Voice of Experience: Mar Gallardo, Partner, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, PwC Spain

mar gallardoBy Cathie Ericson

Everything takes its own time, says PwC’s Mar Gallardo. “Our career is not a crazy competition for short-term successes, and everyone should drive their career with a medium- or long-term perspective. As you make decisions, you may even learn that some of them were wrong, but learning from mistakes allows you to become stronger and more resilient,” she says.

A Life-Long Career At PwC

Gallardo has honed her long-term career at PwC, joining in 1987 as an auditor. Initially she focused on Telefonica, the major telecom company in Spain, and clients in the automotive sector. Since 1996, her activity has been focused on CIP clients (industrial, automotive, retail and consumer and pharma), including auditing and advising clients on the IPO process, U.S. GAAP and IFRS conversions and in accounting and compliance approaches. She was promoted to partner in 2003, the first ever female partner in PwC Spain.

In 2006 Gallardo assumed responsibility for the assurance practice for industrial products and automotive, as part of the assurance executive committee. She has since added responsibility for business development and is currently the CIP leader and the Diversity & Inclusion leader since 2012. In addition, Gallardo is a patron of the PwC Foundation in Spain and a member of the advisory board of Expansion, a financial newspaper in Spain.

Gallardo says she can’t point to one specific achievement she is most proud of, because after 28 years at PwC, she sees that her success has been a combination of many factors. “When I look back to the start of my career, I see all the experiences acquired, all the projects I have participated in, all the people I have met, and all that I have achieved, and I feel very proud of the sum. I feel very privileged to be able to continue enjoying and learning at work every day.”

The Importance of Retention

Right now, Gallardo is immersed in the many changes and transformation that the CIP industries are facing, as she works with her team to build solutions — adding value to clients while differentiating themselves from competitors in the services they provide. And that demands that they continue to attract, retain and develop the most diverse talent to allow for different points of view.

“As diversity leader in PwC Spain, I know it’s imperative to have diversity as a strategic priority embedded in our organization,” she says, noting it is even more important, due to new EU legislation, which among other requirements, has defined a Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation (MFR) that is impacting the audit market in many ways.

“We are dealing with a significant transformation of our firm and it is more crucial than ever to attract and retain the best talent. With women representing half of the new joiners each year, we cannot afford to lose female talent later in the pipeline.”

However, it is a fact in Spain that industrywide, more women than men leave before they reach leadership levels.

“Lost female talent at upper levels is a complex problem with many contributing factors both structural and corporate,” Gallardo says.

Since women still shoulder the bulk of home and child-related responsibilities, they often choose not to pay the price of long hours at the office. In addition she notes that as result, women have less time to dedicate to developing professional relationships and therefore can have less visibility inside the organization. Finally, some women demonstrate less self-confidence and therefore find it difficult to ask for promotions; although she sees this changing as millennials enter the workforce with increased confidence.

Finally, she sees that the culture of companies can present a barrier, due to unconscious bias, which affects leadership styles and how decisions are made and relationships formed.

“This is not a social question, but one of financial impact,” Gallardo stresses. “We have to be focused on retaining that talent as a business issue.”

That’s why she urges women entering the industry to drive their own career and exude confidence, unafraid to be ambitious and participate in open discussions regarding professional development and their objectives.

And she urges her peers to make the effort to support other women to grow and overcome the barriers they encounter in professional development, by dedicating time to be role models.

“I am convinced that if we dedicate time to know, understand and support female professionals along their careers, as their formal and informal mentors, and let them work in a flexible manner focused on objectives, we will be able to retain and advance women at all levels.”

Gallardo says she is focused on establishing objectives and implementing measures in light of the information obtained from the firm’s diversity balance scorecard. Built in 2010, it is a detailed analytical process which contains data on all key process of human capital affecting the professional development of women in PwC.

“What can´t be measured does not exist and it is crucial to have quality information to analyze and subsequently establish measures of accountability,” she says. Their work on the scorecard was reinforced with the adoption of the Global Inclusion Index, the PwC network D&I accountability framework.

In addition, Gallardo emphasizes that care is a key value, as they seek to understand each individual and what matters to them. “We have to make the effort to recognize the value each person contributes, while supporting others to grow and work in the way that brings out their best.”

A Full Life, Inside and Outside of Work

While Gallardo acknowledges that it would appear difficult to balance a demanding work schedule with family life and hobbies, she says that careful planning can allow you to accomplish all your goals.

Gallado couldn’t be prouder of her children, ages 17 and 20, and makes time for annual skiing and beach trips with her family. “Vacation is important to allow you not only to explore new places but share quality time with your loved ones,” she notes.

Since she was young, she has enjoyed snow and water skiing, tennis and paddle ball. In addition, she loves listening to music and is just one year away from a degree in music theory.

“While I have many hobbies, I have to say that I also really have fun working. It cannot be any other way.”

