Voice of Experience: Carey Halio, Partner, Finance Division, Goldman Sachs

Carey HalioCarey HalioBy Cathie Ericson

“Your career is a marathon, not a sprint,” notes Goldman Sachs’ Carey Halio, though she admits that while she received this advice early in her career, she didn’t always take it to heart.

“Many of us are hard-driving individuals who want to make an immediate and constant impact, but it’s vital to remember that your experiences, skills and network build upon each other throughout your career.”

Even though she was recently named partner, Halio finds that she still needs to remind herself of this advice, and likens her career to training for a real marathon. “When I first started running, I could only handle one mile, then two, five, and so on, and your career builds in the same incremental way. But, it’s hard to keep that in mind because you don’t have the benefit of hindsight when you’re in the moment,” she says.

Helping the Firm Embrace New Challenges and Growth Opportunities

Before beginning her career in finance, Halio served as a member of the Peace Corps, where she learned the importance of resilience as she worked in Guatemala without access to basics, such as running water and telephones. That experience instilled within Halio the belief that she would be capable of “figuring it out” in any situation, and she was able to overcome her initial intimidation upon joining Goldman Sachs following business school.

“I now see how hugely beneficial my time in the Peace Corps was in teaching me to be resilient and confident to know that things will work out even if you don’t have all the ideal tools readily available. This has been very important in my career and life,” she says.

Halio spent the majority of her tenure in the Credit Risk Management & Advisory Group within the Securities Division before joining Goldman Sachs Bank USA as Chief Financial Officer in 2014.

She notes that her role in Goldman Sachs Bank USA is an exciting position, as the bank was formed relatively recently and now offers consumer lending and deposit products, an area of the financial sector that Goldman Sachs had not traditionally been involved in. “It is very exciting to be part of completely new activities within an institution that has been in business for 148 years.”

Having been in the financial services industry through its ups and downs, she looks back on the tumult as a time of growth. “While the financial crisis was scary, I know that it helped me become a better risk manager, as I was running a team covering companies that failed,” she says. “I grew professionally in multiple ways, learning how to maintain composure in the face of uncertain circumstances.”

A Supportive Environment

In addition to her fulfilling day-to-day work, Halio enjoys the firm’s culture, which encourages mentoring. New female partners are encouraged to pay it forward: She herself has reaped the benefits of a network of women who have been generous with career advice as well as thoughts on childcare and work/life balance. “We need to do the same to keep that spirit alive with our younger colleagues,” she says.

While working at Goldman Sachs, Halio has been active in her division’s Women’s Network, appreciating the opportunity to hear from noteworthy speakers and develop supportive relationships with peers with whom she has “grown up.”

Integrating Balance

While women continue to make major strides in the workforce, childcare and balance remain areas of challenge. As Halio says, with two young boys, no matter how much responsibility she has at work, when she’s home, she’s mom. “I love my work and am proud of what I’ve accomplished but I am still focused on creating a close, engaging family.”

On that note, Halio cites the book “Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection,” by Debora Spar, the president of Barnard College and former Goldman Sachs board member.

Referencing the book, Halio cautions, “You can’t have it all; you have to pick and choose what’s important to you at certain times.” She notes that there are a million things she would like to do, from spending more time with colleagues, to cooking more meals from scratch, but it’s not practical to expect to be able to do everything. She adds that over time your priorities change and you have to make meaningful tradeoffs and have the confidence to make tough choices.

For Halio, that means carefully choosing her outside activities. One that she spends some of her time on is serving as an active board member of her alma mater, Whittier College in Southern California.

She, her husband and sons, ages 3 and 7, enjoy spending their weekends together and reinforcing the family dynamic that can be hard to achieve during the week. They deliberately chose to live outside the city and invest in their community. “I want to provide my sons with a stable, strong foundation and we enjoy hanging out and being part of our town.”

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Voice of Experience: Jewelle Bickford, Partner, Evercore Wealth Management

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By Cathie Ericson

In the workplace, many women don’t know the right questions to ask, but the more questions you ask, the more you’ll learn. “At first it might seem negative to others, but it won’t be long before people will value that spirit and curiosity,” Bickford says.bickford

She has benefited from her exposure to cultures, having lived all over the world. “When someone would say, ‘this is the way it should be,’ I would wonder why and in the end, these questions would have great strategic value. By asking questions, I saw opportunities that others didn’t,” she notes.

Finding Ageless and Timeless Career Success

You could call Bickford’s successful career path a bit delayed. She didn’t have her first paying job until she was 38, and at age 70, is still working. “I just got a late start to work,” she says, noting that she had two daughters by the age of 23, so she spent the first years of her adult life as a housewife and volunteer. She took those roles very seriously, working at them as though they were a paying job, which helped pave the way for her future political and corporate life.

Her first paying job was in the Koch Administration, and she then went to the consumer services group of Citibank, where she says she got fired within nine months. As part of the bank’s outplacement services, she took a battery of tests, and found out she was a natural-born investment banker. She was transferred to Citibank investment banking group, left to join Dillon Read’s investment bank and when Dillon Read was bought by Travelers she was designated a key employee. With her bonus she opened up her own firm in asset securitization which at the time was a new industry.

