Movers & Shakers: Sofya Pogreb, COO, TrueAccord

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Sofya PogrebFocus on people, not just projects – that is the “aha” moment Sofya Pogreb had recently when a colleague paid her that compliment. “Spending time working with my peers, mentoring people and trying to understand their needs helps me problem solve and ultimately lead,” she said, adding that companies need to realize that their success lies more in their people and talent than anything else, especially in the fields of technology and finance.

Born in Moscow, Pogreb moved to New York City when she was 14. She attended MIT in the 1990s with the intent of majoring in political science and becoming a lawyer. But it wasn’t long before she realized that most of her fellow students were pursuing computer science, not political science, and although the first time she’d ever touched a computer was her freshman year, she ended up with a double major in computer science and finance.

Pogreb was awarded internships at HP and Intel, and was particularly grateful for her designation as recipient of the “Intel Women in Engineering” honor, which paid a large part of her tuition.

Fascinated by marrying technology and business, she joined McKinsey & Company. “I loved working with smart people, and I enjoyed the variety of projects that the consulting life gives you the opportunity to experience,” she says.

After eight years, she left McKinsey, in part to avoid extensive travel, and landed at PayPal where she grew to run its Americas Risk Management division, leading a team of 40 risk professionals. One of the accomplishments of which she’s the proudest was her role at PayPal helping them assess the risk and reward tradeoff, considering such aspects as how aggressive they wanted to be on fraud and how liberal they wanted to be with merchants.

“My recommendations had significant financial implications, and that was a major change from a consultant relationship, where you give advice but your head is not on the line, so to speak. At PayPal, I had the opportunity to live and breathe the numbers every day.”

A True Fit at TrueAccord

Early in 2015 she left to join TrueAccord as its COO.

She is excited about the challenges inherent in her new position, although she admits she never thought she’d move from a stable corporation to a startup. “When this opportunity presented itself, the leadership team made me feel comfortable I could make it work. I see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Pogreb sees TrueAccord as leading an industry sea change. “I found the passion of the team to be contagious,” she says, since the debt collection industry is ripe for a change. Although the market is significant, there has been less innovation in the past century than almost any industry.

“We believe there’s a huge opportunity to take the techniques that have been used in marketing and risk management and apply them to this industry. Everyone dreads the call from a debt collector, but what you’re trying to do is have a conversation. Through technology we can identify the right tone and language for each consumer based on what we know about them and then use automation to remind people when bills are due.”

Abandoning Assumptions about the Workforce

Pogreb had two assumptions when she started her career – neither of which turned out to be true. The first was that if she worked hard, she would be appreciated and success would follow. She did find that applicable in the early stages, when her career success was driven by working really hard and being the person on the team that the leadership could always rely on.

“As I became more senior, though, willingness to work hard became less of a factor and can even work against you,” she says. “Managers are not looking for me to work hard, but want me to be a strategic thinker and a leader.” She says this continues to be a challenge for her, but also a blessing since these days she can’t put in as many hours with a young family to attend to.

“Managers are not looking for me to work hard, but want me to be a strategic thinker and a leader.”

Pogreb’s second assumption was that she would be offered a well-defined career path, one that laid out how and when she would advance.

“This was never true,” she says. “You can’t count on your employer to map things out. You always have to have a vision in your head of what you’re working toward, and while it’s likely to change, you always have to be heading down a path you have defined.”

She adds that each decision can close some doors, but each one also leads to a learning experience, even perhaps showing you that what you thought you wanted isn’t what you had expected, and it’s time to build a new path.

Pogreb had that experience herself, when she took a break from consulting and joined a large bank, on a quest for a better lifestyle and working hours. “Professionally I have never been so miserable,” she recalls, adding that everyone has different needs but it was not for her. “Not being pushed resulted in my problem-solving skills deteriorating, and that was a huge learning moment; I overshot on my quest for lifestyle.”

However, she adds that it was still a valuable expertise, because it helped her learn about herself and what she needs to be satisfied in her career.

She suggests that women share their vision with their mentors and sponsors, who can then be aware of opportunities that might fit.

She has found sponsors to be vital to her career ascent – and they don’t have to be women, contrary to advice she had initially heard.

“When I remember all the sponsors that I’ve been lucky enough to have, most of them have been men. Men have done wonders for my career by exposing me to opportunities and supporting me when it came to promotions and new responsibilities.”

And that’s the outlook she brings to TrueAccord. She appreciates its diversity in race, gender and age but knows that the important thing is to hire and promote the person who can do the job the best.

A Homegrown Role Model

Pogreb’s work ethic has always been modeled by her mother, who was 40 when she brought her to the United States. A music teacher by training, she had hoped to teach but found it too frustrating to be expected to praise children who weren’t prepared for their lessons.

