Voice of Experience: Candace Ewell, Principal, PwC US

Candace Ewell“Be open to a career that isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. I don’t know that anyone can predict the opportunities and challenges they will face when they are only 18 and in college,” says PwC’s Candace Ewell.

And that is particularly sage advice coming from a current PwC principal, who spent the first seven years of her career as a nurse. Ewell thought that the healthcare industry would be her career path, but when she decided to go to law school with the goal of studying health law or health policy, a core tax class piqued her interest. “I had a lot of fun in tax; I really enjoyed my professor and the content. It was the first law school class that I really connected with,” she says.

When she returned for the third year, her professor offered her guidance on finding other tax courses and she ended up continuing straight through to complete her Master’s of Law (LLM), in part, she says to prove how serious she was about tax.

After graduate school, Ewell took a position at the IRS Associate Chief Counsel corporate division. While she appreciated the foundation it gave her in understanding the IRS and how regulations and guidance were promulgated, she also felt she was missing the bigger picture on how taxpayers work to be compliant, so she decided to move on.

Ewell’s next stop was in the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration, where she was involved in new ways of thinking about compliance for smaller businesses. While there, she learned all she could from that perspective, but felt the isolation of being the only tax person and decided she wanted to be in a larger community of professionals. She found her home at PwC in mid-2007. “It was a challenging environment to get lots of experience quickly at a faster pace and higher level. It really was a lot of fun.”

In July 2013, she was named principal, which she considers the professional achievement she is most proud of. “I didn’t come to the firm thinking it was an option; I was just looking for an interesting community and challenging work, so being able to achieve this honor is very gratifying.”

Right now she is thrilled to be at the forefront of a new wave of information reporting, a broad subject that has developed over the past years to become more global. She has watched foreign governments embrace information reporting to help improve global compliance. “I get to talk about what I do every day to people and governments that never considered they could ask for so much information. Here in the United States, we have a culture where tax compliance is expected, but it’s not that way everywhere.”

She sees the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as having a big impact worldwide. Other new regulations, including basis reporting which follows the sale of securities, that will continue to dominate her work are also of significant impact. Of particular interest to her are the information reporting requirements for payments made on the Internet. “It is fascinating to learn how Internet commerce works and how they engage with their customers and clients.”

“Merging Gracefully”

Ewell learned an important career lesson from her first start in the nursing field, the art of “merging gracefully.” In other words, she says she would often approach a new challenge with the belief that she could bring a new perspective and that she knew as much as other, more established professionals. “That got me in trouble when I assumed I knew more than the people whom I reported to. Through this journey, I’ve learned that when you’re starting a career, you’re excited and focused and yearn to make a big impact. But it’s a matter of picking your spot — you have to see that you will have the opportunity to bring perspective, but you can’t start with the ‘bull in the china shop’ mentality.”

Her other advice to those beginning their careers is to have patience and let your career develop. “We let go of some of our goals and desires because we ‘quit early,’ putting them to the side before we get started. You have to be open for how opportunities will present themselves.”

Ewell says that one of the reasons it was an easy decision to come to PwC was its mentoring program, which includes both a coach and relationship partner. “In addition to the fact that this was a community of high-achieving people, I knew that it would be useful to have designated points of contact to call on and help me get to the next stage of my career.” She says that since she is a bit of an introvert, she finds one-on-one coaching to be the most valuable, among the many other programs PwC offers for women in the workplace.

And she says that she takes seriously the charge to now give back to both women and men and facilitate the opportunities for them to meet their goals. “I try to be as candid as possible about how the firm works and the types of experiences people need to meet their goals. I was lucky enough to have people do that for me and I want to do it for others.”

Carving out Time for Renewal

And, as careers mature, she said it’s key to remember that this is high-pace, high-demand work, and it’s vital to carve out time to renew and take care of yourself, something she thinks all women struggle with.

For Ewell, that renewal comes when she carves out time for her family. Married for 20 years, she has an 11-year-old son who is a swimmer, so they spend lots of family time at the pool. Another favorite family activity is delivering food to seniors together because as she knows, anything you do together becomes family time.

