Voice of Experience: Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO, Lebenthal / Alexandra & James Co.

Image via JW Magazine

Image via JW Magazine

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

The best piece of advice I ever got,” said Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Alexandra & James, a financial firm specializing in tax-free municipal bonds and high net-worth wealth management, “was in reference to driving a boat. ‘Whatever happens, just relax. You’ll always be able to turn around and get out of it.’”

“Sometimes you glide on the water, sometimes you go against a current – as soon as you relax all kind of things can happen.” She joked, “It’s something I should do much more of in life.”

Lebenthal, so far, has navigated her life’s currents well – in addition to having built a successful company from the ground up, she recently published a new novel, The Recessionistas, a book about New York socialites following the 2008 crash.

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Voice of Experience: Erika Karp, Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research, UBS Investment Bank

karpBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I believe diversity is an economic imperative – period,” said Erika Karp, Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research at UBS Investment Bank and Chair of the Global Investment Review Committee.

A founding member of the UBS Executive Diversity Council, a steering committee member of the firm’s All Bar None women’s network, as well as the business champion behind the creation of UBS Pride, UBS’s GLBT employee network, Karp is dedicated to the value of diversity.

Citing the importance of differentiated perspective, creativity, and entrepreneurship that diverse individuals bring to the table, Karp said, “The challenge for anybody is getting to have an important voice…being heard.”

She explained, “The trick is being both patient and assertive.”

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35 under 35, Molly McGregor, Director of Corporate Affairs, International Securities Exchange

IMG_0745By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)

It is Wednesday morning when I sit down to interview Molly McGregor, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the International Securities Exchange. McGregor is getting ready to attend a conference in Rhode Island as the representative of ISE’s Political Action Committee (ISE PAC) the upcoming weekend.

“That’s one thing that has changed,” said McGregor, “I used to throw a few items in my suitcase, and I was out the door. Now, I have to consider the baby’s needs as well – diapers, food, and formula. No more dashing off to the airport with a small carry-on bag. When possible, I try to bring my family with me to conferences, especially if they run through the weekend.”

As a new mother, Molly McGregor is just beginning to experience the trade-offs that come with a nine month old son and a full time job.

“The challenges change on a weekly basis as he grows and his needs evolve,” she said. Finding the right balance between commitment and flexibility is an issue McGregor struggles with. As someone who used to be able to devote whatever time was needed to the task at hand, she is realizing there are now things in her work life and home life that are non-negotiable, and everything else needs to be kept flexible.

“For example, my son’s day care had a picnic and instead of bringing homemade cupcakes, which I would have normally done and certainly wanted to do, I had to buy cookies at the store,” she said. “If I have to let go of something I will, but I was not going to miss that picnic.”

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Voice of Experience: Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Collins Capital

Dorothy Collins WeaverBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“It’s a good thing I’ve been blessed with two things – I’ve been blessed with lots of energy and a love of the vertical learning curve,” said Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Miami-based hedge fund of funds, Collins Capital.

From founding her hedge fund of funds, to supporting an orphanage in Colombia, to chairing the Miami Federal Reserve, to chairing “We Will Rebuild,” the federal relief effort following Hurricane Andrew’s devastation of Miami in 1992, as well as leading several other philanthropic and civic endeavors, Weaver’s boundless energy and love of learning have driven a career spanning continents and industries.

Based on her experience, she advises, “Be in the room where decisions are being made. Roll up your sleeves. Get dirt under your fingernails.”

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35 under 35: Carol Paterson Smith, Head of Hedge Fund Clients at Rothschild Blackpoint

CP Portrait 2006 (2)By Cleo Thompson (London), founder of The Gender Blog

Carol Paterson Smith has one key piece of advice for women in business – and it’s a good one.

And, as a hugely successful and influential woman in the City of London, her words of wisdom carry some weight. Paterson Smith is head of hedge fund clients for Rothschild Blackpoint and, in her early 30s, is one of the City’s most connected and stylish players.

Early days

“When I graduated, I knew I wanted to do something intellectually stimulating and I also knew I wanted to move into sales. I’ve always been very commercially focused – I was an Avon lady in my mid teens. When I was 18 I managed a sales team in Edinburgh. My mum runs a business and is very successful; she’s a great role model who has always encouraged me.”

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Voice of Experience: Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, President, Citibank California

Rebecca Macieira-KaufmannBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Helping others be the best they can be is a big motivator for me,” said Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, President of Citibank California.

