Voice of Experience: Virginia Gambale, Managing Partner of Azimuth Partners LLC

Virginia_GambaleBy Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

A career in music requires discipline, years of study, and a desire to perform. Trained early as a classical pianist, Virginia Gambale was well on her way. “My first ‘job’ [as a child] was to take apart a complex Fugue. I had to concentrate for hours at a time, and practice 10 hours a day . [As a result,] I was more mature and focused than any other kid in my grade.”

“I always had a left and right brain battling for dominance,” said Gambale, “so although I was always very strong in math and science, I was planning to pursue a career in music.” She studied at the Hartt Conservatory in Connecticut and spent most of her days in the City studying with the faculty from the New York schools.

Gambale continued, “But when I went to see a musician friend’s debut performance, I said to him that his life was set.” His response to her—‘you don’t understand. I live on Avenue A, bathroom is down the hall and I eat brown rice 3 times a day. Nothing about my life will change’—“hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Gambale. She decided that was not going to be her reality. She said, “I had always been a very independent child and had never wanted to have anyone support me. So independence and the ability to take care of myself was a driving factor.”

Read more

/by

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.Martin Mitchel of CTG

The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer’s pre-budget report includes a 50% levy on bank bonuses of more than £25,000. Barack Obama plans to utilise the $200bn of unused Tarp funds to boost job creation. Japan announced a Y7,200bn stimulus package to help the country’s economic recovery. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

  • U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling presented his pre-budget report. The government is projecting borrowings of £178bn in the current 2009/10 year, then £176bn in 2010/11 and £140bn in 2011/12. Thereafter it will fall to reach around £82bn in 2014/15. The pre-budget report also included a one-off 50% levy on bank bonuses of more than £25,000 that will only apply until 5 April 2010.
  • Spain became the latest sovereign issuer to come under scrutiny as Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’. Spain’s long-term outlook is currently AA+.
  • Barack Obama plans to utilise the $200bn of unused funds from the troubled asset relief programme (Tarp) by boosting resources for job creation.
  • The U.K. economy grew by 0.2% in the three months to November according to the National Institute for Economic and Social Research. This followed a contraction of 0.3% in the three months to October.
  • Japan announced a Y7,200bn ($80bn) stimulus package to help the country’s fragile economic recovery.
  • The German government looks set to pass an €8.5bn package of tax cuts to stimulate demand.

Read more

/by

The Walker Report: What’s Next for Corporate Governance in the UK?

By Elizabeth Harrin (London)Business people work colleagues

Earlier this year Sir David Walker was asked by the UK Government to examine corporate governance in the banking industry. His consultative report was released in July and caused a stir with its far-reaching recommendations about the role of non-executive directors, the establishment of board risk committees and remuneration. There was a lot of chatter in the news about the fact that the Government was not going to adopt these recommendations. Were they too unpopular? Too wide-ranging? Too complicated? Probably a bit of all of those.

However, the final Walker report has just been issued and on 26 November the UK Government announced that they would “move quickly” to implement the necessary reforms.

What started out as a report into the state of banking was extended to cover other financial institutions, where the recommendations were applicable. It was an extensive study of what could be better, including how financial incentives for board members impact the propensity to manage risk effectively, the balance of skills, experience and independence required on boards and whether the UK approach is consistent with international practice. The overarching message throughout the report is one of poor governance practices, and Sir David is clear about the lack of control. “Serious deficiencies in prudential oversight and financial regulation in the period before the [economic] crisis were accompanied by major governance failures within banks,” he writes. “These contributed materially to excessive risk taking and to the breadth and depth of the crisis.”

Read more

/by

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Martin Mitchel of CTGContributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.

India reported unexpectedly strong third quarter GDP growth. Kraft published its formal offer for Cadbury. U.S. cable company Comcast is entering into a joint venture with NBC Universal. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

  • India reported unexpectedly strong third quarter GDP growth of 7.9%.
  • The U.S. monthly employment report showed that only 11,000 jobs were lost last month, far less than the expected job losses of 125,000. The unemployment rate fell from 10.2% to 10%.
  • According to the latest ‘beige book’ survey from the12 regional Federal Reserve banks, economic conditions in the U.S. have generally improved ‘modestly’ since their last report on October 21st.

Read more

/by

The Great Divide: Study Reveals a Growing Disconnect Between Employers and Employees

By Cheryl Santa MariaiStock_000004353264XSmall (Toronto)

The unstable workforce hasn’t seriously influenced employees’ career expectations, according to a recent report. Spherion’s 2009 Emerging Workforce Study reveals that employers need to do more to retain human capital during a downturn or they run the risk losing staff in droves once the economy heals.

An overwhelming degree of employee dissatisfaction has been growing steadily for the past twelve years, largely due to lack of communication between management and general staff. Of the 2,519 participants in the study, only 24 percent of respondents report being “very satisfied” with the career development offered by their employer and only 27 percent are satisfied with overall compensation.

Read more

/by

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.Martin Mitchel of CTG

The U.K. revised initial figures for the third quarter from a gross domestic product fall of 0.4% to a fall of 0.3%. Cadbury may receive an offer from Hershey. China issued its first 50 year government bond. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Speculation is rife that Cadbury is about to receive a ‘white knight’ offer from Hershey, possibly in conjunction with Italy’s Ferrero. The charitable trust that controls Hershey has informed the Pennsylvania’s Attorney General that it is considering its options in relation to the UK confectioner. Cadbury is already facing a hostile offer from Kraft, and there is a possibility that Nestle may also make an offer.