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Mylan Denerstein, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

rsz_mdenerstein-press_1-171x240Mylan Denerstein, partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is a woman driven to leave a positive impression on the world. Her career is best characterized as one that takes ahold of opportunities to grow and empower those she serves.

Public Service

As a 1993 graduate of Columbia Law School and Skadden Fellow, Denerstein began her professional life working for the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. This opportunity led to a position with the Department of Justice as a special assistant to the Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division. According to Denerstein, the experience “was a great introduction to Washington and how things worked there.” But DC couldn’t hold her for very long.

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Mylan Denerstein

“Generally, people want to help you with your career, but you have to ask. Anybody can be your mentor, but you can’t let your fear of rejection get in the way of asking for help, or asking for advice.” – Mylan Denerstein

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Voice of Experience: Pamela Click, Director and Senior Development Manager, TIAA-CREF

Pamela Click“You will work hard, but it will be rewarding,” says Pam Click of a career in technology. Now a senior manager and respected technologist at TIAA-CREF, Click’s hard work has finally paid off.

Her path to her current position at TIAA-CREF was somewhat circuitous: After earning a degree in accounting, Click started her career as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), working with various clients in industries as diverse as consumer products, utilities and oil and gas.

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Kathryn Kaminsky, Partner, PwC

Kathryn KaminskyKathryn Kaminsky will be a panelist at theglasshammer.com’s 4th Annual Navigating, Negotiating, & Building Your Strategic Network Event on February 26th.

“There is a lot we can learn from men in the workforce,” says Kathryn Kaminsky, a Partner at PwC. “When they leave early to attend one of their kid’s sporting event, they do it with pride. They don’t slink out of the office — they’re excited, and women should behave that way too.”

Kaminsky, who started her career with PwC in Canada before moving to the firm’s New York office, has always been cognizant of the fact that she works in an organization where only 19 percent of the partners are women. “Male relationships are critical so I have always tried to build my relationships to be gender neutral,” she says.

Going on her tenth year as a Partner, Kaminsky has appreciated that during her 20-year tenure at PwC, she has been constantly challenged, noting the opportunity to be in a career where she can do different jobs at the same place. She’s moved from the asset management space to banking and capital markets.

“Being admitted to the partnership is definitely the professional achievement I am proudest of,” she says, adding that she is always looking forward to the new experiences and new engagements that she will undertake as she moves up the partnership ranks.

The industry is constantly changing and she is fascinated by where it might go. “Ten years from now, will we all bank via cell phone??” she muses. She sees huge potential for disruption in the financial services industry, especially with tech companies that can stay nimble and entrepreneurial since they are not hampered by the regulations that banks have to grapple with.

Confidence Builds Careers

Kaminsky sees confidence as a trait that women need to learn to develop as they progress in their careers. “It can be hard to be in a room where you are the minority but you have to speak up – you can’t be in a meeting and not talk.”

That confidence translates into knowing how to discern among competing priorities. “You have to evaluate internal versus external focus,” she says, noting that in a client-based business, you often need to choose the client side.

One thing that Kaminsky has learned over the course of her career is that “this too shall pass.” She says there are times that she wishes she’d had a thicker skin and realized that what seemed like a big deal at the time wouldn’t be in the long run. “I wish I hadn’t taken things so seriously and lost sleep over things that I shouldn’t have cared about,” she says.

She knows from experience that you have to have a stellar work performance, but success is based on more than that. “Aim high – don’t just put your head down. Get out and meet people – growth comes from experiences and relationship building, both internally and with clients. Business books alone won’t tell you what’s going on in the world, you have to get out there.”

And while you’re out there, she advises having some fun. “In the 20 years that I’ve been at the firm, I definitely could have had a little more fun!”

Lessons to Be Learned from Men

“Many people don’t like to hear it, but there are lots of things men do very well that we could emulate,” she says. For example, she appreciates that men are more open in how they talk about things. She says they’re more apt to admit they’re having a bad day, or discuss something they’re struggling with rather than sit behind a closed office door by themselves.