Instead, she went back to school, supporting the family by cleaning and babysitting, and became a nurse, despite a lack of medical background.

“When I start to think about any problems in my career, I focus on her trajectory — her career path was survival, with no mentors or sponsors. I admire her for pushing through and doing whatever it took to succeed. That’s what I intend to do for my family, but I know it’s a luxury that I can also work in a field I am passionate about.”

As a single mom to an eight-year-old and an 9-month old, Pogreb is devoted to providing that stable life for her children and appreciates that her company provides ample flexibility for her to balance her family priorities with work.

Though free time is hard to come by, she used to be a competitive ballroom dancer, specializing in the quick step tango. She hopes to eventually go back to it since it’s an activity that can be enjoyed at any age. And, she finds that dancing is the perfect metaphor for career success: “You have to work together to be successful.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Mover and Shaker: Jennifer Macdonald, Director of Product Management, NYSE

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Jennifer MacDonaldWhen Jennifer Macdonald describes her career path as highly unusual, “one very few people would ever even consider,” she is not exaggerating.

Macdonald first attended Brown University and then graduated with honors from the School of Visual Arts in New York. With her partner, Hillary Leone, she founded a fine arts collaborative and successfully exhibited internationally, becoming well-known as the only practicing lesbian art duo in the United States. As up-and-coming artists they showed in the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, among other places. Their collaboration ended 10 years later in 1999, when her partner decided to move to Washington DC and they realized that collaborating long distance would be too challenging.

Macdonald wasn’t daunted, because she had always been given the message that there was nothing she couldn’t do from her mother, who had been an opera singer, poet and then psychoanalyst. “She made me feel like I could do anything I put my mind to– it might be harder as a woman and a lesbian, but with hard work, definitely possible.”

From Arts to Tech

This confidence led her to accept an opportunity at Sotheby’s, which was her first stop in the transition from artist to executive. Leveraging her art background and her knowledge of computers, Macdonald accepted a position as vice president to launch Sothebys.com taking the 260 year old Sotheby’s auctions, magazine and educational foundation content online in the space of year. She was soon promoted to senior vice president where she led a partnership with Amazon, as well as oversaw the development of the first live arts and antiques auctions streaming with transactional bidding online.

Being in the arts had always been Macdonald’s expected path but when a friend told her the New York Stock Exchange was working on launching the first ever 3D trading floor experience with real-time trading data mapped to it Macdonald says she figured, “I’ve never done anything in financial services; what an amazing opportunity to find out what that would be all about,” and went to work for the company that handled technology for NYSE and Amex. “I had started my career so far on the right brain side, how could I not want to challenge myself to see how far the left brain side might be able to go?,” she said.

Working for the NYSE as a director of product management, Macdonald moved into developing strategic technology for enterprise monitoring and operational tools as well as several major relaunches of NYSE’s core trading platform. She also developed enterprise platforms for consolidating trade desk customer tools and currently is overseeing a major process reengineering initiative creating a plug and play product management practice that will be used across the company’s disparate asset classes that have come online as mergers and acquisitions have brought new products and services in house.

And that is the professional achievement she currently points to as the one she is most proud of. “The processes that my team first instituted in the NYSE Equities Market are being held up as an example of best practices from a regulatory and compliance perspective,” she said. “When we were audited by key regulatory agencies without whose approval we cannot operate our business, it showed that the model I was able to put in place is top of its class, and will make us highly efficient and more profitable as we look to bring new services and products online.”

Finding Strong Women

Over the years, Macdonald has learned how important it is to find a mentor and cultivate that relationship. But it can be a challenge, she acknowledges, given that the lack of women in many industries mean there are fewer choices from which to select. While she says that you can find good men as mentors, she believes it can be an advantage to choose a woman because they often better understand the challenges that other women face.

She advises women to consider mentors at all levels of the organization — not just at the highest levels. “Don’t discredit a middle manager who can be your mentor when you’re starting out; they know a lot you don’t know,” she says, adding that a mentor doesn’t have to be someone who has achieved absolutely everything you want.

In addition to strong relationships, she believes you have to value your own ability to be ambitious about your accomplishments, to exhibit confidence that you can achieve your goals despite obstacles.

Macdonald observes that financial services is an industry that still has a high fall off rate for women as they reach a certain level. “Add in being a lesbian, and you exponentially reduce the number of women in the industry in my shoes.” That doesn’t daunt Macdonald, though, who says that it just takes courage.

Back in the Closet – and Back Out

And that courage led her to be the first woman ever to come out at the NYSE. What was surprising was that she slid back into the closet when she first joined the industry, on the advice of a colleague He told her that even though she had been well known as an artist, that the worlds were so far apart no one would ever connect her with her fame and identity in her other career and it would be best to start this way.