She sold her firm to Rothschild in 1994 and joined them at Rothschild Inc. as the only female global partner in the United States. She cites this as one of the professional achievements she’s most proud of since investment banking is a tough field and very few women have excelled in the business. In fact, she was so focused on helping other women get promoted that she was dubbed “Head Girl” for her efforts.

In 2009, she retired, and, as she says, “flunked retirement.”

She returned to the investment world at GenSpring, where she created the women in wealth educational template for wealthy families across the United States. After, she left to join Evercore Wealth Management where she became a partner and wealth advisor. She says:

“If they recognize your talent, and feel you can make a contribution to the organization, it doesn’t matter your age,”

Volunteer Work Guides Her Path

Over the years, she has also served on more than 30 non-profit boards. This volunteer work in partnership with her business has been good for her mental health and also for building friendships and networking opportunities. She noted, “being the only woman in many work situations can be lonely, and my volunteer work helped, as much of it was focused around helping women.”

One notable appointment was serving as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the founder of the Council’s task force studying the role of women in economic and political development in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. “Women are well suited for conflict resolution and stabilizing communities in the developing world,” she notes.

Helping Women Achieve Their Goals – Financial and Work-Related

Currently, at Evercore Wealth Management, she enjoys working with families. Since women live longer than men, often much longer, they try to prepare women to manage their finances so they will know the right questions to ask their financial advisor and only select products that will help women achieve their goals. Women will control 14 trillion dollars of assets in the near-term future. “A revolution is occurring, but most people are unaware that women tend to use their money to achieve their goals,” Bickford says. Whereas a man will typically ask about performance, a woman has never asked that in the first meeting. She says they want to know about risk, if they can maintain their lifestyles and what they can do with the money around goals and values.

Whereas she’s found that in the investment banking world men don’t see women as the “man for the job,” the wealth management industry is much more user-friendly for women, as a lot of the natural skills women possess, such as insight and nurturing, dovetail well with the skills needed. At Evercore, they have several female portfolio managers and wealth advisors. Bickford notes, “it isn’t lonely at all.”

They also excel in dealing with complicated issues, such as how money is equated with love, especially in blended families, making it an excellent field for women to pursue.

Overseeing “Paradigm for Parity”

This December, Bickford helped launch this coalition, which she says is part of the continuum in bringing men and women together who are committed to achieving a new norm in corporate leadership. While the ideas for unearthing unconscious bias and sponsorship aren’t new, her group is going about it a new way, she says. They have developed a five-point action plan to hand to a CEO or diversity officer and when implemented concurrently, the steps will reinforce each other.

“If they commit to implement the points all at once, they will see vast progress in a thorny situation,” she says.

The steering committee boasts CEOs from many top companies and Bickford says the fact that the plan and the measurements for success were developed by people within the very companies that need the change will help ensure it will succeed.

Bickford says that her husband has been a guiding force in her success. “When your work life is complicated, you need someone who can support you and help you find the right balance between business and family.” She adds that those who don’t find that in their family can turn to their network to find those people they can trust.

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Mover and Shaker: Stefanie Stewart, Vice President, Senior Real Estate Portfolio Manager, Voya Investment Management

stefanie stewart featured“Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s important to be aggressive and vocal, but respectful. People won’t always agree with you, but in a relationship business, upholding your reputation is essential.”

Conquering a Male-Dominated Industry

These words of wisdom have helped propel Stefanie Stewart through her ascent in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

A finance and real estate major in college, Stefanie worked in student housing, which sparked her interest in commercial real estate.

A professor helped connect her with ING (now Voya) and she started as an analyst eleven years ago, working her way up through the ranks. Seven years back, she moved from an analyst to a production role with her own territory, which she names as the professional achievement she is most proud of so far – her success in exceeding production goals.

“That win was particularly sweet,” said Stefanie considering an experience she had prior to joining Voya – where she has enjoyed being supported throughout her career.

“I was given an interview as a courtesy. At the end, the male manager said, ‘The commercial real estate industry is a good ol’ boys network, I don’t think it’s a place for a young woman.’” Stefanie used the experience to motivate her.

“It is a male-dominated industry, and when I made the transition from analyst to producer I wondered if I would be as successful as the guys at building external relationships. Typically, at first, you start with people lending their relationships, but then you have to build your own book of business,” she notes. Stefanie is proud that she’s been able to succeed and build a reputation for herself in the industry, with the support of her team.

Building Relationships to Build Your Career

A member of Path Builders early on in her career, she has also taken advantage of a variety of women’s networking events.

Stefanie has found sponsorship to be important in her career, with managers who have been committed to putting her in front of senior managers. She says she was fortunate that she was part of the mentoring program while making the transition, which was great timing to help her navigate the waters professionally and even politically.

She also credits much of her growth to managers in the group who have given her opportunities that she acknowledges she often wasn’t yet ready for – some of which filled her with fear, whether it was being in front of senior managers, a complex deal or participating on a panel. In hindsight, each was pivotal in her career. “They have only made me better, and now I look forward to some of these situations that make me uncomfortable, because I know they will give me the opportunity to continue to grow.”

