Voice of Experience: Daphne Karydas, Director, Senior Equity Analyst, The Boston Company Asset Management LLC

Early on in her career, Daphne Karydas learned that a key component of success is to match your skills and talents with your interests and passions. After studying chemical engineering at MIT, Karydas entered the pharmaceutical industry where she worked in research and development at Merck for about 3 years.

Seeking a different career path, she decided to earn her MBA from Harvard Business School and proceeded to work as an Investment Banker in the Healthcare sector at Goldman Sachs for 4 years.

“I was not able to leverage my entire skill set in investment banking,” explained Karydas, “and it was important for me to find a role that fully utilized my skill set and professional interests.”

Career in Asset Management

It wasn’t until Karydas transitioned into Asset Management as a healthcare analyst that she felt truly fulfilled by her career path. “The nature of the industry gives me the opportunity to utilize my scientific background and financial markets training while still being able achieve a healthy work-life balance,” she said.

Now, as a Director and Senior Equity Analyst at The Boston Company, Karydas says one of the exciting aspects of her job is moving away from traditional models and incorporating more alternative strategies to maximize the portfolio performance. “It is challenging but interesting work trying to determine new ways to add value for clients,” Karydas noted.

Women in Asset Management: Mentoring is Key

According to Karydas, there is a still a wide leadership gap in asset management, but she is encouraged by the increasing number of women she sees emerging in the industry. As more female asset managers are coming on to the scene, Karydas emphasized just how important mentoring and sponsorship will be in developing the next generation.

“The cycle of mentoring is critical,” Karydas noted, “and when you have influential leaders taking the time to identify young talent and help them navigate their careers, there can be a big impact..”

Finding a mentor and developing that relationship is important to career advancement, but Karydas also stresses the value of hard work and dedication. “Performance matters in Asset Management so you have to work hard and be proactive about your career,” she advised.

Karydas noted that it can be difficult to follow the advice of others without having the actual experience under your belt to validate the advice, but she urges young executives to surround themselves with good people. She explained, “You can benefit so much from working with people you respect and can learn from, and this is something that holds true regardless of what point you are at in your career.”

Advice for Young Professionals

When you are starting out in your career, Karydas points out two primary factors to focus on. “First, you have to tackle the basics and become really good at what you do,” she said. “But beyond that, you should also work on building out your network and developing relationships with people you respect and admire.”

Mentors do not have to be people who are just like you, according to Karydas, but it can help to identity those who reflect your values, have a similar work style, and whose leadership style you admire.

Karydas also encourages women to be bold and make decisions that will position them for career changing opportunities like key assignments or promotions. “You need to be proactive about managing your career and seeking out opportunities for career growth,” she added.