Voice of Experience: Sharon Trulock, Counsel, Shearman & Sterling

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By Cathie Ericson

It’s ok to lighten up once in a while, says Shearman’s Sharon Trulock. “Not everything is life or death and even when you make mistakes, you will survive them,” she says, noting that it takes experience to figure out how to put missteps in context and know you will move on.

She looks back on her earlier years and urges young women to be more confident in themselves. “Starting out as a young lawyer especially in an area of the law where there are complicated issues and a high learning curve, it’s natural to doubt yourself, no matter how hard you try,” she says, but that can make you look less professional and confident in your answers. While you should never pretend to know something you don’t, it’s important to realize that law is a field of continual learning.

A Steady Career in a Field She Loves

Trulock always knew she wanted to attend law school so it was an easy decision to go right out of college. After earning her law degree from Harvard Law School, she joined another firm but subsequently left to join Shearman in 1989 and has been there ever since. “I’m proud that I have earned my position as a respected professional based on all I’ve learned, and I never thought I would have learned so much over the course of my time here.”

Each day brings with it new variety – right now she mentions that everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what will happen with tax law, and she notes that the entire concept of digitization impacts everyone, whether it’s knowing they need to create a digital estate or making sure that electronic signed documents are safeguarded as carefully as paper ones.

Becoming Assertive for Clients’ Best Interests

When considering challenges to women in the industry, she makes a distinction between actual barriers and personality types. “One thing I’ve struggled with myself is the need to be more assertive and not apologize for everything. You want things to be perfect for the client, but it’s not your fault if the law says they can’t do something,” she says. In those moments, she has to rely on the message that the law says one thing, and they need to comply, within a given set of options. “Some people are just naturally more assertive, but it’s not necessarily a specific trait that is male or female.”

Along the way, she has been an active participant in Shearman’s noted women’s networking group WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention). “It’s well organized and beneficial to everyone in the firm as well as our clients – male and female.” Trulock especially enjoys the opportunities she has to participate in give-and-take discussions where each participant is able to learn from the others and find out something new.

An avid traveler who loves to experience different places, Trulock gravitates toward tropical locations, having just returned from Hawaii, with a hope to someday visit two places on her bucket list — Australia and New Zealand. “I find I am already planning my next vacation when I finish the first,” she says. She also enjoys the time she spends with her family and dog.

“Work can consume all of your time, but you can’t let everything work-related be life and death. You have to know when to take a break.”

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Voice of Experience: Alica Pavukova, Partner, PwC Slovakia, CEE

alica pavukovaBy Cathie Ericson

When you live in a culture, rather than just visit it, you learn to adapt your own style to day-to-day norms in that new environment, says PwC’s Alica Pavukova. “You can bring that knowledge back home and utilize it in a broader way, which can help create better relationships and rapport if you learn how to cooperate and exist in different environments.”

A Career Built on International Travel

That philosophy has led Pavukova far in her diverse career with PwC. After earning her degree in mechanical engineering, traveling around US for a year, she attended a recruitment meeting at Coopers and Lybrand where she realized she really enjoyed audit work, so much so that she has been there for 26 years.

Her tenure there has allowed her to fulfill her passion for not only travel but really immersing herself in cultures with a wide variety of international experience. She began with a project in Russia; then went to the U.K. for six months and subsequently transferred to Melbourne for 18 months where she became a senior manager. In fact, she credits her mobility and experience in in different cultures as a fundamental reason for her success.

Seventeen years ago Pavukova returned to the Slovakia office, where she continued to help grow a profitable division – from six people to now more than 250 in audit and 550 overall — and now leads assurance and audit, as well as serving as the diversity and inclusion leader overseeing 28 countries in CEE.

That’s one of the achievements she is most proud of, expanding the diversity and inclusion footprint through the introduction of a an awards competition for business women in Slovakia, run in conjunction with a reputable economics magazine, that helps bring attention to successful women in local corporations. She is also proud that PwC in Slovakia has been instrumental in the Initiative of Diversity Charter, spearheaded by EU, where companies sign a diversity charter, acknowledging that they implement polices to promote diversity and inclusion.

Championing Women in the Workplace

As the leader of the audit practice, she plans to continue the success they’ve had so far developing future leaders by working with the pipeline of managers and developers to ensure there is equal access to promotions. The D&I element in CEE has been very successful thus far, currently 30% of the partners are women, one of the leading regions globally, although they realize there is always room for growth.

As a diversity leader, Pavukova sees unconscious bias as an ongoing issue. First, people need to identify their own biases, and then through accountability training, leaders can be given objectives to promote diversity and ensure the pipeline for partner and manager promotion takes into account all forms of diversity.

While she acknowledges there are some barriers for women, she says the greater question is about how you look at them: For example, PwC’s CEE levels are impressive with a 50 percent balance throughout the organization below partner level and 30 percent at partner level, which is better than most, yet still she sees the falloff as careers escalate.

Of course, some women decide after starting a family that they don’t want to progress in their career, but she knows there must be many who want to continue, but the work and family environment don’t support them in the way that’s most conducive, and then their mindset confirms it.