She has had many role models along the way too, and knows that sometimes they can serve as a model of as much what not to do as what to do. “I’ve learned a lot by observing how people handle things under stress or react to criticism, and it has helped me remember that you can always learn from positive feedback.” External role models who are navigating similar challenges, from different sides of the equation, can also be helpful as a sounding board.

Her experience in the real estate program at Florida State University prepared her well for the real estate business, and she now serves as a mentor for recent graduates of the program, as well as visiting to provide case studies for the classes and sitting on a real estate trends conference planning committee. “If I can help a 22 year-old find their way, that is very gratifying to me,” she says.

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Voice of Experience: Céline-Marie Mechain, Partner, Goldman Sachs, Paris

Céline-Marie MechainBy Cathie Ericson

A champion of women’s advancement throughout her tenure at Goldman Sachs, Céline-Marie Mechain urges senior women who have risen through the ranks to continue to stick together to attract more women and support those who want a career in investment banking.

Mechain pursued a classic academic path for French women: business school in France, followed by a graduate degree in the UK, where she polished her English-language skills. She began her career in Citibank’s advisory team in 1993 in London before joining the leveraged finance team at Deutsche Bank. In 1998, she joined Goldman Sachs as an associate in leveraged finance, rising to vice president in 2001, managing director in 2006 and ultimately partner in 2016.

Early in her tenure, Mechain was tasked with an ambitious endeavor – to create a financial sponsor platform for French-speaking countries in London – a project that uniquely fit her skill set and one she describes as both a challenge and sign of confidence from the firm. In 2004, she was asked to relocate to Paris to be closer to clients and to build out the private equity coverage platform to support a variety of clients, including French corporates, pension funds, portfolio companies, family offices and entrepreneurs. Building a business that didn’t previously exist at Goldman Sachs is the professional achievement of which she is most proud, as it allowed the firm to cover sponsors in a holistic way across products. In addition, while her team has typically covered classic sponsors, they have broadened and adapted to Asian, Canadian or US buyers, and large family offices, who are interested in investing in Europe. “I am very proud of what we built and the ability to scale the business with a universal advisory approach,” she says.

As globalization continues, Mechain explains that the firm will strive to retain its leading banking role across regions, while simultaneously supporting buyers from emerging countries and providing access to capital markets on a worldwide scale. “We are always thinking about how we can address the trend of globalization and provide the quality of services that defines Goldman Sachs,” she says, adding that the firm is considering how to invest in the midst of the current political climate, particularly in light of upcoming European elections.

Becoming a Role Model

Mechain recalls that when she was a junior associate 20 years ago, there were very few women in investment banking, which created a dearth of women applicants because it was so challenging for candidates to envision banking as a career. Understanding the challenges she faced, she strives to be a role model for junior women. “I wish I had been advised to not be afraid of this environment — you can absolutely succeed by believing in yourself, and in many ways it can be beneficial to be a woman,” Mechain says.

Mechain highlights that women in advisory and management roles may now have an advantage, as women are also rising through the ranks of corporates and clients and will increasingly influence corporate decision-making.

She calls on women to support one another in order to attract more women to the field. Mechain herself has blazed many trails, and was the first woman investment banker in the Paris office to announce maternity leave, and as part of her drive to raise the visibility of women, she co-founded the Women’s Network in Paris. Launching this initiative ultimately connected women across divisions and has been instrumental in increasing mentorship opportunities within the firm. She notes that she always received strong support for the network from leadership across regions and product lines.

Mechain also created an initiative called the Women in an Impactful Network (WIN), which connects women at the vice president and managing director levels with other industry leaders. “We ask women to identify three external women executives they want to brainstorm with on diversity and business issues, which has created a wonderful think tank to help raise awareness of these challenges.” This group of industry professionals, which includes clients, now has approximately 50 members, who regularly meet with one another also outside of official WIN events.

“Establishing these networks has been one of my top achievements, and has provided a forum for senior women to support junior women in the workplace,” Mechain says. “These organizations have been game changers.”

A Team Effort at Home

Mechain credits her supportive husband and children with playing key roles in her career success. “It’s a team effort,” she says, adding that she received great advice when beginning her career to make sure that her life partner shares the burden of caring for children and overseeing a household.

“I run the house like a Goldman project, relying on lists and reminders,” she explains. “It’s an everyday effort, and while it was not natural for me to delegate at first, I’ve been able to prioritize effectively, both at work and at home.”

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Mover and Shaker: Carey Ryan, Director, Citi

carey ryanBy Cathie Ericson

Hard work is a key component, but just one of many that will lead to success, finds Citi’s Carey Ryan.

She says she put her head down and produced for years, which worked well until she moved into more senior roles and had an instance that reframed her thinking: She had thought she had hit one project out of the park only to find out she had completely missed the mark.

“After I got over the shell shock, I analyzed what I’d missed, and part of it was that I hadn’t put the time and effort into thoroughly understanding my audience and their motivation and what was driving them,” she says, noting that when she looks at other similar moments when she didn’t do as well as she’d hoped it almost always leads back to a need to think more critically about the audience.