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Mover and Shaker: Kristin Manning, Equity Analyst at Voya Investment Management

Kristin ManningBy Cathie Ericson

“It’s crucial in this business to stay humble and truthful with yourself,” says Kristin Manning, equity analyst at Voya Investment Management. Over the years she’s seen much success, which she credits in part to being able to maintain a level clarity, especially during difficult times. “Recognizing when something has changed and avoiding compounding one bad decision with another is key,” she says. “Learning from mistakes is a huge part of anyone’s growth in this industry, including my own.”

Building a Career by Capitalizing on Opportunities

Manning began her career in a rotational program with Strong Capital Management, with the ultimate goal to move to the investment department. When one of Strong’s top portfolio managers had an opening for an administrative assistant, she applied, knowing he had a history of promoting his assistants. She took that leap of faith to get her foot in the door and within six months was promoted to an open analyst position.

In 2006 she joined ING (now Voya) as a financial analyst and progressed through several roles, ending as assistant portfolio manager of a midcap fund in 2012. At that time, she decided to relocate with her young family to be near her Midwest roots. She accepted a position as an analyst at Waddell and Reed in Kansas City, where she stayed until her former boss at Voya reached out and asked if she would consider returning to his team working remotely. She agreed, and is now a senior consumer analyst on Voya’s growth team. She spends one week a month in New York City and the rest in a small Voya sales office in Kansas City – an arrangement that works very well for her as a working mother.

The industry continues to fascinate her, including the current interplay between technology and consumer industries. “When you think of retail and e-commerce, media and the emergence of online video options, or mobile ordering at restaurants, there’s virtually no area of the consumer industry untouched by technology, which is exciting and challenging at the same time.”

Relationships Contribute to Success

The professional achievement she is most proud of so far is a basic one: breaking into the industry at all, given that she had what she calls a relatively unremarkable background with no connections to the finance world. “I had to prove myself, and I am fortunate there were people at Strong who believed in me and gave me opportunities.”

When she first started in the industry, she hoped her hard work would be rewarded and is proud to have worked in firms that reward professionals based on merit, rather than their ability to play politics.

Over the years, her career has been elevated through the relationships she has built, including one with the manager who ran the rotational program at Strong, who was instrumental in securing that first assistant position. “That was critical to my success,” she notes, as was the assistance she received from her current manager Jeff Bianchi, who invited her back to Voya after relocating. .

In addition, she mentions role models such as Ann Miletti, now lead portfolio manager at Wells Capital (formerly Strong), who mentored Manning early in her investment career. Manning notes that Miletti also came to the investment industry from a non-traditional avenue, and has had great success in the industry, all while remaining down-to-earth and juggling the dual demands of career and family.

Finding the Balance

Manning acknowledges Voya’s role in allowing her to succeed as both a professional and mother, mentioning the firm has always been supportive of women.. “It’s paid off in terms of attracting and retaining top talent,” she says.

Now the mom of two daughters, ages 2 and 5, she believes it’s important to be a role model for them and the next generation of women. Manning loves to travel and has started introducing her girls to new places in order to expand their perspectives of the world, with recent trips to Germany and St. Lucia.

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Voice of Experience: Paget MacColl, Partner, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs

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By Cathie EricsonVoice of Experience

“Develop great friendships at work, across the industry and at every level,” recommends Paget MacColl, Partner at Goldman Sachs. “If you’re working with people you have a strong relationship with every day, work is more rewarding and certainly more enjoyable,” she says.
Through both formal and informal networking, MacColl says she has developed deep, lasting relationships, which she notes are critical to advancing one’s career. She stresses that networking outside the firm can be more challenging but is equally important.

Achieving Success and Sparking Other Young Women’s Ambition

MacColl began her career in Goldman Sachs’ Securities Division Debt Capital Markets Group, which offered broad exposure to various types of investments and clients. In her third year at the firm in 2001, she moved into the Investment Management Division and joined the Alternative Capital Markets Group. Growing on that team, she came to co-lead the group and oversaw fundraising for private equity funds and other alternative investments, a space that experienced tremendous growth from 2001 until 2007. “It was an exciting time to be in this group because of the huge growth in the alternative investment industry. I got to see the height of the market, and then after the financial crisis, I saw the depths that the industry reached. Both provided great learning opportunities.”
In 2012, MacColl took a brief hiatus from the firm to work for a client, a former Goldman Sachs colleague, where she quickly realized that life outside of Goldman Sachs is very different. “The grass is not always greener,” she said. “I call it my five-month dose of perspective.” Due to strong relationships with mentors and sponsors, she returned to Goldman Sachs. Upon her return, MacColl was asked to build out an institutional capital markets team within the Investment Management Division. In this role, she works with investment teams and institutional sales, leading fundraising campaigns for various investing strategies.
In addition, she now oversees the middle-market sales team in GSAM as well as the firm’s relationships with global investment consultants, which she says is an exciting challenge given their high level of sophistication and intricate relationships. “It’s an interesting dynamic; we need to work with consultants collaboratively, yet sometimes we compete with one another.”
MacColl says being named partner is the professional achievement she is most proud of since beginning her career as an analyst. An active mentor and sponsor to other women, she has also been involved in recruiting. “I love seeing the spark in young women’s eyes as they think, ‘I can do that too.’”