Pavukova believes that three components must mesh for it to work: First, employers need to create work environments where mothers are encouraged to work, through flexibility and maternity/paternity leaves; second, working parents must support each other and mutually participate in the activities of running the family; and finally, women themselves must not constantly create guilt but rather feel proud of their success. There’s a simple reason: She believes that when kids are grown, they will recognize their moms’ achievements.

She herself is an excellent example of realizing that work/life balance and serving as a role model. She and her husband and two sons love sports and travel and try to combine them; for example on a recent trip to Costa Rica where they hiked, surfed and more.

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Men Who Get it: Lance A. LaVergne, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Talent Acquisition Strategy & Practice, Wells Fargo

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 By Cathie Ericson

Numbers talk, say Wells Fargo’s Lance LaVergne, and one of the most powerful ways to point out the importance of diversity is through the data. “The numbers can tell a compelling story and show you where you have areas of opportunity,” he says.

His approach is to start with the baseline assumption that the company recruits great people, so if these smart, capable people come in and then have an under-performing experience, a company really needs to consider other environmental factors .  And if data doesn’t work, he appeals to hearts and minds: “To be effective, all your people need to be experiencing the organization in a positive way.”

With enough of these conversations and effective solutions, people will commit, he says. “If you are trying to promote meritocracy and are significantly  represented in one particular group, chances are we’re missing some of the best people available,” he points out.

A Career Built on a Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Currently a senior vice president within enterprise talent acquisition, LaVergne leads the strategy and practice team, which includes targeted recruitment of diverse groups such as veterans and people with disabilities. In this role, he oversees all recruitment marketing, advertising and employer branding, including social media and candidate experience, as well as the assessment team, which builds out their online and written assessments.

But his diversity journey began in 2000 when he joined Goldman Sachs as the diversity officer for the investment management division, holding a number of diversity and recruiting roles since then. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, he spent three years as chief diversity officer for NY Life and also headed talent acquisition at Alcoa.

He has seen the industry evolve from the mid-90s when his employer Merrill Lynch was engaged in diversity activities, but it wasn’t until he took the role at Goldman that he came to appreciate the value and importance of diversity and the impact that this type of work can have on individuals and the broader organizational ecosystem.

“My goal is to help level the playing field and create an equal set of opportunities for all demographic groups, as I have seen how the connection between diversity and inclusion and talent management is inextricable,” he says. “If you’re effective at diversity and inclusion, then more than likely you’ll be good at overall talent management.”

Over the years, he has observed the challenges that people from underrepresented groups face in large organizations, which is why he has been committed to addressing the issues and helping people overcome those challenges. “Typically, diversity initiatives start with gender and ethnicity, and then as the analysis broadens, you are able to identify other differences in people’s backgrounds that can inhibit their progression and success in an organization, such as sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or generational difference.”

When thinking of gender equality, LaVergne notes that even in industries and companies with broad representation of women, it often still remains a pyramid, where the closer you get to the CEO, the lower the gender representation becomes.

He finds that as companies analyze the experiences women have, they recognize the need to understand why women are either not progressing or are opting out at certain career inflection points and to implement programs that address the declining representation curve. “Once you understand the issues, then you can design initiatives that specifically focus on those issues.”

The strategy has to be two-pronged: greater visibility and talent development for women as they are progressing and then fixing the institutional barriers that exist. They have to happen simultaneously, he points out.

At Wells Fargo, 33% of its Board director nominees are women and the company has a strong record of recruiting, promoting, and rewarding women at all levels of the organization.

Coaching Men and Women

Because he works in HR, LaVergne has ample opportunity to mentor women within his department, but he also advises women in other lines of business on how to navigate the culture and different work situations. And since male perspectives may be different, he finds he’s often called on to provide insight into how to interpret interactions. He also frequently serves as a network broker to help plot strategies for garnering better visibility.

When working with leaders to help them appreciate the experiences of those from underrepresented groups, LaVergne knows it’s important to have a variety of tactics available to address blind spots, employing different strategies based on his relationship with the person. If he knows them well, he can be direct about dynamics and approach the situation head-on.

But if it’s not someone with whom he has a relationship, he employs a more diplomatic approach: He’s found it helpful to share analogous situations that help them appreciate the circumstances. “When you start to make it a little personal, people can better understand  the issues you are trying to discuss,” he notes. A favorite example is asking men if they’ve ever been to a women’s club meeting where they were the only guy, and to recall how it felt to stand in a corner by yourself because no one talked to you. “When I say, ‘Imagine if you had to do that every day,’ they really start to understand how it feels to be a woman in an often male dominated industry.”

Finally, he believes people must be mindful of language. One of his least favorite “proof points” for the importance of diversity is “It’s the right thing to do.” That’s because, unfortunately, when times get tough and hard decisions are made, people get real focused on business and the “right thing to do” can get lost in conversation.

On that same note, he says that it’s important to use language that affirms a group’s ability to succeed, cautioning others to avoid any language that undermines or questions the capabilities of underrepresented groups.

“We don’t have enough women,” or “We just need to hire more minorities,” can indicate that the company is making concessions or compromises to achieve diversity. “Instead we need to talk about the value of diversity and the skills, attributes and achievements different people bring,” he says. “We have to recognize the success that comes when we incorporate different viewpoints and backgrounds.”