Financial Institutions

  • Sir David Walker published his proposals for corporate governance of U.K. financial services companies. The proposals include the requirements to disclose bands of numbers of employees receiving bonuses of greater than £1m, and a requirement to vet new non-executive directors.
  • Lloyds Banking Group’s fundraising plans were approved by more than 99% of their shareholders. The plans will see capital increase by £22.5bn through the combination of a rights issue and a debt swap, allowing the group to break free from the U.K. government’s asset protection scheme.
  • Royal Bank of Scotland signed the formal agreement to enter the U.K. government’s asset protection scheme, paving the way for £240bn of toxic assets to be insured.
  • The Bank of England revealed that it had acted as ‘lender of the last resort’ and lent money to both Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS at the peak of the financial crisis. The loans peaked at a massive £61.6bn (£36.6bn to RBS and £25.4bn to HBOS) and have since been repaid.
  • German bank WestLB has secured a €4bn bailout from the German government. Berlin will inject an initial €3bn, and then a further €1bn later if required.
  • German bank Commerzbank is being sued by a further 21 investment bankers for €16.7m of unpaid bonuses. The bank is already facing a claim from more than 80 bankers relating to €33m of unpaid bonuses.
  • Spain’s BBVA is set to exercise an option to acquire a further 5% in China Citic Bank for €1.1bn. BBVA’s stake will rise to 15%, comfortably below the 20% limit for investments by single foreign groups in Chinese banks.
  • The Middle East’s largest private equity house Abraaj Capital has raised its capital by almost a third as it prepares for a new round of investments. Abraaj’s parent entity has raised $375m from existing shareholders in a rights issue.

Read more

/by

Happy Thanksgiving!

iStock_000004795159XSmall[1]It’s that time again – the time of year where people in the United States get together with family and friends to feast on turkey and all the trimmings and talk of all things for which they are grateful.  We want you to know that we are grateful to you members of The Glass Hammer for sticking with us as we continue to grow and to our sponsors for making it all possible. 

For those of you in the U.S., have a great Thanksgiving! And for those readers around the globe, have a very happy Thursday. (Hang in there – only one more day until the weekend!)

/by

National Association of Women Lawyers’ Fourth Annual National Survey On Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms

iStock_000000833837XSmallBy Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) recently released their Report of The Fourth Annual National Survey On Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. The survey program, which began in 2006, is, according to the report, “the only national study that annually tracks the professional progress of women in the nation’s 200 largest law firms by providing a comparative view of the careers and compensation of men and women lawyers at all levels of private practice, including senior roles as equity partners and law firm leaders, and data about the factors that influence career progression.”

Stephanie Scharf, founder of the Survey and President of the NAWL Foundation which co-sponsors the Survey with NAWL, explained its genesis: “The old saying is that if you want to change something, first you have to measure it. An important purpose of the survey is to provide baseline benchmarks for how a typical law firm is performing. People can assess a firm against those benchmarks and determine where women in private practice stand.” Scharf was quick to state that the NAWL doesn’t publish firm-by-firm data—“we want answers without fear”—and instead, publishes findings based on objective measures like retention and promotion.

Read more

/by

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.Martin Mitchel of CTG

The dollar fell to its lowest level since August 2008. The British economy may be out of recession already. Goldman Sachs has apologised for its role in the financial crisis. And Bernie Madoff’s vintage 18-carat gold Rolex Monoblocco watch fetched $65,000 at auction. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

  • Ben Bernanke said the Federal Reserve is monitoring currency markets ‘closely’ and will conduct policy that will ‘help ensure that the dollar is strong’. However, his comments saw the dollar fall to its lowest level since August 2008.
  • The U.K.’s public debt added a further £11.4bn in October to reach £86.9bn for the fiscal year to date, against just £84.7bn in the whole of the preceding fiscal year.
  • Andrew Sentence, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee believes the British economy is out of recession already, despite official data showing a contraction in the third quarter. He said ‘there is enough positive evidence elsewhere to suggest that recovery is getting under way, though it is fragile and in its early stages’.
  • The U.K. consumer price index was 1.5% in October, against just 1.1% in September. The retail price index also rose to minus 0.8% from minus 1.4% a month earlier.

Read more

/by

In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Contributed by Martin Mitchell of the Corporate Training Group.Martin Mitchel of CTG

The eurozone emerged from recession in the third quarter. U.S. senator Chris Dodd proposed consolidating the four agencies that inspect banks into a single regulator. The London Stock Exchange suffers an embarrassing technical outage. These are but a few highlights of important market events that we’ve gathered to help you start the week well informed.

Economic Backdrop

  • The eurozone emerged from recession with third quarter GDP figures showing a 0.45% expansion for the zone as a whole. Within the zone, Germany grew 0.7% and Italy grew 0.6% whilst France disappointed with just 0.3% growth.
  • The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco anticipates the U.S. facing a slow and protracted L-shaped recovery with only a gradual upward tilt.
  • The Bank of England has upgraded its forecasts for U.K. growth over the next two years. The Bank is forecasting growth of 2.1% for 2010 (up from 1.9%) and 4% in 2011 (up from 3%). However, optimistic figures were counter-balanced by pessimistic rhetoric – such as that the ‘small movements in quarterly growth rates will not alter the extent of the challenges now facing the economy, such is the scale of the fall in output over the past 18 months.’ Read more
/by