Ultimately she made the decision to come out at work when she and her partner, now wife, decided to have a child. “Regardless of any real or perceived risks to my career it seemed clear to me that it would be unethical to raise a child from within the closet,” she says.

And that’s one of the reasons she believes in being an agent of change in the industry. “It’s still hard for many individuals in our industry to be comfortable with their identity as LGBTQ. Diversity has been proven to be good for corporations and for individuals. It’s a win for all if we can improve the diversity in financial services.”

Toward that end, Macdonald as Co-Chair of OPEN Finance, runs an organization with a mailing list over 5,000 strong that is comprised of more than 40 LGBT ERG networks across major financial services firms, such as Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. OPEN Finance shares best practices for fostering diversity to member firms. At OPEN, Macdonald is also working to boost women’s involvement. “It’s not unusual for me to be one of two or three women in a room with 80 men,” she says.

Macdonald likes to talk about driving positive change through OPEN, citing the group’s support of marriage equality in the upcoming case before the Supreme Court. “Marriage equality is good for financial services firms. We don’t want a patchwork of different classes of marriage for HR to manage in every state and every country. That makes no sense from a bottom line perspective and we have numbers to prove it, not to mention the injustice of it and inconvenience if you move state to state. Married in one, not in the other? “‘ she said. The group actively worked with member firms to collect a record number of signatures in support of marriage equality in a brief that will soon go before the Supreme Court.

On the home front, she and her partner concentrate on raising their five-year-old son, as well as launching their new business, the first urban mushroom farm in New York City which will grow mushrooms from waste such as coffee grounds and sawdust. They also make time as a family to visit their house in the Catskills. “That’s my refuge”.

By Cathie Ericson

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Lindsay Drucker Mann, Vice President, Goldman Sachs

Lindsay Drucker Mann“Taking the easy and popular route often doesn’t add value,” says Goldman Sachs’ Lindsay Drucker Mann, who advises professionals to trust the skills they know, even when it can feel uncomfortable.

Drucker Mann says her start in finance was a happy accident. Though she had earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science from Brown University, she was unsure what she wanted to do professionally, aside from knowing she wanted to move to New York. She nabbed a research role at a hedge fund and then joined Goldman Sachs working in Global Investment Research on the beverage team. From there she moved to a senior analyst position in agribusiness and now covers branded apparel and accessories, including companies from Nike to Tiffany.

Smart, Bold Moves Pay Off

“When you love research, every sector is exciting,” Drucker Mann says, adding that she took the unconventional step of moving to a few different teams to reach her current positon. A more typical path is to begin on a team as a junior analyst, and stay on that team, advancing to a senior analyst in that sector. “It felt risky and uncomfortable to change teams, but looking back, all the moves helped me grow to where I am today.”

The confidence she gained from working on different teams bolstered her when, early on in her current position, she put a controversial Sell rating on a company that was well-liked by investors. “It was a tough way to start a franchise, by telling people one of the names they really liked is something we thought they were going to lose money on, and that we had a different point of view.”

The analysis turned out to be correct, and ultimately it was making that bold, unpopular call that helped her quickly gain credibility as a new analyst with a fresh, smart point of view.

Currently Drucker Mann is enjoying her work with the “Millennial Insights” project, a body of research that looks at how the next generation of consumers is changing consumption. “It’s empowering because the next generation is truly innovative and influential, and will pave new paths instead of just settling for what a brand or business tells them they should do,” she said. “At the end of the day, you’re seeing behaviors and consumption turned upside down, with unbelievably far-reaching effects.”

A Culture of Acceptance at Goldman

Drucker Mann, who had come out in college, harbored the fear that she might not be accepted in the corporate world if she was out, and it might make her career more difficult. She didn’t know many people who worked on Wall Street so only had “urban legend” on which to base her decision, as well as the mixed advice she received, including advice from some people who told her to hold off on being out in the workplace.

“But I knew that I couldn’t operate if I was hiding,” Drucker Mann says, expressing relief that it was a non-issue with her co-workers. She’s been pleased by all the support she received when she took on a leadership role in Goldman’s LGBT network and when she got married and started a family. “The firm has been outspoken in support of same sex marriages, and it has only gotten better with time,” she says, adding that she feels fortunate since not everyone is able to work in an environment where people are supportive or where you feel like you can be yourself.

Drucker Mann has been active in the LGBT network since starting Goldman, noting that it presented her with a way to form relationships throughout the firm. She also served as a co-head of the committee for Pride Month, which coincided with the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, making it an even better celebration. “Working on these events reinforced for me the caliber of people in all different areas of the firm.”

“Marriage and family planning were very special to my personal life, and through this network, I was able to speak to people at the firm who had gone through that. This unbelievable network of advocacy has had an important impact on me personally and professionally,” she says.

