner, I’ve been assigned ad hoc duties in addition to client work, and that is something I am enjoying. Last year I went to Latin America to do due diligence around opening a consulting practice in Brazil. There are 40 million people there with no bank accounts – it’s very exciting to think about the opportunities.”

She is also closely following the changes taking place across the financial services industry. “Overall, the industry is going through extraordinary change, while still maintaining a focus on increasing profits while decreasing costs and maintaining that balance despite the increasing demands of the regulatory environment. It’s a three-pronged situation that is creating chaos.”

She continued, “It’s really creating a churn in the industry and making banks take their eyes off the ball when it comes to making the changes that will get them to the next level.”

For Muir, the industry changes are personal. “The thing about being at a financial services consulting firm is that you are working on consumer products and services. You’re always thinking about it from a customer standpoint as well. The long term dynamic change makes it a very interesting environment.”

She is also interested in increasing the proportion of women in the industry. “I’m one of a handful of female partners at a global consulting firm, and the fact that we are in the financial services and technology industries – it’s almost the trifecta of being in a male-oriented world,” Muir explained. “Consulting, finance, technology – in the past, there have been few opportunities for women in senior leadership in these industries. But what we’re seeing now is a shift.”

As more women enter leadership roles in these industries, women throughout them gain influence, she explained. “What I’ve seen in Canada, in our market, there are more women in senior places who have a voice. It’s a typically male oriented environment, but we’re starting to see some changes.”

Patience and Eagerness

“I just had lunch with a client and we were talking about things we’ve learned along the way. And one of those things for me was patience,” she said with a laugh. “I was so eager when I first started. I thought everything needed to be done with a sense of urgency. I’m not saying that when you have patience you don’t get things done in a timely manner, but there’s a sense of maturity in how you take part.”

She continued, “You can step back, listen to others, and hear them out. Patience leads to trust and that enables us to come to one another as a team. It makes you approachable. It’s a quality I have learned over time and I have seen the fruits of patience.”

Muir admits to sometimes counting in her head to help practice patience. “It’s a trained behavior,” she explained. “I’m very excited and passionate about what I do, and patience sets a nice balance for how I collaborate with others.”

Her eagerness has also been a boon to her career, she continued. “One of the things that has been instrumental to me has been putting my hand up. I’ve always wanted to take on more.”

“I liked the feeling of having multiple balls in the air. You need to take on risks and contribute to something that stretches your mind,” she continued. “And when you do that, the support you receive will help you be successful. Having a voice is so important and when people see that you want to contribute, they generally go out of their way to help you be successful. Women generally want to be perfect, and we often don’t ask for support enough.”

She added, “If you find a way to take on more risk in your DNA, I believe you will see success.”

In Her Personal Time

Muir keeps busy outside work as well. In the past she has been involved in the Special Olympics, and she is hoping to do more, especially now that her son is in university. She continued, “I’m also an avid traveler. I relish any moment I can put myself into a different culture. It all goes back to how do I choose to live each day to the fullest. Capco totally embraces that – our culture here is so open and really embraces that energy.”