LaVergne also went on to say,

“At Wells Fargo, we aspire to hire the best talent that reflects the diversity of the customers we serve because a workplace that leverages both our similarities and our differences is a competitive advantage in the marketpace .”

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Men Who Get It: Adam Quinton, Founder and CEO of Lucas Point Ventures

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Adam Quinton By Cathie Ericson

“If there’s a key word that resonates with me, it’s ‘fairness,’” says Adam Quinton. He feels that while most workplaces claim to be a meritocracy, there are a host of issues you’ll notice, if you’re paying attention, that make it not quite as meritocratic as you thought.

And that’s an issue that he has seen play out particularly in the context of early-stage financing, the space where he works. “If you’re looking at the companies of tomorrow, there’s a lot of evidence based on who gets funding that it’s not a level playing field.”

Understanding the Diversity Barriers

With a long history in financial services, from big companies to startups, Quinton has seen many scenarios where diversity has been important, and is currently working to champion diversity and level the playing field in the venture capital arena.

In fact, more than 80 percent of the companies in which he has invested have at least one female founder. This compares to the average of one in five startups which receive seed funding and just one in 10 startups which receive venture capital funding.

“Unless you believe that female entrepreneurs are not as capable, as innovative or as driven as men, then that disparity seems weird and feels unfair. However, to me it also feels like a compelling investing opportunity others are missing.”

He notes that most early stage investors are not as objective as they think they are, and that Silicon Valley’s belief that it is the ultimate meritocracy is part of its problem. In early-stage investing, this phenomenon is known as “patent recognition” – a polite way of saying investors tend to be biased towards founders and ideas that they have seen succeed in the past. Hence, he describes, “the stereotype of the 20-something white guy wear in a hoodie from an elite school as the model Silicon Valley entrepreneur.” That contributes to the reality that women, people of color and others outside that stereotype find fund raising much harder.

Besides being unfair, he laments the huge source of economic loss and of innovation resulting from venture capitalists essentially sidelining more than half of the population. “That lack of fairness has non-trivial societal and economic consequences,” he notes.

Rooting Out Unconscious Bias as a Sponsor and a Mentor

To Quinton, being a sponsor is crucially about advocating for people who are “not in the room.” And while he accepts that mentoring is a valuable way to offer advice, he argues that sponsorship is a more important relationship because the sponsor is staking their reputation on their protégé. “It takes courage to put your own credibility on the line for someone else; even when it’s the right thing to do, there is an element of risk.”

To combat unconscious bias, Quinton says it’s key to understand that even with the best intentions we all are certain to be impacted by it ourselves; as he says “it is part of the human condition.” Hence he shares his view that engaging in personal discovery will serve you well. For example, even though you may think you’re the least racist person you know, embedded in your unconscious brain may be something you might not like. “You can’t advise other people how to act without knowing yourself.”

And that, he says, is how you can start “being the change you want to see.” To the extent you understand yourself and the complex issues that surround decision-making, you can be more be sensitive to bias and stand up to it when you see it, even in a situation that might look trivial. For example, if you’re in a meeting and a man interrupts a woman, you have to be conscious of this “micro inequity.” In fact, research shows that men interrupt or talk over women twice as often as women interrupt or talk over men. To disrupt this example of bias, he suggests a participant speak up and say, “Hey, I didn’t get all of your point Susan; where were you headed?”

Another issue he notes that might appear to be trivial is where people sit in meetings. He sees a tendency for the Type A person, usually male,  to sit next to the leader in the “seat of power.”  That’s where he believes it is up to the meeting leader to conduct the micro-intervention, being conscious of who sits where and making sure that voices get heard equitably.

And it is important to question your own decisions. “When you have a discussion about a promotion, reflect on why you suggested one colleague over another. Was it for fact-based and objective reasons, or were you jumping to conclusions based on your own biases?” he says.

Breaking Barriers through Mentorship

One suggestion Quinton has for mentorship is to work with someone at least two degrees of difference from you – where difference means both obvious physical factors, such as gender, race and age, but also factors that are not as obvious which may include disability or veteran status. In his view, making the conscious effort to mentor people who are “more” different brings the mentor greater understanding of the situations and challenges of others, as well hopefully as bringing benefits to the mentees.

Words of Advice for Leaders

Finally, he recommends that leaders “Think like a fox and understand like a hedgehog.” When considering decision making, people can typically be categorized into one of two buckets: Hedgehogs have one strong and fixed view of the world, while foxes are a more flexible and prepared to change their minds.

We want motivated leaders who can stick with the mission, he says, but that can be a derailing characteristic if they don’t think like a fox and react when there’s other mounting information that conflicts with their approach.

“The world is a complicated and unpredictable place,” Quinton says. “The leaders of the companies I work with have a strong vision of where they want to get to, of course. But the best ones are constantly questioning and testing their ideas and approaches. They are not locked into one strategy for all time and hence can pivot when the evidence — and their gut — point in a new direction.”