Be Master of Your Career

MacColl says it’s important for younger professionals not to assume that managers and decision makers are aware of their career aspirations. “Communication is imperative. You need to communicate what you want and obtain the feedback you need to move forward,” she reminds women. “Finding great mentors, sponsors and friends you trust at work is critical to this, but it’s also important that you’re prepared for and make yourself open to receiving the toughest feedback.”

She also advises women not to be afraid to ask questions. “I learned so much about my career and potential career trajectory, as well as about the firm and how my colleagues viewed me while I was leaving the firm. When I returned, I realized there were so many questions I hadn’t asked the first time around. This is your career and your future and the onus is on you to ask those questions.”

Creating a Village Inside and Outside of Work

MacColl currently heads the Firmwide Women’s Network, which is comprised of 6,000 people in the Americas, 25 percent of whom are men. She is also a member of the Governance Board of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance, a group of senior women leaders at financial firms that come together to foster commercial outcomes, but also provide mentorship and best practices to one another. “It is a network of women I truly value,” she notes.

She also believes that women can be their own toughest critics and they have to remember that it’s impossible to do everything perfectly as they take on more responsibility and become more senior, often while simultaneously raising a family.

“I frequently see women put pressure on themselves to achieve ‘perfection’ in every aspect of their lives, which can be isolating and destructive. When you share your challenges with others, you realize everyone is facing similar issues and it makes you more accessible and helps you reframe your own reality. You can’t possibly do it all, and you have to remind yourself it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Her strong family life is bolstered by longevity: she met her husband, who works at Credit Suisse, in college. In addition to two daughters, aged ten and five years old, they have an eight-year-old son.

In an engaging example of the adage, “It takes a village,” they live near their tight-knit families, including her two sisters who live on her same street. “My husband’s siblings and my sisters have kids that are all of similar ages. As you can imagine, we spend a ton of time together,” she says. “We’ve created our own village and are fortunate that ours is family, but I’ve come to realize that anyone who wants a long and successful career needs to find a community of people who can support them.”

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Movers and Shakers: Donna Bobbish, Counsel, Shearman & Sterling LLP

Donna BobbishBy Cathie Ericson

One of Donna Bobbish’s secrets to success is to prepare as much as possible. Even for those situations that don’t seem to take evident preparation, you will be better served if you devote five minutes to thinking about how you’re going to approach something; for example, breaking a problem or a project into pieces or figuring out who you need to call. “It not only improves outcomes, but it can reduce stress,” she notes.

A Dynamic Career in Government and Private Practice

Bobbish’s path has woven in and out of government service and private practice. She started her career working part time at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the natural gas certificates department as a law clerk while in law school at Georgetown. She remained at FERC for about seven years as a law clerk in the Office of Administrative Law Judges, an attorney adviser in the Office of the General Counsel, Electric Rates and Corporate Regulation, and as a trial attorney in the Office of General Counsel, Gas and Oil Litigation.

She subsequently practiced energy regulatory law at private firms in Washington, D.C., and also served at the Department of Energy as a political appointee in the Clinton administration. She joined the Project Development and Finance Group in Shearman’s Washington, D.C., office in 2015. As Counsel in Shearman’s PDF Group, she advises clients on energy regulatory matters.

One of her proudest achievements during her time at DOE was helping the government of South Africa draft a natural gas downstream pipeline act that was eventually enacted into law after Nelson Mandela became president. That involved regular travel to South Africa to meet with interest groups, shareholders and government officials.

“It really took someone sitting down and putting pen to paper and coming up with something that could be discussed and marked up,” she says describing the process. She then returned to Washington where she researched South African laws and drafted a law for circulation so the various groups could examine something tangible.

Over the years, she has confronted what she terms a “false stereotype” that government work is easier than private practice, but she has found the same level of energy and professionalism in all of her positions.

And because of her lengthy history with the energy sector, she says she is certainly staying informed about what may lie ahead with a new administration.

Support Plays a Key Role

Sponsorships have been a theme in her success; as she says, it’s important not just for your own personal advancement, but is also a key to moving projects forward. Having solid relationships allows you to seek the internal support you may need by calling on stakeholders to ask them to put in a positive word for the project.

And proving that inspiration can come from various sources, Bobbish has worked with many role models over the years, yet names the fictional character Horace Rumpole (“Rumpole of the Bailey”) as one she particularly admires, “for a number of qualities.” “He is real to me,” she says, laughing.

Noting her Midwest roots, Bobbish admits that she used to be reluctant to ask for help and recognizes that mindset in friends and relatives, who may also be hesitant to call elected officials to discuss an issue. But her experience in D.C. showed her that you can ask for help and support – even from those higher up. “You may never have met them, but you can ask for support; the worst they can say is ‘no,’ and even then, the sky won’t fall in. And, they might say ‘yes!’”

Now that she has advanced in her career, she believes it is vital for women to assist other women. “We know the obstacles in climbing the career ladder,” she says. “I have been helped by many women over the years, and I feel a sense of obligation to return the favor where I can.”