Sponsorship as a Career Cornerstone

Drucker Mann says that the Goldman Research division has a strong tradition of sponsorship and believes that it was a critical component of every opportunity she has had. “I feel very fortunate that I have had a few very senior sponsors who took an interest in my career and offered advice and perspective, becoming important advocates as I progressed.”

While she says that some aspects of finding a sponsor is luck and the quality of people you work for, at the same time you don’t get sponsored if you’re invisible. “You have to have a voice and realize that any interaction you have with senior professionals creates lasting impressions.”

It’s a skill that has always come naturally to her; though she’s not cavalier, she’s never been afraid to ask for opportunities and put herself out there. “I’ve always asked a lot of questions – there’s nothing worse than not having answers when you need them.”

A Busy Family

Drucker Mann married in 2008, and she and her wife are parents to three boys, ages five, three and one. “With two busy careers, we do a lot of balancing, but we spend every second we can with them. We just have a great time together.”

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Mover & Shaker: Josephine Shin, Senior Vice President and High Yield Portfolio Manager, Senior Research Analyst, Alcentra, a BNY Mellon Investment Management boutique

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Josephine Shin“Never lose your initial curiosity to learn,” advises Josephine Shin. “Stay engaged, and get outside of your comfort zone because that’s when you learn.”

Shin’s curiosity is what led her to a somewhat alternative path in the finance industry. At the University of Pennsylvania she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology, rather than the finance degree that was so prevalent.

But then upon graduation, she found herself surrounded by people asking how she was going to parlay that course of study into a career.

“There were doubts from peers about my choices, but I think it was the best path I could have taken. I got to spend those four years studying something of interest, communicating and formulating my own views even if they were out of consensus, being challenged by others and at the same time staying open to new ideas. Now I am putting those skillsets to work every day professionally and pursuing a profession that I truly enjoy. Shin said. She believes that spending those early years questioning and debating with an open mind allows her to bring a different perspective and to find value in places that may be overlooked.

With an interest in both quantitative and qualitative aspects, Shin joined an investment management company as a fixed income credit analyst. She describes it as an intense time to jump in as everyone was dealing with the effects of the “tech bubble” and 9/11, but a time where she learned valuable skills especially because bottoms-up fundamental analysis of credit was in such high demand. Though the firm she was working for was one where most people tended to stay “for life,” she yearned to be in the heart of New York and, ultimately, moved to work for another firm in a more senior role.

After several years, Shin went to work with a former colleague, but a year later, Lehman Brothers imploded and a majority of her team was dismantled within two weeks. That experience had a profound effect on her. “My comfort zone was shaken. That made me realize that I had gotten too comfortable and started to identify myself with where I work and what I do professionally,” she said. “That’s when I realized that I love what I do but that shouldn’t define who I am,” a lesson that has helped her throughout her career and personal life.

At that point, she decided to return to her roots in investment management and joined Alcentra, part of BNY Mellon, where she’s been for more than six years.

Paving Her Own Path

Shin says the career achievement she’s proudest of is her overall resilience in the face of naysayers and forging her own path even if it meant not following the most conventional options. From the major she pursued, to her desire to move from a comfortable job to New York, she has questioned taking at face value what the majority told her was “the right thing,” in favor of what was the right thing for her. “I listened to myself, and then spoke up to negotiate what I wanted.”

And throughout her career, she has appreciated the path she chose. “I’m in the perfect job for me; you have to be quick and nimble to act, yet have a strong fundamental view because every day there is something new about companies that I’m investing in.” She relishes her new role of portfolio management and the global platform the firm offers because it gives her a strong vantage point to integrate micro and macro data into innovative ideas for her clients.

Shin naturally gravitates toward mentors who share her affinity for making their voice heard, and her professional role models embody that quality at the highest level. She says, “If you find a mentor or sponsor in your workplace who takes time to give you honest feedback on how you can continue to grow in your career without plateauing, appreciate that gift because it is rare. It’s how we grow. Also, stay humble and ask for honest feedback. I have that in my current job and it’s been hugely inspirational for me.”

One of Shin’s early influences is Betty Friedan, whose work helped shape her belief in the importance of challenging the consensus view. “To be an outperformer in this business, it’s vital to have your own voice and thoughts,” Shin said.

She also named Judith Rodin, the first women president of an Ivy League university. Rodin was president while Shin attended Penn. “She is an inspiration to me because she not only relishes in her success, but does not shy away from mistakes or moments of failure in her career and life. I respect that humble dichotomy. She’s a great role model.”

Building Bonds

Shin has been involved in WIN (Women’s Initiative Network), a resource for the professional development and advancement of women at BNY Mellon. She also participates in the Penn Alumnae Women’s group. Her participation with both organizations underscores her belief in the importance of continuing to cultivate a robust network. She has experienced firsthand how the industry can change fast and that it’s vital to have a network already set up.