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Voice of Experience: Saralyn Cohen, Pro Bono Counsel and Global Director, Shearman & Sterling

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 By Cathie Ericson

Saralyn

One of the keys to career success, according to Saralyn Cohen? Having an open mind about where you’re working. “You never know where you will end up – so take chances and be open-minded when opportunities present themselves,” she says. “A law degree can open multiple doors – so don’t sell yourself short. Take a chance and say ‘I would love to learn that.’ Don’t get too narrow, especially early on in your career.”

Tracing Her Successful Path One Step at A Time

Reflecting on her own route, it’s easy for Cohen to see how each step she took built upon the previous one, eventually leading to her current position, which she has held since 1999. She says that if you had told her in law school this is where she would end up, she never would have believed it. “It’s too good to be true,” she says.

Her dreams of being a lawyer began in middle school as did her passion for thoroughbred horse racing. She had intended to combine the two – forgoing the on-campus interviews during law school to pursue firms that practiced in her niche, typically in southern states. That’s why she and her adviser were shocked when a job was posted looking for someone for a thoroughbred racing law practice in a New York firm.

She got the job and spent several years there – able to practice in her niche, but since racing wasn’t a full time specialty, she was also exposed to other disciples, such as reinsurance and litigation. That led to a job with a medium-size firm where she was hired in the reinsurance practice, working her way up to junior partner.

While at the firm, she and two other associates formed a pro bono committee as a way to professionalize the pro bono practice, and upon her return from maternity leave, Cohen learned of a job availability for the pro bono position at Shearman. “I feel very fortunate to be working at a place I love and doing meaningful work I love,” she says.

Advancing the Specialty

Cohen was the only practitioner in the firm of this relatively new, unique practice and had few people to bounce ideas off of. She soon learned that was the case at most firms, and with fellow practitioners, helped formalize the discipline in the industry, forming the Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo). Ten years later they have 200 members globally and benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with counterparts at other firms.

“We are doing everything we can to try to narrow the justice gap,” she says.

One current topic of great interest is immigration law, helping immigrants know their rights and obtain representation and guidance. As a federal law, it invites collaboration as the issues and the filings are the same in all states. Another new and upcoming field is social ventures, including figuring out sustainability and access to clean water and solar energy and how this discipline can benefit from pro bono.

Industry wide, they also have to counteract the image of pro bono law as “a mommy job,” which she finds slightly offensive as external contacts picture her and her counterparts flitting about the community looking for work or attending galas.

“It’s not an issue within my firm as they understand and value what I do, but one of APBCo’s goals is to underscore throughout the industry that it is a legitimate practice area,” she says, adding that she and her counterparts in the law firm pro bono industry space have the responsibility not to undervalue their work. “We add value in our firm and within the legal profession, and we work hard to do that; it’s not a frivolous job.”

On a broader scale, she hopes women continue to act as role models for more junior women. “It’s vital to have access to mentors and those who can guide you from the standpoint of being a woman lawyer,” she says, noting how grateful she is for how much Shearman is doing to advance the cause.

With a “wonderful husband and two teens,” she appreciates that her job allows her to inspire her kids that everyone can use their skills to address a need in the community. “You don’t wait around for someone to tell you what to do. Take action and get involved – if everyone does a little something, a lot can get done.”

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Voice of Experience: Hilary Rapkin, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, WEX

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By Cathie Ericson

Life is a series of stages, says WEX’s Hilary Rapkin, an observation she was recently reflecting on as advice given to her by a mentor. That means what you feel like when you have a six-month-old baby is not what you’ll feel like when that child is two or four. Life changes, and you can’t base career decisions on those emotions you feel at the start, she says.

Over the years Rapkin has been able to cultivate relationships with professional women in similar stages so they could share common experiences — whether about babies, teens or elderly parents– all in an effort to have a rich life and find the elusive work/life balance. That vision and support is how women can successfully integrate a high-powered career with family, she says.

A Serendipitous Interview Launches an Illustrious Career

After law school, Rapkin joined a boutique firm in Portland, Maine, where she soon found that law firm life, specifically litigation, wasn’t a good fit for her. However, she realized she could parlay the employment discrimination work she was doing into a potential career in HR. While interviewing with WEX, the HR director noted that Rapkin’s experience was a better match to a legal position – one the company was considering creating. She was hired and has spent 22 years at the company, growing from a one-person legal department to today, where she oversees the company’s global legal footprint and has HR reporting directly to her.

Among the many noteworthy experiences she’s had over the years, Rapkin considers her involvement in WEX’s IPO in 2005 to be the professional achievement she is most proud of thus far. The team accomplished the filing in three months – while she was pregnant – and she remembers the fast learning curve as being particularly exciting.

Aside from that, she says that over the past few years she has been involved with the HR function, she has found it extremely satisfying to watch the evolution of cultural elements that make WEX special. “The process that has made our culture so strong has been very intentional, and some of the HR programs, such as philanthropy, have had a meaningful impact on employees that may be hard to measure, but you know it when you see it,” she says. “It’s made me really proud of who WEX is and how it is becoming visible to the outside world.”

She looks forward to seeing how WEX can continue to move forward along that trajectory, and to watching the forward-thinking programs and compensation plans come to fruition.