She says women need to reach out with both sponsorship – putting in a good word for others – and mentorship — where you can help a woman navigate a particular situation — through formal and informal networks. “And don’t be afraid to ask for help!”

Key to Bobbish’ career success has been the support of family, particularly her husband, Scott Perkins, as well as other family members. “It has allowed me to focus on projects and know the lights are on at home when I’m traveling the world, or it has taken the form of a listening ear when I need advice on issues and problems. You don’t succeed alone.”

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Voice of Experience: Nicola Morris, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, WEX

nicola morrisBy Cathie Ericson

People truly do want to help, says Nicola Morris, reflecting on a lesson she’s learned over the years. “When I received offers for guidance or building out networks and relationships, I wish I had understood the value and not been as shy and reluctant to take people up on their outreach,” she says, when looking back on her career. “It’s a hard thing for many people to do, especially when you’ve not yet proven yourself, but once you progress in your career, and see how much you want to help others, you look back and realize the offers you received were equally genuine. Where I spent time working into the wee hours, I know that some of that effort should have been redirected to having lunch with colleagues or mentors along the way.”

Change Dynamic As a Career Constant

“Winding.” That’s the word Morris uses to describe a varied career covering sectors such as government, startups and financial services, and functionalities that have entailed IT strategies, product marketing and M&A.

When she looks at the diverse journey, however, she sees one unifying theme: helping companies maintain the leading edge for how they grow and expand, whether it’s through new products, acquisitions or an expanded marketplace. “I’ve had a patchwork of experiences that have come together to create an exciting, interesting career,” she says.
At WEX, she focuses on shaping the direction of the company through the decisions she makes now that will influence tomorrow. “We have to understand how to meet the customer’s needs today and then realize what our reality will be tomorrow to map out the journey that will get us there.” Doing so involves deciding on the steps and executing, whether success will be achieved through new product sets, business ventures, investments or expansion into new global environments.

Technology will be the driving force in her company as the business model coalesces around blockchain, AI, mobile and IoT – developments that will have a meaningful impact on most businesses but particularly ours, she says, as they focus on how they can imbed payments seamlessly through various technologies. She says it will be particularly interesting to see how the sharing economy’s inevitability will drive evolution in many industries, and the changes that will be wrought by this pivot from a consumption economy.
Another heavy influence comes from a macro-demographic perspective and the effects it will have on customers’ needs, as well as what it means for her company’s internal employee base and generational shift to consider how millennials work differently than Gen Xers.

The Value of Relationships To Bolster Your Career

Morris thinks of her professional life in terms of the people she leads, and how they contribute to the future of the company, which is why she names her teams and the professional accomplishments of the people she’s worked with and for as the achievement she’s most proud of.

Being better and working harder is a key component to the success puzzle, she stresses, but you have to balance that with relaxing and going with the flow. “You have to be the one they want in the boat because you’re good, sure, but because you have those other pieces to your personality as well,” she points out.

She finds that as a general rule women still tend to underplay their achievements and be more self-deprecating, where they should focus on accentuating these success.
“We need to recognize our own unconscious bias, and the lens through which we are viewing the world and work environment. Then we can determine how we can address it to be better leaders, employees and colleagues.”

Morris found that early in her career, it was challenging to be one of few women in a male-dominated environment, because of how they form relationships by socializing. “The connections you make during casual conversations and events do shape the way people work — who they will think of for a new assignment, for example,” she says. And while she points out that it’s rarely intentional, recognizing the dynamic of unconscious bias at work and figuring out how to put yourself in situations where you can reap positive benefits will help you move ahead.

Balance in the Workplace and Beyond

One of WEX’ core values is ensuring there are policies that are balanced for all employees. For example, the company just launched a new parental leave policy, very intentionally focused on both parents, not just maternity leave.

“I look at my own situation with three children and two careers, and I know it would have been great for each of us to have had the flexibility. It wouldn’t have made sense for only me to take leave, because of where our careers were at the time we had children. It’s about giving family the flexibility rather than just the mom,” she says.

With three kids, ages 15, 17 and 13, Morris laughingly notes that her family and their hobbies are her hobbies too, whether it’s sports or music. She notes that proximity to big cities has helped nurture both those interests for the whole family.

Morris says WEX encourages the team to give back through philanthropy so she enjoys her work on the boards off two local nonprofits, Center for Grieving Children, which provides peer support for families who have gone through loss, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. “These two organizations represent a nice balance, and I really appreciate that my involvement is so positively supported by my company.”

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Movers & Shakers: Stephanie Seugling | Director, Business Manager, TIAA

stephanie seuglingBy Cathie Ericson

“What kind of day are you going to make it?” A powerful question that one of Stephanie Seugling’s mentors asked her years ago, and the concept has stuck with her to this day. “It helps me know that whatever happens that seems out of control, you have to learn from the situation and choose how it will impact your day,” she says.

Along the way this phrase has helped her plan for the “hiccups,” knowing that no matter how she is feeling, she can work through the tough spots and help others through them as well.