At the same time, she is cognizant of the fact that when you are employed, it’s compassionate to take a moment to help out others since you never know when you will need support. She especially believes in giving opportunities to women who might not have cookie cutter backgrounds, because they bring a different perspective that can enhance any organization or team.

Shin says she is grateful for her family’s support system. Naming her husband as her biggest supporter, she is also very close to her brother, mother and extended family. On the home front, Shin has a two-and-a-half year old daughter, whom she says is not only the apple of her eye, but makes her a more compassionate and well-rounded person. “I used to take for granted those days I could work into the wee hours at night, but now I have a better understanding of other working mothers. On the other hand, my efficiency has become incredible.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Mover and Shaker: Molly Tu, Thomson Reuters, Director of Business Planning and Operations

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Molly TuMolly Tu is a strong believer that you can get everything you want, but just not at the same time. For her, workwise, that means understanding that early in your career you might be able to go up like a rocket, but then at certain points you have to be more flexible and adapt your plan, constantly re-evaluating and re-defining what success is for you at any given moment.

Tu started her career working for two large professional firms in China but satisfied her desire to experience the world by coming to the United States to attend business school at Columbia. After graduation, she decided she wanted to turn her career path to the corporate side, and recognizing the potential in the information industry, she started with Thomson Reuters’ rotational program. There she experienced everything from M&A to investor relations to product management, ultimately deciding to join global account management, a division whose goal is to constantly assess how to deliver increased value to Thomson Reuters’ largest customers. There she spearheaded the Geneva Program, for which she received the 2014 Chairman’s Award.

And, less than a year ago, she was named to her current role, where she is tasked with rolling out the Geneva Program companywide.

“I have always viewed my experience here as similar to working in a startup, but still being part of a large company,” Tu says. “It is very satisfying to transform business processes and also help customers at the same time.”

“I have always viewed my experience here as similar to working in a startup, but still being part of a large company,”

Sponsors in the Workplace; Role Models Close to Home

Tu knows that sponsorship is key to corporate success. “As I grew in my career, my mentors and sponsors were the people who directed me to look at new things in different ways, and that vision got me to places I would not have otherwise.”

She’s often asked how to find a sponsor, but her experience is like many — professionals don’t seek out their own sponsor, but rather it happens in a more organic process that usually involves managers with whom you’ve worked or who otherwise are familiar with your work and want to champion the traits you offer that will allow you to succeed in increasingly responsible roles.

“At the end of the day, sponsorship comes from faith in you as a person, and there has to be an accumulation of experience to build that trust.”

In terms of role models, Tu found hers much closer to home — her grandma. Tu has always been inspired by how she puts her heart and soul into work about which she is highly passionate, including risking her life in the founding of new China. When she retired, she raised money on her own to preserve folk music in her area of China.

“Her passion and satisfaction remind me to always focus on what is meaningful,” Tu says, and that includes defining success by pursuing something you love. “Even if your life might appear to be successful in the eyes of those around you, deep in your heart you won’t be satisfied if you’re not doing something you love.”

She notes a famous quote by Confucius that sums up that philosophy. “Choose a job you love, and you won’t have to work a single day in your life.”

Different, Yet the Same

Throughout her working life, Tu has frequently found herself in environments quite different from where she came from, and that has led to many observations about adapting to these differences. But then she finds that she soon spies commonalties amidst the differences and has realized that people are fundamentally very similar.

“Seeing the commonality helps me address challenges with other people,” she says, adding that her work to reshape the company’s business practices would be unimaginable if she wasn’t able to find the similarities in cultures and genders.

Her company has a strong focus on diversity, including many programs for women. One in which she has been active is the Leadership Program for Women (LPW), which is a training program and forum where women across regions, functions and businesses form a community to bring in professional trainers twice a year. “There are unspoken business rules pertaining to women so this group finds professionals who really know the space and can share what’s happening and how we can maximize and leverage our positions.” She also helps plan events as part of Women at TR, which is designed to develop the talents and champion the contributions of female employees, thus promoting women as equal partners in the success, achievement, and profitability of Thomson Reuters.

“There are unspoken business rules pertaining to women so this group finds professionals who really know the space and can share what’s happening and how we can maximize and leverage our positions.”

One example related to the Geneva Project, where women volunteer to apply their specific skills to understand and better position different products for the company’s largest customers.

“Sometimes women tend to get tied up 100 percent with their current task and don’t always look at other opportunities. Being involved in these types of projects allow you to build your network, for example by having the chance to interview sales people and customers, to extract the information we need that will be useful to others.”

Juggling Work and Family

Away from the office, Tu focuses on her 16-month old daughter. She has found that balancing work and family responsibilities has helped her view her career in a more strategic way, knowing that there are times that you won’t be able to focus 100 percent on her career. However, it also drives women to become more effective and prioritize better; in short, to work smarter rather than harder.