On the legal front, she is pleased to see investments in technology which will create efficiencies and opportunities for legal staff to develop deeper advisory roles with their clients. The new systems are designed to simplify core processes like contract maintenance in an effort to free up associates’ time for more strategic work, such as building business relationships and helping WEX achieve its business objectives. “It’s hard to work on becoming a trusted business partner if you are mired in contract work, so I look forward to seeing how these additional systems will help our team.”

As the department has grown, Rapkin has become an expert on new business segments, as WEX has moved into the broader payments landscape. She finds that 22 years later, her job is still challenging as she works through evolutions in technology and the complexities that a global payments company present.  She thinks future lawyers will have similar interdisciplinary experiences as law schools couple with business and finance functions to groom lawyers who are more well-rounded when they enter the field.

An Environment Dedicated to Success

While Rapkin never took psychology, she remembers taking the Myers-Briggs personality test. This led her to think about who she was compared to peers, and the effect those different personality styles had on their relationships.

“By knowing your relative strengths and weaknesses, you start realizing that it’s the sum of the parts that makes companies successful, and you don’t have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” she says. “It’s important to figure out how to get the best out of your team by managing each individual as an individual.”

She’s proud of the strides WEX has made in implementing programs that she says are a clear depiction of the company’s commitment to offering choices to both women and men, including paid parental leave, which only 17 percent of companies offer. “I hear from people all the time about how that sets us apart, and certainly our profile as a diverse company is bolstered by having three female members on the executive leadership team.”

Rapkin is poised to launch an informal women’s group this summer that will encourage them to learn from one another through informal dialogue around topics like networking, perceptions of women in the workplace and goal-setting.

Gender equality is just part of who WEX is as a company so Rapkin has never felt any gender bias. She does note that sometimes it’s hard to balance parenting and work, although she stresses that her work has ultimately made her a better parent.

A Commitment to Balance

Rapkin takes every opportunity to do yoga as part of her quest for balance, and also counts philanthropy as an important component towards that end. She enjoys bringing her kids, ages 15 and 12, with her to volunteer at a local Jewish nursing home, and is also on the board of a local theater company that often produces original works.

Her kids have inherited her love of adventure, having traveled since they were babies. “We live in a beautiful place, but I want them to see the world,” she says, adding they are looking forward to a summer trip to Chile.

She is also quick to mention that she doesn’t do it all herself.

“I’ve had the same nanny for 15 years; she’s part of our family, and I couldn’t be successful without her. In life, at home and at work, you get out of relationships what you put into them.”

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Voice of Experience: Amanda Rubin, Managing Director, Global co-Head of Brand and Content Strategy, Goldman Sachs

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 By Cathie EricsonAmanda Rubin

“When you work with a group of intelligent and diverse people there are bound to be those who disagree with your opinion, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t speak up,” says Goldman Sachs’ Amanda Rubin.

When first beginning a new position, she recommends focusing on excelling in the fundamentals of your role.  But once you have mastered some of your tasks, Rubin advocates communicating your opinions with confidence. “Sharing a thoughtful opinion backed by good judgment and facts will allow you to differentiate yourself and move forward in a meaningful way,” she says.

As your career progresses, Rubin advises that you are responsible for harvesting talent, and this means allowing junior members on your team to express their points of view: “Remember that your team is looking at you and your actions – from how you treat people and encourage them to be involved in the dialogue to how you engage in your day-to-day activities.”

An Evolving Industry, Ripe For Disruption

After earning her BA in Political Science from Emory University and an MBA from The George Washington School of Government and Business Administration, Rubin dove into the advertising world. She earned positions at top agencies such as Chiat Day, Ogilvy & Mather and DDB Needham Worldwide, where her MBA made her a perfect match with industry-leading financial services clients.

Building on her robust background working with clients in the space, Rubin joined Goldman Sachs’ Brand Marketing and Digital Strategy Group in the late 1990s, eager to parlay her experience into helping to establish the firm’s marketing department. At the time, the firm was just beginning to enhance its external communication efforts as it built its brand in advance of its initial public offering. In support of these efforts, Rubin helped launch Goldman Sachs’ first public website; developed a series of advertising campaigns designed to position Goldman Sachs competitively; and created recruitment marketing materials to further cement the firm as an employer of choice globally.

Almost a decade later as the financial crisis began, Rubin and the team had to evolve their strategy as the firm made a conscious effort to combat an increasingly negative narrative in traditional and social media. “We realized that a lot of people didn’t know what Goldman Sachs does, so we began to actively engage the public in our communication efforts,” she explains.  Previously Goldman Sachs had only targeted a limited set of stakeholders with its marketing outreach, but the crisis became a pivot point in her career as this set of constituents broadened and changed.

“While our approach may be different from other financial services firms who have more of a retail presence, our goal is the same: to demonstrate transparency and share the firm’s purpose and mission.”

Creating her team is the professional achievement Rubin is most proud of to date.  “When I look across the floor and see this talented group of people who are making an impact, it’s gratifying to consider the important role we are playing in shaping the firm’s narrative and explaining the role of Goldman Sachs in the economy and markets.  I am proud of what the team has accomplished and the profile we have earned for the firm.”