That has led to one of her favorite mottos that she picked up at a sales training years ago: “So what?” Ryan believes you have to ask that question every day from the perspective of your audience and the people you’re interacting with to successfully meet their needs.

She also believes a little luck is necessary, but it’s difficult to come by without the hard work. She echoes that success needs that hard work, but also includes understanding your audience; identifying where you can bring true value; and realizing that it’s ok to fear change but it’s important to always find the opportunity in any situation.

A Career Built on Adaptation

Learning to adapt has been the cornerstone of her path upward from the beginning, with her first job at a small software company in Portland, Ore., as a technical writer. She was hired after she sent a blind resume and letter; they mentioned the available writing job and she said “Sure, I can do that!”

As someone who sees life with a “glass-half-full perspective,” Ryan found that while she didn’t love the exact position, being part of the small software company gave her the opportunity to do a little bit of everything – such as going on client implementations and testing software — whatever was needed when and where it was needed.

“During this first phase of my career I learned to experience entrepreneurial thinking and the impact each individual has on revenue and expense — how everything is connected to drive success.”

The firm was acquired by a larger software company that spent a period of time trying to figure out the right place for the division, which meant she had to learn to adapt to various management styles and goals. She moved into product management and experienced working in a bigger environment where change was a constant.

Through one of the reorganizations, she and a few of her colleagues moved to the company’s headquarters in New Jersey. Two years later, she came with a sponsor to Citi, where she again learned to adapt to a larger environment — 350,000 people at the time.

She’s been at Citi 11 years now, and is currently part of the Chief Operating Office that serves the global Institutional Clients Group (ICG) Operations and Technology organization. One of her team’s responsibilities is to increase the focus on program management for the organization.

“It’s the kind of challenge that is exciting to me, to find ways to create an impact across the global organization,” she says.

“I am proud of the path I’ve taken and the collection of achievements that have allowed me to navigate the various changing roles I’ve held and the teams I’ve served.”

Those roles have reinforced that you don’t have to know “what you want to be when you grow up.”

“I always thought you had to know and since that wasn’t my bent, it caused me a lot of stress at first,” she says, adding that she considers herself an ambitious person so it took her a while to realize how those two qualities can blend. “My strength is in my utility, that I can play the role that is needed at the time,” she says, noting that the vision of a career as a jungle gym, not a ladder, is an apt description for hers.

In fact, she says that if you had asked her five years ago if this is what she would be doing, she would have said no. “But the organization had a need, and my team views it as an opportunity to set the path going forward to achieve our goals and drive value for the organization.”

The Power of Relationships in Success

Ryan notes that before she headed to Citi, her sponsor advocated for her for a position in a business about which she truly didn’t know much; yet he was certain she had the skill sets he needed. “He put me forward in a situation where I would not have been successful without that support,” she says.

Over the years she has been fortunate to have role models like him and others who she describes as fearless individuals who tackle challenges with poise; strategic thinkers who can see the path forward and connect the dots before others do; straight shooters who tell it like it is; and individuals who always put the good of the team and the organization first. “All of these strong leaders have demonstrated skills to emulate.”

Ryan became involved with Citi’s Women’s Leadership Council a few years ago when she was invited to a training on executive presence and personal brand. The people she met there spurred her to get more involved and she has since found the group has provided value through skill development, networking and peer coaching.

She is also actively involved in Citi’s diversity initiatives, focused on driving not only women but other diverse groups forward for the good of the business.

Ryan is now in her third year co-chairing the Emerging Talent Program, a group composed of Vice President and Senior Vice President-level women who have graduated from the Developing Talent Program and want to continue building their network and skills to move their careers forward.

Finally, the relationship that powers her the most is her “amazing family.” She says that her husband and parents are her partners in making her life work and keeping things moving – from the big things, to the more mundane, like making sure her four-year-old daughter has clean socks to wear.
She also counts her friends as a key support system. “It’s not just the family you’re given but the family you choose, and I am lucky that both of these families are incredible.”

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Voice of Experience: Sharmila Karve, Global Diversity Leader, PwC India

sharmila karveBy Nicki Gilmour

Sharmila Karve is a self proclaimed “lifer” at PwC having begun her career in the Mumbai office as an intern in 1985. Sharmila says she has always been people and client focused and she got her first foray into leadership when she was one of the first females admitted as a Partner in 1997. Sharmila cites her client focus as the reason she could stay the course and keep advancing in her career and the firm through good and bad times in the Indian market. In 2009, she became the Territory Assurance Leader, India. After a successful stint as the Assurance leader she was appointed as the Head of Risk in 2012.

What experience teaches

The expertise she has acquired over years of working with a diverse set of clients has helped her deal with complex situations. As part of this journey she has successfully interacted with stakeholders both internal and external including regulators. Her biggest piece of advice for readers managing their career is “Be truthful and direct when dealing with difficult situations”.

The excitement of a new challenge

Early this year, Sharmila Karve took on the Global Diversity Leader role and is now a part of the PwC Global Leadership Team. She is using this opportunity to share her experience and the experiences of various others to empower people across the PwC network of firms. She says: “This role is challenging and we need to have a broader outlook to welcome each day with an open mind. There is no book that you can refer to on the rules, it is about listening.”