“I feel lucky for the advice I’ve gotten, often as part of the women’s groups, on how you have to work with your partner to focus on balance.” As many senior women leaders have told her, they can only do what they do because they have a supportive spouse. She has realized that whether it’s work or family, more gets done when everyone works together.

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Movers & Shakers: Barbara Edwards, Counsel, Shearman & Sterling

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Barbara EdwardsBarbara Edwards has spent nearly the entirety of her career at global law firm Shearman & Sterling, where she is now counsel in the Finance Group, focusing on complex international and U.S. leveraged financings. The story of how she achieved this level of professional success is a remarkable one – from humble beginnings to Wall Street finance lawyer.

Originally from Guyana, Edwards was the first member of her family to emigrate to the U.S. She attended Brooklyn College, and when she started was a bit uncertain of her future plans. But all that changed when she experienced what could only be described as a political re-awakening while protesting the New York city-wide public university tuition hikes and participating in the anti-apartheid college movement. That got her thinking about a career in law and in particular, impact litigation. The rest, as they say, is history.

Except that the road to success was not easy. Prior to college, Edwards worked as a live-in nanny and housekeeper. This experience, she says, often goes uncited when discussing her path to becoming counsel, but the skills she acquired during this time have been incredibly helpful both professionally and personally.

“Working as a live-in reinforced the value of hard work and demanding hours, helping to hone skills of flexibility and adaptability to effectively navigate the needs of different constituencies. I believe these are all skills which underpin my success as a lawyer and in particular my strong client management skills,” Edwards said.

Giving & Receiving

Throughout her career at Shearman & Sterling, Edwards has been a mentor to a multitude of associates, a role which she considers very important. She takes pride and pleasure in helping others learn, grow, and progress in their careers. Many of these mentoring relationships have been informal and her biggest challenge, she says, has been ensuring that she’s striking the right balance of being professional mentor and coach, “therapist” and friend to her mentees.

“Investing in people makes my work so vibrant, but I have to be intentional in how I approach it. It’s important to make sure the help you provide is translating to both professional and personal growth,” she said. While Edwards doesn’t seek out recognition for the support she provides to colleagues and especially younger lawyers, she likes to tell the story about the time when a group of women she worked with, all from diverse backgrounds and religions, entered her office around Christmas to thank her for her time, guidance and the significant impact that she had on their work experience, giving her a gift card to designer shoe store Manolo Blahnik. It is a memory that will always resonate with her.

“I love shoes, but it wasn’t just about the shoes,” Edwards recalled. “It was a profound moment for me because I felt that my efforts had really made a meaningful difference to these women. There’s no replacing that feeling.”

Edwards has also given back on the pro bono side, working with women – often minority women – on initiatives related to economic empowerment. Most notably, she represented the women founders of Harlem Lanes, the first bowling alley in Harlem in 30 years and the only one in the country to be built and owned by Black women. The project was one of the William J. Clinton Foundation Urban Initiatives and the former president attended the ribbon-cutting.

Shearman & Sterling’s global platform and pro bono strength intersect nicely with Edwards’ passion for traveling the world. She spent two years in the firm’s Singapore and Hong Kong offices, working across Asia, as well as a secondment with one of the firm’s clients in Germany. Edwards is also one of the few counsel and partners at Shearman & Sterling who has participated in the firm’s work for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), a partnership that the firm has had for over 14 years. She traveled to Arusha, Tanzania for a one-month externship at the ICTR. It was an experience she says was life-changing.

“The ICTR work is not abstract. It has real, tangible outcomes and I’m proud to have been a part of it and to have made a useful contribution.”

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Mover & Shaker: Aoife Flood, Senior Manager, Global Diversity and Inclusion Program, PwC

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Aoife Flood“You don’t have to be 100 percent qualified in every aspect of a job to know you can do it well,” says Aoife Flood, senior manager for PwC’s global diversity and inclusion program. “You want to grow and be challenged, so don’t be afraid to put your hand up even if you don’t feel you tick every box.”

That philosophy has shaped Flood’s career at PwC. Unsure what she wanted to do, Flood began her career, as she puts it, “at the very bottom of the chain.” But for her, it became a powerful awakening. “I had struggled with my confidence, and at first I was intimidated by how highly educated all my colleagues were. But, I embarked on part-time studies and started to raise my hand to see if I could help design or deliver a program, and that’s when my trajectory started to shift.”

After five years with PwC Ireland, she saw an opening for a global opportunity but the position was more senior than hers. However, something about the job posting made her think the role was for her. She spoke to her director about why she thought she thought it would be a good fit. Though the director managed her expectations, she encouraged her to take a chance. Flood applied, creating an entire appendix that included a portfolio of all the work she’d done, and was offered what was described to her as a “courtesy interview,” given the effort she’d put in since she was the least-qualified candidate.