A Career in Financial Services

Seugling has been fascinated with the financial services industry since her first job as a bank teller in college. It was also the only job in which she physically handled money, but it gave her an understanding of what money means to people – from helping those who needed to pay their mortgage or to assisting those who were excited to be sending a gift or depositing their first paycheck.

After college she joined a different financial services firm as an administrative assistant. From there she took several mobility moves around the firm, working in many areas from marketing to technology, from mergers and acquisitions to process design, before finally landing in treasury fulfillment as an operations executive. Transcending all roles, Seugling noticed a common theme – understand and then take action. She realized that she first needed to get a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities for improvement at hand, and then she needed to execute and deliver the solutions.

In her current role as a business manager for TIAA, Seugling continues to apply this principle. She manages the integration of people and processes for the IT infrastructure department at the firm. “You have to look at the current state and figure out how to blend two different groups coming together to optimize the future state.”

When considering the professional achievement she is most proud of so far, one that sticks out is having been a part of a team that was recognized with patents for developing innovative work processes to enhance the customer experience. The team recognized the approach was novel and was solving a real problem. They conferred with a law firm who confirmed that they were the only ones taking that approach, and they were able to successfully file for patents.

Developing a Recipe for Success

Before joining the corporate world, Seugling leaned on the portrayal of work from TV shows and movies: Everyone wearing suits and dropping the final presentation on the boss’ desk and thus earning a promotion the next day.

“Because of that view, I was one of those kids who couldn’t wait to grow up and be in that environment; it seemed like it was a bit of an escape – like it was going to be easy,” she says. Of course, the day-to-day isn’t as rosy and perfect as the movies, she has found, but she has practiced finding the good in every day.

Along the way she also has learned her own personal recipe for success. She focuses on finding the balance between what you know works in your daily routine, while being able to improvise tailored solutions to addresses specific situations if needed.

Sponsors and Role Models Pave The Way

Seugling names her mom as a key role model – a single mom who instilled in her a work ethic and sense of commitment that she emulates to this day. But she has also been appreciative of other role models along the way, people she was drawn to because of their outstanding work ethic and commitment, with a focus on trying to do the right thing.

Both mentors and sponsors have been key factors in her career. Sponsorship, in particular, she has come to realize has been critical to her rise. “I used to think it was all by luck, being in the right place at the right time, but I realized that sponsorship is the reason for my career,” she says. For example, a series of coincidences introduced her to the woman who gave Seugling her first pivotal job with a financial services company. While she remembers thinking she was lucky, she knows now that she got the job because she was prepared. This same manager advocated for her, and she was tapped into her next role in marketing and the others after that by delivering each and every time.

At TIAA, her roles have similarly been achieved by showing that she was able to deliver and having her previous business partners vocalize those achievements.

Having completed the Emerging Leaders program, Seugling is applying what she learned and continues to take time for on-the-job reflection. The program focuses on designing and implementing strategies, examining social styles, recognizing blind spots and improving your ability to collaborate – among other things.

Paying it Forward

Now, Seugling focuses on paying it back by participating in mentoring programs. “Life is too short to be unhappy and I’m happiest when I am making a difference in people’s lives. I’ve noticed that the people who have helped coach and mentor me have that same type of outlook,” she says.

As a mentor, one of Seugling’s most shared lessons is helping others identify when they should ask for assistance, a lesson she learned early in her career. She had just been promoted into a senior leadership position and was given a large task as an individual contributor. Seugling was excited about the opportunity since it came with responsibility and exposure.

But several weeks into the new role, after continuous late nights, she remembers wondering what was going wrong. She soon realized that she had been trying to do it all on her own.

“My manager assumed I would know to ask for help if I was drowning, but just because you have a new title doesn’t mean that the new guidelines get immediately absorbed,” she says. It was the first time she had realized it was up to her to ask for help so that the team could be successful.

“That’s how I learned about influence and negotiation and explaining the business case for why you are asking for the resource,” she says, information she is quick to share with others she mentors.

She has also been involved in TIAA’s Women’s Employee Resource Group (ERG), as well as the Diverse Abilities ERG for people who are caretakers or are dealing with a disability themselves. As the mom of a child with special needs, she has found that exposing herself to others with like challenges has spurred different ways of understanding problems. “It’s ok to feel overwhelmed sometimes and it’s also ok to be proud and excited and to share those moments as well,” she says.

A Full Life Outside of Work

Always eager to give back to others, Seugling has recently become actively involved in a teammate’s charity, Aislinn’s Wish, which raises money for Sanfilippo Syndrome, a rare, progressive and fatal genetic disorder. “It’s a joy to see people coming together for a common cause and rallying to raise money for a better tomorrow,” she says.

In her spare time, she loves live sporting events, everything from being a spectator at soccer games for her kids, Liam, age 9, and Caleigh, age 7, to taking them to see professional sports teams. She also loves watching live music and experiencing the energy it creates in the venue. Finally, the family loves to travel, especially to New York to visit her family.

