Voice of Experience: Alison Mass, Co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group in the Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs

Mass alison“Clients want to do business with people they like and trust, and you can only build trust over a long period of time,” says Goldman Sachs’ Alison Mass.

Mass began her career in the fast-paced industry at Drexel Burnham after earning her MBA in 1981 from New York University. Then in 1990, Mass went to a competitor before joining Goldman Sachs in 2001 as a partner.

“I’ve been fortunate to have had the same client base for most of my career, and have seen the private equity industry grow almost from inception,” she says, recalling that when she started in the 1980s, there were few funds over $1 billion. “I’ve been able to grow with my clients and invest in relationships that span decades. It’s been a privilege to watch private equity firms evolve over that period of time. Most professionals don’t ever get that kind of an opportunity.”

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The Admin of Life: What Goes on Outside of the Office

By Hadley Catalano

Effective businesses require, at every level, administrative organization, the daily managerial maintenance of paperwork, schedules, clients, and finances. Outside the office, however, while reprieve is sought from such clerical obligations, professional women often feel little relief from the additional personal administrative chores of life. The appointment making, bill paying, family planning, and particulars of “life admin” can cause stress, take attention away from job-related responsibilities, and challenge personal or family time.

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Mover & Shaker: Belen Navarro, Financial Lines Regional Manager, Latin America & Caribbean at AIG

female leaderAfter earning degrees in Business & Insurance Science and Business Administration from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca in Spain, Belen Navarro began her professional career in April 1997 as an account executive at a brokerage firm in Madrid.

In 1997 she joined AIG Europe, where she held various positions of increasing responsibility in the finance area in Spain and Portugal for 12 years. In 2009, she was offered what she calls a life-changing opportunity: to join the Regional Financial Lines team for Latin America and the Caribbean. Navarro currently heads the Latin America and Caribbean Professional Liability and Cyber team for AIG with the responsibility for establishing underwriting strategy and implementing best practices across the region.

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Success in Technology & Sales: 5 Tips for Breaking Down Belief Barriers

Guest Contribution by Kelly Wright

People ask me all the time what it’s like being a woman in sales in the technology industry. The truth is that I did not think about the lack of the number of women in a field as part of my career consideration when entering the industry. I love helping and interacting with people. To me, this was sales. I am drawn to fast-paced environments where I could have an impact. To me, this was technology. Selling technology is what I wanted, so I went after it. And it’s worked for me. I started as the first salesperson at Tableau nearly a decade ago, and now I head up the entire sales team for one of the fastest growing software technology companies in the world.

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What It Takes to Successfully Transition from Returner to Full Timer

By Cathie Ericson

Returnship programs, which are typically hosted by top financial services firms eager to mine the talent pool of employees who took a career break and want to jump back in, have been the focus of several banks in the past few years. The programs, which heavily recruit women, represent a win-win for all participants: Returning employees gain an onramp back into the high-powered world of full-time work, while firms benefit from the experience and maturity they offer.

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