During the interview, Flood says she felt surprisingly calm, and they ended up talking for two hours. Three more interviews followed and she secured the position, which started with a six-month international assignment in Boston. “It was the first time I took a really brave step, and I still sometimes wonder who that person was,” she says.

Only 25 at the time, she had never lived outside her family home much less lived abroad. Once she arrived, it proved tougher than she had imagined as it was a new role that didn’t have a large team, so at times Flood felt very isolated.

“Through that experience I realized how it feels to be brave, which has made me less career risk averse. In fact, now I grow bored when I’m inside my comfort zone. I found out that variety is the spice of life in my career.”

She subsequently moved into her next global role, her first management position and then moved into global diversity. With every role at PwC, Flood feels she has had the opportunity to facilitate positive cultural change which is very important to her.

Growing Through New Assignments

Not only did that first global experience earn her a coveted position, it earned Flood her first sponsor as well. The initial interviewer, Coeni Van Beek, became the global ethics and business conduct leader at PwC and continued to monitor her progress. After three weeks of being in Boston, he told her that she was already outperforming what he had expected.

“I will make sure you’re a manager by the time you finish this tour of duty,” he said, and followed through on the promise by advocating for Flood when she was interviewing for her next position. “The team had concerns since I didn’t have any technical expertise, but he told them that they needed to take a chance on me and would not regret it.”

Right now, Flood is excited about a recent thought leadership research project she delivered focused on the female millennial, having led the project from initial concept through execution. “As a millennial woman it’s fascinating to take something from my own experience and help shape the end deliverable.”

In her current role, she also co-authors PwC’s Gender Agenda blog. Flood identifies that being positioned as a global expert with a strong external profile has also had a catapulting effect on her internal profile. While she had a very strong internal global network at PwC based on those she had worked with during her career, this external profile has really strengthened her profile with those she had not been exposed to through the course of her career. “It’s been really powerful for me to change their mindset of me in my starting position to a global diversity expert.”

Ultimately, she believes that success lies in being willing to take on stretch assignments, being passionate about what you do and willing to deliver more than is expected.

Role Models Shape Her Professional Success

Her first role model is her mother, who works but doesn’t have a “career,” per se. Flood says her mom grew up in an economic climate in Ireland where she did not have very many opportunities, but she always advocated for her four children to have opportunities she didn’t have. Specifically, she encouraged Flood to enroll in speech and drama classes as a child, which although she didn’t like them at the time, increased her comfort level with speaking. “My mom is a very powerful role model of resilience in the face of adversity.”

At work, Flood cites her current bossAgnès Hussherr, whom she says is the perfect role model of someone who can have it all: a leader, who is quintessentially female but strong and successful, has a family and even managed to become a pilot in her spare time.

Reading and Writing Are Passions Outside of Work

Flood has always enjoyed reading and loves to go on holiday with her Kindle loaded with books. But over the past few years she’s been surprised to find how much she enjoys writing. Over the course of writing many papers and a 30,000-word dissertation during an executive master’s program she completed three years ago, she discovered she had a flair for it so she appreciates that her current role provides her the opportunity to write. “I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up but now I do – a writer. And if I won the lotto tomorrow, I’d quit and write for fun!”

By Cathie Ericson

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Mover and Shaker: Amaly Homer, Chief of Staff to the CEO of Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies

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amaly6_(1)As chief of staff to Mercer CEO Julio A. Portalatin, Amaly Homer holds a powerful position as a gatekeeper, confidante and strategic consultant – all focused on maximizing the organization’s goals.

She has been in the role since 2013, and within the Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) family of organizations for 12 years in varied roles that have included global sales support, business development manager, proposal team lead and senior M&A project manager.

Before joining Marsh, Homer worked for a small insurance company, and finds the similarities to be more surprising than you would think. Though resources were scarce at the smaller agency, she also appreciated that there was a lot of recognition when you created something, and she believes that that gave her a strong foundational beginning for her current rise.

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Mover & Shaker, Gina Love, Counsel at Shearman & Sterling LLP

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Gina LoveMore than 10 years ago, while attending the annual convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Gina Love realized that few people attending looked like her.

“I literally started counting people of color – especially women of color,” recalls Love, a counsel at global law firm Shearman & Sterling. Of those she met, several were from New York, so Love and her new acquaintances came up with the idea of organizing a get-together of people with diverse backgrounds as a networking opportunity when they returned to convention the following year. Their outreach was decidedly grassroots – emailing people they knew and handing out fliers — so they were stunned that word had spread so fast that they were joined by nearly 200 people.