They also are more likely to own the career decisions they make. Currently, she works in the New York office while her family has relocated to the west coast for her husband’s job. “Men commute all the time, and don’t have any problems with it. I have found that my schedule allows me to focus on work during the week and home on the weekend, which is a benefit for everyone, but somehow that is not as accepted with women as with men.”

As part of her desire to create a gender-neutral network, Kaminsky has worked within the wide range of programs PwC offers – some specific to women, and some geared toward general career development. In particular, she has benefitted from an Advocacy and Sponsorship group which matches professionals with more senior partners. Over the years, her male match became a friend, sponsor and advocate, someone she confides in on a regular basis. Kaminsky says that women don’t necessarily need to be sponsored by women – it’s more important to just make sure it’s the right person.

And she finds that at PwC mentorship is inherent in a wide variety of day-to-day activities even aside from dedicated programs.

Still, she says that there is competition even as you climb the ranks, and she feels fortunate that even though she has great male friends and sponsors, she has a network of four to five women who are the ones she calls upon for the closer friendship that everyone needs. “It’s important to remember that not everyone is a competitor.”

Weekends Are For Family

Mom to three boys – an eight year old and seven year old twins, Kaminsky in many ways feels her dual life allows her more focus than if she was home every night. Throughout the week, they FaceTime and talk, and she is able to have “me time” on the plane each way. That allows her to focus exclusively on her kids when she is home. This fall she was the association treasurer and team mom for her twins’ Pop Warner football team. “Our weekend is extremely active with family time with the kids,” she says, always ending with Sunday night dinner. “That’s what weekends are for me – 100 percent focus on my family. They know all about my work life and are very involved with it. But when I’m home, I’m home.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Joanne Moffic-Silver, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Chicago Board Options Exchange

Joanne Pic (1)“I wanted to be a criminal lawyer until I worked at the Northwestern law school clinic where, as a law student, I assisted in defending alleged murderers,” said Joanne Moffic-Silver, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Moffic-Silver ultimately decided that career wasn’t for her after attending a graphic crime scene.

Moffic-Silver graduated from the Northwestern University’s School of Law with a J.D. degree with honors in 1977. Inspired by one of her employment law professors, her first job out of school was at a labor and employment law firm.

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Thought Leader: Donna Parisi on the Derivatives Industry 2015

Donna ParisiDonna Parisi, Partner and head of Shearman & Sterling’s Derivatives and Structured Products practice, sits down with theglasshammer.com to share her thoughts on the outlook for the derivatives industry in 2015 and beyond. Donna was profiled back in 2010 on theglasshammer.com.

Donna will be a panelist at our Annual Navigating Your Career event on 26th February that will address the topic of “Engaging Men as Diversity Champions.” Shearman & Sterling is a sponsor of this event alongside Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon.

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Mover and Shaker Stephanie Curulewski: Partnership and Trading Manager, BP

 

People around a laptop“Most people are good people, and they’re trying to do the right thing. If you assume that everyone has a good reason for what they’re doing, you can make progress by coming at issues from the positive side,” says Stephanie Curulewski.

That philosophy has anchored her career and helped her ascend the ladder, even as she created a part-time position that has given her the best of both worlds.

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Voice of Experience: Nancy Laethem Stern, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Allston Holdings LLC

stern nancy“Industries are always evolving, and adapting to the changes is a key part of your career,” says Nancy Laethem Stern, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Allston Holdings. “You can’t view the world as static; instead you have to be prepared to adapt and anticipate ways in which things are going to change.”

Wise advice from Stern, who has seen many of those changes throughout her career. After graduating from law school at the University of Michigan, she clerked for a federal judge for two years and then joined a large law firm as a litigation associate. She subsequently transferred to the corporate department, where she worked on M&A and securities matters. She was elected partner and named vice chair of the corporate department. After 10 years she moved to another large law firm, where she focused on M&A and corporate governance.

Stern joined Allston in July 2013, where she says she is excited to be in a role where she can have a strategic voice, helping the CEO make business decisions and cope with today’s evolving regulatory environment.