As Goldman Sachs has begun its foray into the retail space by taking deposits and making loans, her team has been working closely with the consumer group as they look at new ways to engage and leverage what she describes as “the most innovative toolkit available.”  From Facebook to Twitter, they are constantly seeking new ways to introduce Goldman Sachs’ thinking and expertise to new channels and audiences.

This focus is more important than ever given the general disruption surrounding the intersection of advertising, media and brands.  Previously, each was a separate pillar: a brand would depend on agencies to develop content, which media companies would then distribute.  Now, as brands have the ability to be publishers of content, it allows them to directly share insights with their audience.  “Lines will continue to be blurred, which creates opportunities to establish our own thought leadership platform, distribute content efficiently and partner with new entities,” Rubin says.

Continuous Learning Yields Growth

One reason Rubin has been able to thrive during this time of disruption in the traditional marketing environment is her enjoyment of continuous learning.

“It’s not possible to keep up with changes in this industry if you’re not willing to continuously learn and ask questions, which can be uncomfortable at times,” she acknowledges.  However, she believes being intellectually curious and leveraging talented people is a strength.

In addition to staying abreast of industry changes, Rubin advises that networking is also vital to success in the space.  “That’s the only way you can expand your day-to-day world and contribute in a valuable way to people beyond your immediate sphere,” she says.

An advocate for more formal networking involvement as well, Rubin served as co-chair of the Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit and Executive Office Women’s Network from 2010 to 2014.

“One of the greatest things about Goldman Sachs is our people, and you have a unique opportunity while working here to connect with and learn from a group of incredibly intelligent and accomplished individuals,” she says.

Work and Family: Mutually Beneficial

With two teenagers and a husband, Rubin embraces both her time at work and at home. She finds that being a mom gives her valuable perspective that helps her in the workplace, and in turn, her colleagues give her perspective that helps her be a better mom.

“My kids see me experience highs and lows; they see me working hard and succeeding, but they also see me face challenges, dust myself off and go back to work the next day. I am grateful that work provides me with a platform to teach them these life lessons.”

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Voice of Experience: Leilani Farol, Executive Director, Program Management at J.P. Morgan

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By Cathie Ericson

JP Morgan

“Remember why you were hired, and you will continue to outperform. We brought you in not to conform but to shake things up,” is the advice JP Morgan’s Leilani Farol gives young women.

“Don’t do exactly what your boss does, but do things in a new way that only you can.”

Soft Skills Make the Difference

Leilani is proof that grades aren’t everything. As a self-described C-student, she never let her grades hold her back.

In fact Leilani hoped to parlay her degrees in marketing and computer information services into a position with one of the big companies that was conducting on-campus interviews. She visited one of the IBM recruiters while he was planning for the evening meetings but he told her she wasn’t on the list due to her grades. She persisted, and he said she could talk to him while he prepped for the first real interview; she impressed him so much she got the job.

Her career took off with stops at IBM, 1-800-Flowers, Estee Lauder, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and finally JP Morgan. This has been her longest tenure to date, a place she has stayed because of the variety of roles within the firm, from tech operations to cybersecurity and her current position in global technology infrastructure.

While she started out as a technical developer, she soon realized her social skills lent themselves to success as a business analyst; Leilani credits these soft skills with being able to attain “unexpected wins” despite her non-traditional background. In an environment where most people rise within the financial industry, she was recently promoted to executive director even though she came into the industry through a different route.

She’s also learned to trust herself. “I could have taken my ‘C-student-ness’ and said that was my path, but I know my ability and what I can offer to any organization so when I was given an opportunity I knew I would take it and run with it. It’s fun to come in every day and be thrown into the deep end.”

One area of particular fascination within the financial industry is technology risk, given the potential for cybersecurity incidents. “We always have to stay diligent with both active and passive plans to address any potential attacks. The hacker’s job is to attack, and mine is to thwart it. It’s a high-stakes game.”

Finding Support As a Woman and LGBT

Leilani counsels women not to put a gender barrier on themselves by assuming they will hit a ceiling. “I encourage them to work on realizing their value as a tremendous asset to the technology industry. You need to get out of your own way and be bold and fearless with all you bring to the table,” she says.

And women need to help one another. One moment that stands out was meeting the CTO who reported to President Obama at a Lesbians Who Tech Conference. At the time Leilani’s six-year-old hated computers, and she was trying to show her the many ways that women were successful in tech. “She gave me her card and asked my daughter to email her. This woman was so busy and did it anyway, and that meant a lot to me.”

In addition to her outside groups, Leilani appreciates the dedicated JP Morgan business resource groups such as Women in Tech and Women in FinTech and notes she’s always been able to find a supportive network of women in technology willing to bring people along.

She also recognizes great strides that have been made in the LGBT movement. She laughs that when she first started in the corporate world, there technically was a LGBT group, yet it was a “secret list.”  Fast forward to 2015 when she co-chaired the Tri State Pride Network, marching her family proudly down Fifth Avenue. “It was positively overwhelming to look around and see the support.

“Being gay is a non-event for me in my corporate life, but it didn’t happen because I did it but because of the fact others paved the way,” she says.

Leilani says that her two daughters, age nine and two, are as different as can be — one more gender nonspecific and the other “a princess.”  She appreciates her wife, who is a psychotherapist and has adjusted her schedule to be with the kids most of the time.