“We knew we were on to something so I started organizing it as an unofficial event at ICSC every year, securing sponsors, inviting speakers and raising money,” says Love, adding that Shearman & Sterling has been unequivocally supportive over the years. For 11 years, Love kept the event afloat on her own time, which though laborious was extremely rewarding. “It’s amazing to see the room clogged with people, many of them telling me that they come to ICSC’s convention primarily for this event,” she says. Eventually, though, she realized the reception needed to be self-sustaining, and ICSC agreed to officially take it over.

Today, the ICSC’s Diversity Reception is attended by anywhere from 600-850 people and has a long list of impressive financial sponsors and speakers from throughout the real estate industry. At the 2014 event, the ICSC announced the creation two scholarships: the “Retail Real Estate Diversity Scholarship” to offer tuition assistance to graduate students entering the retail and real estate industries; and the “Love Scholarship for Diversity,” named in Love’s honor to offer tuition assistance to sophomore, junior and senior university students belonging to an underrepresented minority group. “The whole thing started so innocently, and it was amazing to watch how it grew,” Love says. “It was really wonderful to see that my decade of work to increase diversity in the real estate industry was honored and appreciated by the leadership of ICSC, and I am delighted the legacy will go on.”

Real Estate Roots

Love chose a career in law because she felt it offered a way for her to showcase her strengths in writing and research. She preferred the business-oriented classes during law school and though she did a rotation in litigation, Love gravitated toward a specialization in real estate. Her family had built a background in various facets of real estate – from her aunt who was a broker and real estate investor to her grandfather who had built a residential development and construction company in Jamaica, W. I. , where she is from – so it was an industry with which she was quite familiar. And she has not been disappointed by her expectations of a career in law. Ever since her initial stint as a summer associate, she viewed the field of law as one with multiple challenges, but also extremely rewarding moments.

Recently, Love experienced one of those moments when she helped close a key phase of a complex international deal she had been working on with her Shearman & Sterling counterparts in Germany, along with Mexican counsel. “There were cultural differences to navigate but we had a solid team and it was very satisfying work,” she says. “That kind of international transaction is a real focus for me and for our firm.”

That is part of the appeal of the real estate specialization for Love – the constant diversity. For example, she is also representing a high-end luxury fashion client that recently received a significant influx of capital and is opening stores around the US.

“One of the reasons I really like real estate is because I feel as though it’s one of the only segments of law where you can see the creative result of your work,” she explains. “Real estate attorneys in New York can walk around this city and see visible, tangible signs of what he or she has accomplished — We aren’t the architects or the developers, but as lawyers, we do a lot of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ work to make it happen. Sometimes law is hard to explain to others, and I find the real estate specialty to be one of the few where you can really show people something you had a hand in creating.”

Mentors Helped Her Succeed

Love knows that mentors and sponsors have had a major impact on her career. At her former firm, Nixon Peabody, she knew of at least four partners in the real estate practice area whom she said were extremely supportive of her career from the beginning. “I would say that they really guided, guarded and watched over my career,” she recalls fondly.
Now, she has mentors both inside and outside Shearman & Sterling. At Shearman & Sterling, she says she has been guided and supported by real estate practice leader Chris Smith, who has been particularly helpful in the areas of networking, developing client relationships and deal work.

She also has an ongoing mentor relationship with a former colleague at Nixon Peabody, Elizabeth Moore, who is now General Counsel at Consolidated Edison. She says, “We were drawn to each other because she also has Caribbean roots, and we just related really well. It’s fascinating to talk with her about the different facets of her career, since she has had so many completely different roles. She was in State government then became a labor and employment law partner before becoming the GC of Con Ed. We talk frequently about how to deal with specific professional situations, but also just in general how life is going. Our relationship has been very valuable.”

A Clear Plan for Growth

When Love reflects on the qualities that have set her up for success, her method is simple but effective. “I set my goals, chart my plan and start working toward it,” she says, noting that it’s imperative to have multiple plans of action to address eventualities that might come up. She says this approach is something she learned from her father, her biggest role model, who worked as a chemical engineer but also earned a business degree. “You have to adjust periodically to what isn’t working anymore and take personal responsibility for what you do.,” she says. “The road might not always be smooth, but you can get there with a clear but flexible plan.”

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Mover and Shaker: Karen Heath-Wade; Vice President of Mutual Fund Sales, Nationwide Financial

Karen HealthBy Cathie Ericson

Karen Heath-Wade, Vice President of Mutual Fund Sales for Nationwide Financial, is a great example of someone who seeks and plans for career opportunities. Over her career in the Financial Industry, Karen has progressed from being an analyst to managing a team of analysts; to conducting external sales to leading the national distribution efforts of external wholesaling teams. Quite simply, she’s performed every job along the way, from her beginnings as a sales assistant to her stint on the “other side of the table” as an advisor. Through it all though, she has maintained that the secret to career success is knowing the industry inside and out, and understanding your current job before you look at the next one.

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