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Voice of Experience: Lia Turri, Partner, PwC Italy

lia turriBy Cathie Ericson

With a 20-year track record of success at PwC, including 10 years as partner, Lia Turri has always specialized in the financial services sector, developing a strong client services background. She has focused on engagements with leaders of Italian companies and helped oversee IPOs and a variety of special projects. This longevity has helped her guide clients as the industry ushers in changes brought by the effect of new technologies. “It will be a completely different environment in five to 10 years and my goal is to help my clients adapt,” she says.

Heading Up Diversity Efforts Region Wide

In addition to her client services roles, Turri was asked in 2016 to coordinate diversity strategy across PwC offices in the Middle East, Europe and Africa after a successful stint as the diversity leader for Italy.

She has embarked on a listening tour, as she works with the diversity leaders across the region to hear their key priorities and understand the successful actions they are already implementing, thus enabling teams to share best practices with one another.

The first step in any change management process, she says, is to determine current priorities and then adopt a scale of measurement so you can track progress and make sure the actions you’re putting in place achieve the desired results.

Diversity can be measured in many ways, such as gender, culture and age, but the team has found that gender is something that can be most effectively monitored. Currently, 18% of partners across the footprint are female, so that is an easy metric to focus on for improving. “We are losing competencies if we don’t keep women at higher levels,” Turri points out, so it’s vital to share successful best practices.

Turri has found that initiatives across Italy have already brought positive results, as the team has received feedback from clients that the increased diversity has been noticed. She appreciates the opportunity she has been given to head this initiative and is eager to get everyone on board.

“It’s gratifying to be able to work across the boundaries and be in touch with people from other offices and areas. It has truly helped me recognize how many amazing people are working within PwC,” she says.

Growing the Pipeline

Turri has been active in a mentoring program called Sharing the Future, which is designed to help increase the pipeline for the partners of tomorrow by pairing senior managers with mentor partners. The pilot was such a success that they decided to continue the program with a new group of mentees, and all the partners who participated the first time elected to continue with the program — a success from both sides.

One of the messages that Turri shares with younger associates she works with is that you have to make sure that you are in the driver’s seat of your career, rather than letting others decide for you. For example, she says it is a common occurrence that a young woman will have a baby and others will start counting her out. “They might decide that her family has taken precedence, so they don’t invite her to participate in interesting projects because they think she won’t have the capacity, yet they haven’t even asked her what she wants.” Turri cautions against letting other project on you and your career.

“Blind spots are the the measure of the other person, not you,” she says, and yet they can affect the opportunities you are offered. In that way they can influence whether you can achieve a goal and will allow others to impact your career trajectory if you let them.

She also finds that in a male-dominated industry, many women assume they need to act like a man to progress in their career, but eventually they realize they are submerging the qualities that set them apart.

Finally, women need to support each other, she says. “Women have a great power, and if they are working together, they can great results.”

Along the way she has learned the importance of getting that support, even at home, through her two kids, ages 20 and 16. “They keep me energized in whatever I’m doing at work or at home,” she says. “They are very supportive of me in my passions and interest. Because I put a lot of time into my work, they encourage me to remember to always seek balance.”

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Voice of Experience: Carey Kolaja, Global Chief Product Officer, Citi FinTech

carey-kolajaBy Cathie Ericson

“Earlier in my career, I thought I always had to be right, but I learned that’s just not the case,” says Carey Kolaja of Citi FinTech. “Life is more enjoyable when you remove that pressure you’re putting on yourself and turn to others for input. The collective wisdom can yield a greater return,” she says.

Kolaja has had 21 years in financial services, but a series of diverse experiences – which has run the gamut from start-ups to big banks to consulting firms — has taught her to trust the input of others as she learned new strategies with different companies.

She worked in the information technology department of eBay and most recently came from PayPal, where she experienced incredible growth, seeing the company mature from 1,000 employees when she started to 14,000 when she left. It was an environment where every couple of years the company would reinvent itself, and she oversaw a host of different challenges over 13 years as she rose through the ranks to become Vice President of Global Consumer Products, helping establish the brand to hundreds of millions of customers globally.

Building Programs That Endure

“I am fortunate to have risen to a role that allows me to be at the epicenter of the collision between finance and technology, during a time of great growth and change,” she says. “I am proud of the global products I’ve placed in the market over the years and the impact they’ve had in transforming consumer buying behaviors,” Kolaja adds.

Not only has she made her mark on products, but programs as well. At eBay she was asked to establish a women in tech program that started with 50 and ended with 1,800 by the time she passed the baton. “It continues to live on, and it’s exciting when you can build things that endure. I have always defined successful leadership as making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence,” she says, noting that the programs that have been most meaningful are those that were organic, rather than mandated from the top down.

Managing Industry Disruption

The team Kolaja now works with, Citi FinTech, has been set up within the past 12 months — a unit charged with “designing and delivering the bank of tomorrow,” as the industry moves forward to stay relevant in this fast-moving space. “There’s been some disbelief that what we were trying to do would happen,” she says, given that there are such stringent policy restraints, and the huge leap involved in its aim to meet customers in their day-to-day lives and access their money whenever they need to in today’s digital and mobile world. “The odds are against us but if you look at what we’ve accomplished so far and what we have in the works for the months ahead, it shows that you can’t discount the banks,” she says.