She is no stranger to understanding how to change the DNA of a culture having accomplished this in other aspects and she knows that her next challenge is ultimately to help people succeed. She comments of her upcoming diversity and inclusion challenge: “I would like to see how fast we can move the needle. How can we create the right support to further help both men and women be great leaders. Specifically how we can have more men engaged to drive the change. I think this mission is about getting people to share their thoughts with an open mind.”

When asked about how to empower women at work, she firmly believes that it is very important that women ask for what they want. She talks about having the confidence ‘To say NO at work or at home and not feel guilty about it’. Also to truly address the matter, it is important for the men to not assume what a woman might want based on their own ideas and experiences. She gives a very good example that often male managers might presume that a female on their team might not want to travel due to having young kids. She is adamant on her message that men and anyone else who is picking a team should be asking what individuals want to do and to ask a diverse cross section of people to join their team for optimal success.

As Global Diversity Leader she recognizes that gender is just one part of diversity and she states that one of her goals is to ensure that other diversity issues are equally explored and that data sets can be built on her watch. One of the many priorities Sharmila will be driving to accelerate change, involves disrupting the diversity trends of PwC’s experienced hires. In this regard she is very excited to executive sponsor PwC’s gender inclusive research project, the findings of which were released in their Winning the fight for female talent report on International Women’s Day.

On Work and Life

When asked about the idiosyncrasies of local country culture as part of the diversity challenge, Sharmila immediately gets that working mothers have the most shared yet separate challenges depending on the country that they reside in. She acknowledges that the US for example has daycare support when the Asian market leans more on family structures. She comments: “I myself took time out from 1991- 1994 to have and raise my daughter. I truly think people should do what is right for them and what makes them happy. Get a support structure and ask for support when needed. You don’t need to be a superwoman. In India our support structure includes family so I often joke be friends with your mum and mum-in-law as you never know when you will need their help and support.”

Sharmila relays that speaking up is often the answer as most managers will understand the human factor. She comments, “Fair leaders will understand that especially in global roles that rotating the early morning phone calls for example through time zones should be an option. And of course, technology makes work flexibility easier than ever before. We need sustainable careers for everyone”.

When relocating to other countries, Sharmila also recommends knowing the local norms but retaining your ethnic identity so that the benefits of diverse thinking is not lost.

In her spare time

Sharmila travels extensively and enjoys interesting terrain, joking she wants to see the world while her knees still let her. She spends time with her husband who is a Naval officer, her daughter Sanjana who is training to be a veterinary surgeon and Cara and Scamp, her spoilt and pampered pets.

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Voice of Experience: Maude Lebois, Partner, International Arbitration Group, Paris, Shearman & Sterling

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By Cathie Ericson

Shearman & Sterling Partner Maude Lebois finds that younger associates have a tendency to postpone developing their private lives in favor of their professional lives — but she believes it’s absolutely possible to live both lives simultaneously at full speed. shearman

“If you focus on quality rather than quantity, you do not have to compromise,” she says. “By nature attorneys are typically perfectionists, but we need to be as ambitious in our private lives as our professional lives from the start.”

She believes part of this is timing: She has seen women having their first child right before or right after becoming partner, which can be the hardest years for both endeavors.

“It’s a misconception that leaders don’t want you to have a fulfilling private life; in fact, certainly in our group, it’s a key focus,” she says, noting that the two managing partners have aggressively promoted several women partners on the team, making it clear from the beginning that they supported a balanced life. In fact, she cites being named counsel while coming back from maternity leave as one of her proudest moments. “It sent a strong signal to younger associates.”

Finding the Female Advantage

Lebois completed her legal education in Belgium and Harvard Law School, and began her professional career with three years at Linklaters in Brussels, a Magic Circle firm. She joined Shearman in 2005 as part of the international arbitration team and was promoted to counsel in 2013 and then partner in 2016.

She is proud to be part of this ambitious and successful team, which routinely is involved in high-profile, complex cases. Currently working on a large construction case in Africa, Lebois notes that she sits in on daily meetings with engineers where it is not unusual to be the only woman in the group due to the powerful trifecta of Africa, the oil and gas industry and the field of engineering.

She has turned that into an advantage; when there are women in the room, she finds that men tend to be more cautious than they otherwise would. “They may be quite direct, but become more polite when there is a woman in their world.”

She enjoys these large-scale projects where counsel needs to not only understand how the law will be applied to the situation but also gain a full understanding of any technical issues, which requires practitioners to be curious about all types of technical skills.

 

“As you look at a large construction project, you have to fully understand the initial scope of work in order to determine how it evolved and whether additional work was required, so it can be a puzzle.”

 

This reality can be a surprise to younger associates who, in addition to the practice of law, find themselves engaged substantially on conducting delay analysis, technical research and other exciting  assignments.

A Strong Team Makes the Difference 

Echoing her advice to pursue a robust private and professional life, Lebois notes that it is imperative to have a strong team supporting you, both in the firm and your private life.

 

“You won’t succeed if you come home after a long day and have to apologize to your husband and kids,” she says. “You are setting a good example by working hard, and everyone should appreciate your efforts on both fronts.”