Originally transplanted to the east coast on a volleyball scholarship, she still enjoys sports, particularly following beach volleyball.

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Voice of Experience: Liesbeth Botha, Strategic Digital Transformation Leader at PwC Africa

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By Cathie Ericson

liesbeth

Bringing diversity to any team is an advantage for the entire business ecosystem, says PwC’s Liesbeth Botha. “You get a different perspective from unusual backgrounds and combinations of influences. It’s eye-opening for so many people and paves the way for them to be themselves.”

Academia and Consulting – A Perfect Career Blend 

“Interesting and diverse” are the two words that Botha uses to describe her career. A South African native, she earned her undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering and then her PhD at Carnegie Melon University, where she became a prolific publisher of research papers. Based on her publication record, she was sought after to become one of the youngest professors at Pretoria University in South Africa, where she spent 13 years.

She then joined the leadership of Stellenbosch University, a prominent university in South Africa where her portfolio was innovation and commercialization of intellectual property, establishing the policies for start-up companies at the university, as well as the digital transformation of the university. She started a unit that today is still an iconic representation of the university’s focus on innovation.

After six years at Stellenbosch University, she joined the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa’s national laboratory, leading the Materials Science and Manufacturing business unit as executive director. In that role she led a number of national technological innovation programs such as the 3D printing of titanium for structural aircraft parts, in partnership with leading global aircraft manufacturers.

Most recently, in 2014, she moved to PwC, first joining the tech consulting practice before landing in her current leadership role in digital transformation. Her first significant accomplishment there was rolling out the G Suite (Google for Work) platform across PwC in 17 countries in Africa, a significant milestone in their digital transformation journey. Next she’ll be spearheading adoption of several other platforms, including Oracle Cloud for finance and engagement management; Workday, a human capital management system; and a new CRM platform, Salesforce. “It is exciting to implement these cutting-edge solutions in the market as a leader in the larger global PwC network,” she says. “It puts a spotlight on us, but we are up for that challenge.”

Being a leader in digital tech is a priority because of the opportunities for disruption and transformation, not only for PwC as a professional services firm, but the implications for clients as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) become a reality. She sees this as a particularly exciting time, since the theories around AI and pattern recognition have been developed since the ‘80s but couldn’t become a viable option until the proliferation of big data and cloud computing, which provided the data storage and power to allow companies to build and adopt real-world solutions.

As a woman in engineering, Botha says she wishes she had known about the many opportunities that a professional services firm could offer — global opportunities that span different industries and allow you the chance to see the world through totally different eyes than is the case for most people in engineering.

Embracing Her Position as a Role Model

“Having a lesbian woman in the highest position changes the perspective on everything, and I appreciate that I can be a role model for women, lesbians and anyone who’s different from the stereotypes people have in their heads,” Botha said.

“I don’t fit into any box as a woman engineer, with a PhD from one of the leading universities in the United States, then working in academia, moving to leadership positions, and finally joining a professional services firm. Since nothing ‘fits together,’ so to speak, it shows others that being different can give you an advantage.”

She finds that although the structural barriers that impeded women’s professional progress a couple of decades ago have been largely removed, practical barriers remain as women are still the primary caregivers if they have a family, making it difficult to achieve work-life balance.
And, she notes, the other barrier is psychological: Since women don’t have as many role models, they are less likely to form a vision of the person they aspire to be. She sees this changing as women speak out about their experiences, pointing to Margaret Thatcher as holding the type of position that women can now see themselves aiming toward.

Gender is a very defining factor, she says, and the puzzle is that we often don’t know what influences gender-specific behavior. She herself has tried to introspectively determine how she was able to achieve her level of success in a patriarchal society, but can’t point to specific areas where her parents said or did something that influenced her. “I think we still don’t have an idea of how to bring up a child to behave in a gender-neutral manner, so you just do your best as a parent,” she says.

She advises young women not to limit their experiences, but to tackle anything that comes their way. “Just because there are no women in a certain kind of role doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” she says. “Set yourself up for anything that interests you.” She notes that she conquered her various career steps because she believed anything was possible, and that’s the type of approach that women should have.

“Try something, fail fast when you realize it isn’t working and try it another way.”

The Benefits of a Supportive Corporate Environment

As the sponsoring partner for PwC Africa’s LGBT “Be Yourself” network, Botha is proud of the difference it is making for younger people in the organization who weren’t yet comfortable being out at work.

She herself notes what a relief it was to come out to different groups of people, to sometimes experience their surprise and then mostly their acceptance. “It builds self-confidence and trust in the world when you see that, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised each time.”

She says this acceptance won’t happen by itself: Companies must have specific, defined programs with targets because it provides an aspirational goal. “You have to be specific about what you want to achieve,” she says, adding that companies need to be careful not to fall into complacency.

Botha and her wife have been married for 10 years — ever since gay marriage became legal in South Africa –and have two children, a boy and a girl. “Being a parent is one of the most amazing experiences; I never could have anticipated what joy it is,” she says.  And hard work. “I always understood work-life balance intellectually, but it is different when you are experiencing it,” she says.