The disruption has happened throughout the industry, as people’s identities have moved from the physical to the digital realm, and every company from established firms to startups are trying to figure out how to enable people to safely and confidently make financial transactions. As the physical bank’s role continues to change, the industry will continue to reimagine the personalities that financial instructions have, by learning from fintech and other industries.

“The expectations have changed and it’s all about enabling transactions for our customers when and where they want, and often while they’re doing something else,” she says.

“While a customer is eating dinner she remembers she needs to check her savings account for an upcoming family vacation. How do we help in that moment? We will continue to transcend traditional touchpoints as we engage customers on their terms and meet their goals and aspirations.”

Part of the change in the industry is being wrought by a general change in the trust dynamic in society at large, she believes. Whereas people used to trust institutions, now they trust brands. We used to trust hotels, and now we stay at people’s homes in the Air BnB society.

But embracing this transformation is part of who Kolaja is and how she has always led. “I have always coached my team by leading with the fact that you have to be able to imagine that the possibilities of change are endless, and that those who change the world are those who believe they can.”

She has learned the value of empowering others, and her global role has allowed her to see what she can learn in different cultures that was relevant across the board. That notion helped her to understand the value of diverse thoughts, experiences and points of view. “Most boundaries – whether they are cultural or organizational — are usually artificial, and exist in your own mind,” she says, noting that you can’t let others impose their boundaries on you.

Although she hasn’t felt subject to gender differences in the workplace, she understands that others look up to her for the strides she has made in fintech. When someone pointed out that she had found a way to break the glass ceiling and therefore had the responsibility to be a role model and speak out, she accepted that charge. Now, she is proud to say that 50 percent of leaders in Citi FinTech are women.

Speaking Out to Achieve Success

One piece of advice she offers women is to give themselves permission to speak, rather than always waiting for an invitation or a safe environment. It was during a week-long leadership program that her coach noted that people would listen when Kolaja spoke, despite her always waiting to be asked to speak. The coach advised her to make a habit of speaking up in the first three minutes of any interaction, which Kolaja says helped her believe that what she had to say added value. “That’s such an important coaching element for women in general,” she says. “I am the only one who can give myself permission to speak. That leadership program happened more than 10 years ago but I’m reminded of that lesson every day. If we limit ourselves, then ultimately we’re the ones who lose out.”

Kolaja says she tried and failed to separate her work and personal lives, so she incorporates them as much as she can. “Sometimes I need to be a mother in the middle of the afternoon and sometimes I need to be an employee at 10 p.m. Technology is helping me with both, and now the physical-digital balance is what I contend with.”

As a family of self-described “risk takers,” she and her husband and two boys, ages 14 and 10, love to travel as a family and golf and scuba dive. Recently they spent five days in Costa Rica with no devices. “Scuba diving allows us to spend time together, and it also allows us to be truly present. Now that we’re connected even while we’re in the air, the sea is the one remaining place we can have solitude.”

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Voice of Experience: Rana Yared, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

rana-yaredBy Cathie Ericson

“Stand out by owning your own details,” says Rana Yared of Goldman Sachs, offering advice she learned as an analyst. “Commit to knowing the specifics of every assignment and how they relate to the bigger picture. That’s how you establish you reputation as a thinker, not just a doer,” she says, noting that this advice has helped propel her career.

After earning a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc from the London School of Economics, Yared believed her next step would be to earn a PhD. However, she says, “a function of luck, great mentorship, and letting opportunity come to me rather than having a pre-set plan,” propelled her on an alternate path.

Never before having considered a career in finance, Yared joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2006. She moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a Managing Director in 2013, and today she leads both the New York and London-based Principal Strategic Investments (PSI) teams in the Securities Division, which are responsible for market structure strategy and the firm’s financial technology assets. In this capacity, she represents Goldman Sachs on the boards of several companies that PSI has invested in.

“I’m excited about the team’s role in reimagining how we serve our clients as we improve both the workflow and the quality of information that we can share in this time of digital transformation,” she says. Goldman Sachs is at the forefront of harnessing financial services innovation, and the transformation within the firm has been exciting. “There’s been a fundamental change in our business model and how we approach capital and liquidity,” she says. “It’s been fascinating to think of ways to optimize these varied opportunities.”

Yared is not only proud of the work the team has done for the Goldman Sachs franchise, but also that she has become a leader for the next generation. One career milestone she cited was being asked to speak at the First Year Securities Analyst Orientation. “I always remembered the female partner who spoke at my orientation upon joining the firm, and the impact her comments and advice made on me. It’s an honor to be trusted with making a first impression on our newest joiners,” she explains.

She also reflected on the moment she was able to tell her parents she was promoted to Managing Director. “As the child of immigrants, I was proud to share with them my accomplishments.”

Work Hard, Play Well

One of the lessons Yared has learned over the years is to have more fun. “When I first joined the firm in New York, I enjoyed the work but didn’t take the time to fall in love with the city,” she says, noting that it was initially challenging to manage her work-life balance. When she moved to London with the firm in 2008, she placed an emphasis on maintaining a balance between work and her outside activities. Now that she has returned to New York, Yared has remained committed to establishing ties to her neighborhood and exploring the city.