Lebois appreciated that this year Shearman invited spouses to the partner meeting which allowed them to better understand the work setting as they met colleagues and experienced the environment. In her case, she says it made her husband even more supportive and proud of her success.

That support extends to the bonds she has built at the firm, with a strong women partner team that meets regularly. She is also part of Shearman’s WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention) group and has found that having mentors who supported and protected her and women in general is integral to success.

In her off-hours she enjoys backpacking with her family, including her five-year-old daughter.

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Mover and Shaker: Susan Nicholson, Director of Product and Marketing, WEX Australia

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 By Cathie Ericson
Susan Nicholson says she always assumed that her degree coupled with hard work would equal success. “Those elements are your ticket to play, but hard work is not enough,” she found.Susan
In addition, she says, “You have to demonstrate mastery, but also align yourself to deliver on key outcomes and be a well-rounded leader. If you don’t work well with others, your ability to move up in the organization is hampered.”
She herself has found that a key to success is always delivering on what she has promised, which creates trust and respect in your network.
 
Growing Her Career and Her Team
 
After earning her graduate degree, she got her start in the buying office for Myer department stores (at the time part of the Coles Myer/WESFARMERS retail group). Over a 13 year career at WESFARMERS, Nicholson worked across their business units from department stores to supermarkets and then focusing much of her time on getting the organization to unlock the insights from their rich data through POS, scheme, shareholder and loyalty programs. She participated in the launch of a Coles Supermarket scheme card they worked on with GE, and after that worked with GE for five years, before joining WEX four years ago where she is currently in the role of Director of Product & Marketing for the Asia Pacific region.
Seeking to emulate the qualities of leaders she has admired over the years, Nicholson says the professional achievement she is most proud of so far is her growth as a leader. She particularly appreciates any chance to instill confidence in women who haven’t yet developed it. “I love to empower them to understand their potential to have a great career,” she says. “When you see your team grow and their accomplishments be recognized it is a commendation of your own role.”
 
“I’ve been able to build a diverse, highly accountable team. While the skills of the team are very different, the values are shared. That’s one of the reasons we all enjoy continuing to push, challenge and improve on what we are doing”
 
“The work we have been doing over the past couple of years in the innovation and digital space has created a great energy across the team and the broader business, and WEX Australia has earned recognition by being named one of the top 50 most innovative companies in Australia for 2016.”
 
In terms of career advice, Nicholson would also encourage others to continue to keep their skill set current. “What are you doing to develop yourself? How are you externally focused? Do you understand your customer needs and pain points? What could be the disrupters to the way you do business?” she challenges.
 

Right now she is looking forward to an imminent fuel card program launch which will bring one of the missing ingredients they’ve been looking for in their existing product sets. “I am excited for the potential for that launch and a big focus on expanding in Asia, which will be a positive challenge for our team.”

 

Career Lessons Learned

While she notes that mistakes will always happen, the most crucial component is how you deal with them; for example by exuding a calmness and having the ability to logically work out next steps to arrive at a solution. Your take away should be what you have learned from the experience and building on that.
 
“Seeing how someone mitigates failure is one of the most telling aspects of their character”
 
In addition she recommends always being ready to jump in to any project and give it your best. “If someone gives you an opportunity, put your hand up so that you can be involved in the newest and most interesting things, which is where you are bound to learn the most,” she advises.
 
“In today’s environment you need to create a culture and be a willing participant in a culture that isn’t afraid of failure, brave enough to try something new and figuring out new paths for organizational growth. Working with companies such as WEX with the freedom to explore, build and grow is really important to me in terms of career satisfaction,” she says.
 
That attitude has led Nicholson to be active in many groups, both internal and external. She was involved in the GE Women’s Network and now at WEX has been active in the Women in Payments Australian Symposiums. WEX is one of the first sponsors of that group in Australia, which fosters a network for women in the payments industry.
 
WEX is currently planning its third sponsorship of the event, which has been a positive way to raise the company’s profile, as well as leverage the network and introduce others to the fact that there is an exciting career path in payments.
 
WEX has a robust leadership program that has given her a lesson she is happy to bring home. “I want to make sure I am giving my two young children the time they need to watch them grow,” she says, a life balance encouraged by WEX.
 
This holistic view has also inspired her to find time to squeeze in fitness and other pursuits. “I am happier and more productive when I achieve a healthy balance in all parts of my life.”  
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Voice of Experience: Stephanie Ivy Sanford, Managing Director, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs

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stephanie ivy sanfordBy Cathie Ericson

“One of the most important things I realized when I began my career is how crucial it is to strike the right balance of being a team player and being accommodating, but also knowing how and when to push back,” says Goldman Sachs’ Stephanie Ivy Sanford.

“The firm values diversity of opinion, and you have to take calculated risks, whether it’s standing up for yourself or respectfully presenting a different strategy as you strive to make the work product better.”

Cultivating a 20-Year Career at Goldman Sachs

According to Stephanie, she “fell into finance” when her curiosity was piqued by classes she took while pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University. She soon discovered that municipal banking might be an interesting path and began her career at what was then Fitch Investors Service through the support of a friend and mentor.