In fact, she cites that as the professional achievement she is most proud of so far: developing her judgment to help guide others in decision making. “I’m always working to refine and strengthen that skill set, but the opportunity I’ve had to tackle a variety of different challenging assignments throughout my career has been instrumental in developing strong judgment.”

As part of that strategic counsel role, she is excited about the opportunity her position offers to delve into the nuances of the business. Currently she’s learning about new tools to analyze risk and help inform business decisions, which she finds fascinating from a more quantitative perspective.

Helping Shape the Law

Echoing her assessment of the industry as one of rapid change, Stern has found that the pace of change has accelerated over her career. In the wake of Michael Lewis’ book Flash Boys about high-speed trading, there has been a lot of debate about market structure and how trading should be regulated. She has found that regulators, legislators and reporters alike are very interested in speaking with industry participants who are knowledgeable.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity to help shape the law,” she says, adding that she recently had an opportunity to meet with senior staffers at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, along with congressional representatives who wanted to learn more from people who are immersed in the business.

“They want to know what the issues are and how they can impose regulations that will have the intended effect, while avoiding unintended consequences as much as possible. In such a complex industry, it’s challenging to develop the regulatory schemes that accomplish that.”

The Best Kept Secret on the Industry’s Opportunities for Women

Stern says that since many of the jobs in the trading industry require deep knowledge of math and computer science, women tend to be underrepresented, which in turn can make them feel unwelcome in the culture. But she sees immense opportunities for women who have these skills; and in fact, she says that the transition of trading from a physical interaction in a pit to an electronic interaction has contributed to the field becoming more of a meritocracy, which can benefit women.

“It involves anonymous trading on a screen, and that’s an area where women who have the skills can do very well,” she says, as it removes the physical nature of the business. “Unfortunately I don’t know how many women are aware of that. Trading is not a common career aspiration for a lot of women, but I believe that many would be well suited to it if they knew more about it and the skills needed.”

Stern says that the best advice she can give women beginning their careers is to not only become very competent at their jobs, but to couple that with being helpful. “This will encourage others to want you on their team, and mentors will appear. However, it’s vital that you start with the substantive work because people want to invest in people who have potential and have demonstrated aptitude. Start there and dig in and you will reap the benefits.”

Though there aren’t formal programs at her firm to advance women, she says that having a diverse group of people is very much part of the culture. “If you have the combination of a meritocracy that rewards hard and good work, with the core value of diversity as part of the fabric of the firm’s culture, it’s going to have more of an impact than a program. Here, we are driven by the desire to attract and retain the best people, whomever they are.”

Stern also mentors women both formally and informally. She participates as a mentor through WILD (Women in Listed Derivatives) and then supplements that with informal mentoring of women she meets through other paths, such as friends of friends.

For example, she recently met with a student from DePaul University whose mentor, a former law partner colleague, knew of Stern’s background. He connected them because of the student’s interest in M&A law and Stern’s willingness to give advice to others interested in traveling that path.

Stern is willing to invest the time in her mentoring role because she knows the benefits are double-sided. “I learn from those interactions as well,” she says. “Over the course of my career I’ve enjoyed connecting on a personal level with people I interact with professionally no matter where they are in their professional lives,” she said, and encourages her peers to realize the importance of successful women making the effort to connect with those beginning their journeys.

A Soccer Mom at Heart

Outside the office, Stern is devoted to her family and enjoys their life participating in activities, such as travel soccer, with her kids who are 11, 9 and 6. “I have a wonderful and supportive husband, and being with him and the kids is what I look forward to after a busy day at the office.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience, Jessica Lieberman Quinn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning, American Express

rsz_jessica-headshot_whitebkg-159x240Fresh out of college with a dual degree — a BS in Economics from the Wharton School and a BA in History from the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania – Jessica Lieberman Quinn’s first position was an ideal avenue into the business world. Working at a small investment banking firm, she was privy to a wide variety of deals, from M&A to IPOs across a variety of industries.

“Even as a more junior person, I was fortunate to spend time with clients who were CEOs. They were running small to mid-sized businesses, and I was able to have a look through their eyes at what was important in running and growing a business. These early experiences taught me to view business in a big-picture framework.”

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