Another mentor provided a different success formula that has stuck with her: Q x A = E. “This means that the quality of one’s communication times its acceptance equals its effectiveness. In other words, the way that your message is delivered and heard is as important as your content,” she says.

Improving on all the advice she has received is a constant work in progress, but there’s another area that takes no second thought: “If there’s a day that your conscience is tested, that’s the day to walk away,” she says with conviction. “If something is making it challenging for you to sleep easy, you’re in the wrong place.”

Active in Programs Inside and Outside the Firm

Yared highlights that Goldman Sachs’ Women’s Career Strategy Initiative, a program tailored for associates, helped her refine key attributes, such as messaging and presentation skills. She recognizes that the bar of excellence can be higher for women to meet in the workplace. “It’s a tricky balance on how you should portray yourself, but it has become easier to navigate as my career progresses,” she says. She strongly supports the Female Trader Initiative, where female analysts and interns who have strong quantitative skills are provided mentorship.

A devotee of philanthropic causes, particularly those related to public education, Yared is a member of the Penn Fund Executive Board at the University of Pennsylvania and sits on the advisory board of Wabash College’s Democracy and Discourse program. “I was especially proud to have been asked to join the advisory board of this school, which has a long history of educating first-generation college students,” she says.

In her spare time, Yared loves traveling, cooking and photography.

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Mover and Shaker: Sara Donaldson, Vice President, Proxy Voting at Voya Investment Management

sara-donaldsonBy Cathie Ericson

“That’s not my job’ is something I would never say,” asserts Voya’s Sara Donaldson. “If something needs to get done, with the support of the individual ultimately responsible for it, I will take responsibility for it to make sure it gets done.”

Part of that value includes following up when needed. “It’s ok to say you don’t know something, but you should also work toward a resolution by asking questions and putting that knowledge to work,” she says, a strategy much better than making something up or not following through with an answer.

Proud to be a Corporate Governance Professional

Donaldson began her career at a real estate advisory firm, overseeing investor relations, marketing and legal support and regulatory compliance. She became interested in equities and in 1997 accepted a position as a paralegal at a global equity advisory firm, believing that once she proved herself she could expand her responsibilities.

In that role, she oversaw U.S. compliance, mutual fund administration and global proxy voting. Some of the firm’s institutional clients compelled the firm to take a more active oversight role in the companies in which they were investing. Chairing the global proxy committee, and working closely with the investment team and corporate governance committee during this time, prompted her interest in corporate governance. In 2014 she joined Voya to concentrate on that field.

“Voya Investment Management and the Voya mutual fund board are committed to voting proxies in our clients’ best interest,” she says. “One of the Voya mutual fund board members described my role as an advocate for our mutual fund shareholders, and I take great pride in that. I also take pride in representing Voya when I engage with the public companies in which we are invested.”

Through her years in corporate governance, she has been impressed by the power that shareholders have to influence the companies in which they are invested. “I have become much more interested in how companies and shareholders address environmental, social and governance issues. It is fascinating that shareholders could materially influence how companies approach some of these issues,” she says, noting such topics as the “old boy’s network in the board room,” CEO pay, environmental risk and others. “Additionally, investment advisers are looking at more than just financial statements; they are also considering these issues when evaluating companies.”

Right now she is involved in transforming the proxy voting process she had inherited upon joining the division. Currently, they process and vote at more than 8,000 meetings annually. Historically, the analysis and all of the documentation for every meeting has been printed. In order to gain efficiencies, promote sustainability and reduce costs, they are moving to an electronic process.

Through her many years, she has built numerous skills, and one she recommends refining is public speaking. “When I give a presentation, I make sure I have rehearsed so I can interact with the audience rather than reading from a slide deck or paper,” she says. “Having your talking points well prepared allows you to relax and perform better.”

Networking Inside the Company and Industry

Donaldson participates in a few of the networking programs at Voya, but also finds great value in a group of women in corporate governance who meet at industry conferences. She considers the other members to be role models and appreciates the candid conversations they can have about similar issues they face when making decisions on how to vote on behalf of shareholders.

“Corporate governance is always evolving, so it is advantageous to have this network as a resource,” she says.

She also believes in bolstering other women’s talents. When she first joined the financial services industry, she saw that the layers of middle management were male dominated, as historically this had been true.

“Back then, I saw some of my female peers not being able to achieve the same level of success as men, even if they were equally qualified or more accomplished,” she says, noting that women are making great strides but this is still the case in some areas of the financial services industry.

Enjoying Her New Desert Lifestyle

Donaldson moved to Arizona from San Francisco when she accepted her current position. As empty nesters with three grown children, she and her husband were excited to pack up their two dogs and move to Scottsdale to enjoy new adventures.

They have embraced the beautiful weather. As avid cyclists, they enjoy riding with local clubs. “I especially enjoy walking my dogs early in the morning and watching the sunrise and then enjoying the sunset while we eat outside,” Donaldson says.

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