She focuses on providing the best experience for the customers of Citibank, as well as supporting her team to ensure they have everything they need to win. She said, “Helping customers be financially successful and seeing the team succeed is very motivating. Nothing can make me happier – it’s why I come to work in the morning.”

According to Macieira-Kaufmann, her career has been driven by two things – her love of business and her love of travel. Speaking three languages and having lived in several countries, she said, “I’ve always loved business. I started four different companies – before college.”

“To sum it up, I’m a fourth generation San Franciscan with a global background.”

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Voice of Experience: Annica Lindegren, Partner, White & Case

Foto Lindegren_3x4cm_300dpi_tifBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

For Annica Lindegren, partner at White & Case and head of the firm’s bank finance practice in Germany, a keen focus on providing top service for her clients has been one key to her success – the other is finding a unique balance between her work life and family life. Working in Frankfurt during the week, Lindegren heads home to her family in Spain on the weekend.

She says, “In a sense I have found my work/life balance. When I’m home my priority is my family, and when I am here [in Frankfurt] my priority is my clients (but of course my family is always a top priority). The clients are aware of my travel situation, and it hasn’t affected their view of working with me or the team here.”

And the balance seems to work – Lindegren expresses pride in the team she’s built in Germany, and the success it has seen since the start in 2001.

She continues proudly, “Within 3 years [of starting at White & Case], we were nominated for The Bank Finance Firm of the Year in Germany by JUVE, a guide to the legal profession which ranks lawyers and law firms in Germany. And we won in 2006. We were nominated last year again – all in all we’ve been nominated 4 times with one win.”

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Movers and Shakers: Rachel S. L. Minard, Partner and Managing Director, Optima Fund Management, LLC

RSLMBy Gigi DeVault (Munich)

When the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley opened in 1991, it marked the first time that five United States presidents had gathered in one place. This prestigious gathering of ribbon-cutters—Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush Sr. and their respective First Ladies—at the largest Presidential library in the nation, could be attributed to a number variables. Three factors come immediately to mind: Longer lives due to improved health care, Presidential privilege, and the marketing acumen of Rachel Minard.

Fresh out of Northeastern University in Boston, from which she graduated with honors in journalism and philosophy, Minard got her start in marketing with the launch of the library. She has, since that time, focused on launches of a different sort.

Skip ahead one year, from Simi Valley to London. Pareto Partners, a currency overlay investment management firm had opened its doors about the same time as those of the most recent Presidential library. A young woman named Rachel Minard was hired as assistant director of marketing and client services at Pareto, helping the firm grow to one of the most highly respected currency overlay firms in the world.

Minard’s is both an “opener” and a “closer.” Early in her career, Minard was hired to be an opener. First she opened her own marketing firm, and then opened a Presidential Library. Her next decade would be spent securing new assets for her firms, raising well over $9 billion in her career. In a new position created for her, Partner and Managing Director, she was hired in May by the hedge fund-of-funds firm Optima Fund Management to open and oversee their San Francisco office as well as build the firm’s global institutional business from the bottom up. She has 18 years experience building businesses and raising assets globally for investment management companies. Minard knows how to close business, too. For the last eight years, Minard has been engaged in building fund of hedge fund firms into global institutional powerhouses.

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Voice of Experience: Michelle Clayman, CFA, Founder, Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, New Amsterdam Partners LLC

N_MClaymanBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I was born and raised in England, and did my undergraduate degree at Oxford,” began Michelle Clayman, CFA, Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of New Amsterdam Partners. After graduating, Clayman took a job in commercial banking with Bank of America in London for two years, before heading to California to attend Stanford Business School.

“After business school,” she said, “I took a job at Salomon Brothers in sales and trading, and then, after a few months, was asked to go into a new division called quantitative equity research, and I was there for six and a half years.”

“Then I decided to start my own company – and the rest is history,” she continued.

Clayman has built her career and her company on the value of performance-based quantitative metrics. And she believes performance-based careers, like those in investment management, are more amenable to women. Because they’re based on results, she said, there’s less room for gender bias.

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Voice of Experience: Vivian Tsoi, Partner, White & Case

vivian tsoiBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Vivian Tsoi, Partner at global law firm White & Case, sees opportunity just about everywhere, a trait which, no doubt, plays into her success working in mergers and acquisitions at the firm.

Working out of White & Case’s Beijing office, Tsoi says she is amazed at the attitude of possibility that she sees in her clients in China. She said, “You can really see the growth and see how much they have learned. The level of sophistication they have achieved in just a few years is astounding. It keeps you on your toes.”

“A career in Beijing was, frankly, not something I ever anticipated,” she continued. “But I love being here right now.”

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