Voice of Experience: Gigi Freeman, Executive Director, MSCI, Inc.

Identifying opportunities for career advancement is something that has served Gigi Freeman, Executive Director at MSCI , very well throughout her entire career.

She graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Earth Science, and she envisioned herself establishing a career in science before realizing that financial services held a lot of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and learn at a fast pace, regardless of their educational background.

Although Freeman could have chosen to pursue a scientific career, she chose to follow her heart –and her instincts –instead.

Career Path

Freeman accepted an internship at a financial research firm where she learned about equity markets. This experience ultimately sparked her interest in returning to school to earn her MBA, but before she did that, Freeman was fortunate enough to secure a position in a rotational trader training program.

During the summer between her first and second year of business school, Freeman accepted an offer to be a summer associate at Goldman Sachs in their Equity Sales and Trading group, which led to a full-time position in the Boston office after she completed her MBA.

After working with large asset management clients in the Boston area, Freeman accepted an international assignment that brought her to London to be a US shares sales trader covering continental accounts. “This was great exposure for me to see how business is done in London as well as how different cultural norms affect the business space,” noted Freeman.

Freeman’s career path changed directions when she joined a small boutique investment research firm which almost had a startup environment, according to Freeman. She recalled, “This was such an interesting point in my career because I had the opportunity to perform several different tasks. With only 35 people in the entire company, I really felt like I was part of building something from the ground up.”

This firm was eventually purchased by RiskMetrics, and later RiskMetrics was acquired by MSCI, Inc., where Freeman serves as an Executive Director, overseeing MSCI’s Sales Training and Online Client Experience. “Due to these acquisitions, my role changed,” explained Freeman. She continued, “I was responsible for relationship management, and was approached several times about joining the sales team, but I knew that was not the right fit for me at that point in my career.”

Being able to accept challenging roles and transition into new territory is something that Freeman is especially proud of. “I was asked to changes roles and take a little bit of a risk when I moved into a Director of Operations position, but I knew I was a quick learner and I had confidence in my abilities,” said Freeman. “Accepting this role allowed me to learn more about our business and it led to my current role where I am involved in strategic IT products and broader business initiatives,” she continued.

“There is a lot of innovation right now in the marketing technology space,” said Freeman, which is something that really drives her daily work. “I am spending a lot of time looking at marketing automation, mobile apps, and optimizing our CRM,” she added.

As markets evolve, as well as clients’ needs, MSCI must continue to provide cutting edge products and solutions for successful portfolio and risk management. According to Freeman, trying to assess risk as it relates to liquidity is a particularly interesting issue in the fund management space right now that is leading to a lot of new and exciting opportunities for MSCI to develop products to serve clients better. Freeman added, “There is also a trend continuing toward passively managed funds and ETFs, and we have developed Indexes to help support this business.”

Women in Financial Services

According to Freeman, one of the biggest factors related to women’s career advancement is support for families within organizations. “Having this support to allow you to work longer hours, travel, and also take care of your family is a key factor in maintaining a healthy work-life balance,” said Freeman.

Establishing and maintaining a network of people who have various backgrounds is one thing that Freeman encourages everyone to do, regardless of their career level. “When your network includes people with different expertise, you can tap them whenever you come up against a business problem or question, and ultimately learn something that you did not know before,” said Freeman.

The idea of building out your own personal board of directors applies to anyone at any stage of their career, emphasized Freeman. These relationships can definitely play a big role in your career advancement. Freeman also noted how important it is to have a multifaceted support system to help out at home as well. “Having a very wide personal network to help you will contribute to your success as a working mother,” added Freeman.

Freeman emphasized how critical her stretch assignment was to her own career development, and she advises young women to look out for career-changing opportunities like that whenever possible. She noted, “I benefited so much from gaining this global exposure, and I think it is so important to get a more in-depth look at how companies function and interact on an international level.”

Raising your hand for these types of opportunities goes along with something that Freeman wishes she had realized earlier in her career. “Don’t be afraid to speak up,” she advised. “Do your research, have an opinion, and confidently present your point of view, even if your position opposes the status quo.”

“I have found that when I am prepared and voice my opinion, great things tend to follow,” added Freeman.

Networking Groups for Women

Freeman said that these internal networking groups are a great way to branch out and meet people in other departments who you may need to interact with for a particular project or task in the future.

“Some of the networking groups for women I’ve been a part of have been formed organically, one of those being the New York Working Mothers Group,” said Freeman. “Two moms in the office started the group a couple of years ago. It was started as a networking opportunity and now executive committee members come and speak to the group, which has been incredibly useful and productive,” she added.

Recently, her company held a book club meeting to kick off the Women’s Leadership Forum at the New York office, and featured the book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

Outside the Office

Freeman feels strongly about giving back to her community and enjoys facilitating meetings that connect people. In addition to previously serving as a Trustee at her church, she makes an effort to stay active in her alumni efforts. Most recently, Freeman hosted a Duke Women’s event in her home. “I also make family time a priority when I am not at the office,” said Freeman. “Weekends are filled with play dates at the park and visiting family,” she added.

By Michelle Hendelman