While a wonderful training ground, Stephanie was searching for a new opportunity to propel her career forward and reached out to a fellow Wesleyan alum working at Goldman Sachs. She joined the firm in 1997 and is looking forward to celebrating her 20th anniversary this year.

After two years in Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division, she became curious about other opportunities, and recognized that asset management was both a growing area and a good match for her skill sets and relationship-oriented personality. She joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) in 2000 and eventually assumed a role in a new group created for the middle market, covering west coast institutional clients. In 2006, she transferred from New York to Los Angeles, and currently manages a team of five covering GSAM’s west coast public fund client business, along with some strategic legacy corporate and endowment clients. She was promoted to Managing Director in 2012.

Lest anyone assume that the path is easy, Stephanie is quick to point out that everyone, even the most successful, have bumps along the way. “Starting out with no experience in finance, I couldn’t imagine being promoted to VP let alone MD. But by taking the risk to move out west and live in my client territory, and with the guidance of my mentors in new roles, I have been able to survive and thrive at Goldman Sachs for almost 20 years,” she said.

Currently, Stephanie is focused on signing a “goal” client — one they’ve been in discussions with for some time, and she is excited about the progress they are making. “It’s a very challenging situation we are determined to complete successfully, as it would be incredibly meaningful for GSAM to work with this client.”

Keeping Up in a Changing Industry

Stephanie finds that the industry today is very fee-focused, which ultimately affects her business. “It’s interesting to see where we compete with other managers who are looking at passively managed strategies versus our active management,” she says. “It’s important for us to have a voice and a view in the increasing conversations around alternative investments and equities, since they are affecting how we do business, and the increasing client demand for customization.”

Stephanie adds that she has the privilege of working on several industry boards, which allow her to gain additional insight into stakeholders’ views of trends shaping the sector. In turn, this helps her understand how Goldman Sachs can adapt to address industry changes, ensuring that the firm can best serve clients.

The Role of Advocacy in Women’s Careers

Stephanie has noticed that in general, women are less inclined to raise their hand and ask for an assignment if they don’t feel they are perfectly equipped for every aspect of it. In contrast, men often jump at taking on new responsibilities, even if they are not fully prepared for such a role. Stephanie stresses that women need to speak out in the same manner if they want to be considered for new positions.

She has also learned how important advocacy is in advancing your career; she acknowledges it can be more difficult in a male-dominated industry for women to establish the same type of relationships that men can develop with ease over dinner or on the golf course.

Stephanie recognizes therefore that it’s crucial to keep an open mind about who your mentors or sponsors might be and realize they don’t have to “look like you.” She references one mentor who became a close friend despite political and ethnic differences; their relationship provided insight into how she was perceived at the firm, which ultimately helped her career.

Finally, Stephanie shares one important lesson learned along the way – ask for help when you need it. She believes this is integral to the firm’s culture, and is behavior that is encouraged and rewarded. She recalls one instance where she was given so much responsibility and senior client interaction as an Associate, that she felt overwhelmed, When she finally asked for assistance, her manager said, “We were waiting for you to speak up – we only give you what we think you can handle,” a lesson that has stuck with her.

Seeking and Giving Feedback Are Both Crucial

An integral aspect of your career is requesting feedback and integrating that feedback into your daily processes, advises Stephanie. “This is a quality you find in the people who thrive and are given new opportunities,” she notes, adding that in the workplace, men and women approach feedback differently.

“Men are more prone to give feedback to other men, partially because they may be more worried that you might be offended to receive feedback as a woman or person of color,” said Stephanie. “You have to let them know you value their input. Say, ‘You can hit me on the chin; I want it. I can take it because it makes me better.’” She notes you should then circle back and identify the changes you instituted to reflect their input.

Additionally, Stephanie calls on seasoned professionals to provide feedback to junior people, whether related to their work product or conduct in the workplace. “It’s also not just feedback they directly receive, but junior employees should also realize how nonverbal cues can contribute to the opinions that people form of them.”

She notes that she learned many of these unspoken lessons through the Goldman Sachs Firmwide Women’s and Black Network, which also provided additional opportunities to work with senior women across the firm. Stephanie cites developing a close, personal mentorship relationship with a female partner who later became her boss and helped her strive for bigger roles. “She really helped me understand how the firm works and how each role leads to a new opportunity when you think about your career.”

Stephanie is eager to pay it forward; she was gratified when she was recently asked, as one of the most senior woman in her region, to host Q&A sessions in the firm’s Los Angeles office for junior people.

Family and Philanthropy Fill Her “Off” Hours

Active in a number of philanthropic organizations, Stephanie serves on the board of Kids in Sports, which provides sport activities for underprivileged children; she’s also mentored students from Crenshaw High School; and is a former trustee of her alma mater, Wesleyan University. In addition, Stephanie is a founding member of the National Association of Securities Professionals’ southern California chapter, which serves women and minorities in the industry by providing networking opportunities and ensuring that minority firms receive visibility across the sector. She has also been involved with her church, serving on the hospitality committee and participating in a girls mentoring program.

Finally, she is passionate about spending time, skiing and exploring new places with her husband and 18-month-old daughter.