The family loves traveling, especially adventure travel in their SUV. Botha also rides an on-off-road BMW motorcycle and grabs the opportunity for a quick ride whenever she can.

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Anna Gorga Soderini, Vice President, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs

Anna Gorga Soderini

While it might be harder to find a role model who seems similar to you if you’re LGBT+, a woman, a different race or any underrepresented minority, it’s still very important to find mentors who can guide you in your career, notes Goldman Sachs’ Anna Gorga Soderini.

“When seeking a role model, look beyond traditional ‘diversity’ and focus on individual challenges people might have faced where you can find points in common that might not be obvious,” she says. “If you more broadly define ‘role model,’ you can find someone who also had to adapt to circumstances and conquered similar challenges, even if they might not represent your exact demographics,” she says.

A Meandering Path, With a Destination of Authenticity

For Soderini, the professional journey has been just as important as the destination, and she took what she describes as a bit of a meandering path. She began with classical education – Latin, ancient Greek and philosophy – yet ended up in a finance career. While in London completing her Masters in economic development at the London School of Economics, she was exposed to financial markets for the first time, and to the role efficient asset allocation plays in enabling economic development.

She initially joined a private equity firm that invested in emerging markets before spending two years in Mozambique following that country’s civil war, an incredible experience that made her keenly aware that opportunities emerge following significant periods of change. After her stint in Mozambique, Soderini enrolled at New York University’s Stern School of Business to pursue her MBA and enhance her knowledge and understanding of finance.

After graduating with her MBA, she took a position in M&A, covering and advising financial institutions. Soderini joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 2007 to pursue a role on the buy side.
After making a conscious decision to not share with her former employer that she was gay, Soderini realized this was impeding her ability to form deep relationships with her colleagues and managers, and knew she needed to be open in her next role if she wanted to be successful. She came into the interview process at Goldman Sachs identifying openly as LGBT+, and she says she was blown away by the inclusiveness of the firm and her future colleagues.

When discussing professional achievements of which she is proud, Soderini immediately mentions her involvement with Goldman Sachs’ LGBT Network. She cites her role on the Pride steering committee and subsequently being invited to co-lead the Americas LGBT network at the firm, as a significant moment in her career. Soderini notes that the position is one of great responsibility due to the advocacy and education element of the role, by ensuring the firm remains at the forefront of LGBT+ issues.

Shifting Industry Norms Provide Opportunities for Goldman

Currently, Soderini is excited about co-leading an effort to integrate new data sources into the investment process, as the industry comes to terms with the disruption brought about by technology. She believes the ability to capitalize on these changes will become increasingly critical to the investing process and thus consequential for GSAM’s business.

“This is an inflection point for the whole industry, as data is being created at exploding speeds,” she says. “The size and complexity will require new analytical tools, and we now have more processing power at our fingertips. Goldman’s breadth of strategies, technological sophistication and depth of resources will allow us to harness technology to the benefit of our clients in a way that less capable competitors can’t.”

Also related and top of mind is the debate about active versus passive management, and how Goldman Sachs can weather the current outflows from active management.
“Technology has made fundamental investing harder since it has democratized information and analytical tools. Some of the challenges of active investing are cyclical and will fade under new market regimes, but others, such as the technological disruption, are secular: The firms willing and able to adapt to the new environment will be the ultimate winners. “Goldman Sachs is one of only a handful of asset managers that has the wherewithal to experiment and execute across strategies as we begin to understand these shifts.”

Embracing the Corporate Paradigm

Soderini says she wishes someone had told her when she was starting out that doing a good job is a necessary but usually not sufficient condition to continue progressing in one’s career. She understood the financial sector to be a meritocratic environment, but had not realized how critical it is for everyone around you to see you proactively contribute, understand your career goals and believe in your ultimate potential as a leader.

But while you have to express your views and telegraph your goals and passion, she notes that it can be tricky to get the right balance, particularly for women and those who come from cultures that don’t promote assertiveness.

“At school you are used to being rewarded for executing well in a linear relationship with faculty, completing homework or passing a test,” she notes. “But the work environment is more complex and there are multiple constituents. You don’t work in isolation, and taking the initiative in engaging with your manager and colleagues, as well as championing your work is a necessity.”

Sharing the Proud Culture of Goldman Sachs

In addition to her work with the LGBT Network, Soderini is active with the Pride Summit, a recruitment event where LGBT+ employees and Allies interact with sophomore and junior undergraduates who are looking to learn more about the firm. She finds that people vastly underestimate the leading role the financial industry plays in advancing LGBT+ causes, so it’s incumbent upon the industry to conduct outreach and education.

She also appreciates the opportunity it provides for LGBT+ women to interact in an environment geared toward networking. “We can cast a wider net and create critical mass by bringing this group together at our office.” She loves being able to attract talented individuals from many backgrounds to showcase the firm.

“I talk about it with such enthusiasm because I would have loved to have had something like this when I was in college,” she says, noting that it really underscores the progress that has been made that these programs now exist.

In her spare time, Soderini loves traveling with her wife, primarily from the base they have established in Barcelona, a beautiful city and convenient location for exploring Spain and Europe.

By Cathie Ericson

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