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Mover and Shaker: Peggy Watson, Vice President, Product Management, North American Fleet for WEX

peggy watsonBy Cathie Ericson

Peggy Watson believes that respect and relationships are the cornerstone for success. She has found that it’s vital to take the time to know what matters to people: Whether you’re trying to close a deal or get the best from an employee, if you know what makes them tick and address it in a genuine way, you will be successful.

“Being genuine and having respect will allow you to build relationships that will help you move forward together,” she says.

A Successful Career at WEX – With One Detour

Watson has spent the majority of her 30-year career in marketing, starting with a position in high school doing management and marketing for a pizza chain. It not only sparked her love for food, she jokes, but also gave her the business bug and an enduring curiosity for how businesses tick and promote themselves.

She joined WEX in 1998 where she has held various roles for the past 18 years with only one brief departure.

“I loved my job and got a lot of energy and satisfaction from it, but at one point after I had reached a director level position, I had the opportunity to try something totally different which I thought was my calling – that would allow me to combine my love of business with my love of food,” she says. She joined a small catering business, working with the owner to expand its reach; although she wasn’t sure it would be the right fit, she told herself to be bold and take a chance because if she didn’t try it she would always wonder what might have been.

The wonder ceased soon after she joined as she realized that she was better suited to corporate marketing. “I have always enjoyed cooking and entertaining, but I realized my joy comes from doing it for people whom I love, and the job took me away from that.”

Her boss at WEX had encouraged her to return if her other opportunity didn’t work out so soon she was back, feeling more confident and bolder in her career after the learning experience. “It was an amazing experience, from which I learned a lot, and have no regrets.”

After she returned to WEX she eventually moved into a role where she was overseeing both product and marketing and supervising a large team. “That’s one of the benefits I’ve experienced while working at WEX. There’s always a new challenge.”

Overseeing the Challenges of the Future

Backed by a company always looking to increase the speed with which it moves and innovates, Watson enjoys building teams and is now relishing the challenge of building a repeatable and scalable process for taking customer insights and turning them into valuable products solutions for customer.

One important industry innovation she is tracking is the intersection of payments, mobile technology and the connected car, which has the potential to have a major impact on their business model going forward. “I believe that the concept of a driverless car will be a reality within my career,” she says.

Realities of the Corporate World

When reflecting on what she expected in the business world, Watson shares a vision common among young professionals – the glamour of corporate travel. While she appreciates the opportunities she has had to go interesting places and meet people, she soon found out, as many do, that on the whole travel takes its toll.

Mentors Helped Her Achieve

Over the years Watson has had a number of advocates who have helped with both visibility and building confidence. Along with multiple positive role models, she had one in particular who showed her what not to do — a boss early in her career who seemed to enjoy working in a chaotic environment and would create fire drills to watch the staff respond. Watson quickly learned that when there is actual deadline stress, you want the team to take it seriously and be at their best, rather than having it be a regular occurrence.

On the other hand, she mentions a boss who offers two traits Watson tries to emulate. “She was the smartest person I’ve ever known, but she used her knowledge to be inclusive rather than exclusive. She was the smartest person in the room, but she never made anyone feel less so. “Her knowledge was deep and wide, and she was generous with it, rather than imperious.” Watson says that she learned that sharing information leads to strong, trusting relationships that will positively impact your career.

Watson also appreciated the team perspective her mentor offered, understanding what each person brought to the table and how it fulfilled the whole picture.

“She brought me on the team to fill a gap. She herself was a very talented writer, and once when I struggled for days trying to write a piece she stopped me and said, ‘Don’t struggle with that, as I can do it easily. Instead, I need you to manage the production of the publication because I’m dreadful at that.’” That’s when Watson says she learned to look for complementary skills rather than clones when pulling a team together.

Watson appreciates the educational opportunities she’s been offered at WEX, including an integrated leadership development program of which a significant component was working with an executive coach. “That relationship has been enormously helpful in developing my career and refining my future goals and how to achieve them.” Watson notes that she’s often been tapped for a positon even when she wasn’t certain she was ready, but the rapport she’d developed with the coach allowed her to see the possibilities and embrace the challenges by taking the risk and putting herself out there.

In one instance, she put her hat in the running for a bigger job that she wouldn’t have considered without her coach’s encouragement. Though she didn’t end up in the position, the process was extremely empowering and built a feeling of confidence for the next opportunity.

A Love of Cooking Permeates All Aspects of Her Life

When not working, Watson continues to indulge her love of cooking and entertaining; in fact she says it’s not unusual for her and her husband to have dinner guests two or even three times a week. “I learned a lot in the short time I switched careers, and now I can whip up a dinner party for 20 in two hours,” she says with a laugh.

And although her catering venture wasn’t a good career fit, she continues to help friends with special occasions. Using cooking as a creative outlet has threaded throughout her career, even to her philanthropic pursuits, where she delights in helping in soup kitchens and food drives.

Career Lessons

There are two important lessons I’ve learned over the course of my career, she says. “First, take risks – you always learn something from them, and the more you do it the less scary they are. And second, respect people: Understand where they are coming from and understand what they do well and give them the opportunity to use those skills.”

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