Voice of Experience: Sarah Walker, Executive Director, Enterprise Data & Services, Global Head IT & Data Operations; Securities Reference Data, Morgan Stanley

SarahWalkerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Throughout her life, Australia-born Sarah Walker, Executive Director of the Enterprise Data & Services Group at Morgan Stanley, has demonstrated a devotion to solving problems and efficiency. Energetic and direct, she described how she entered the world of IT after becoming frustrated with the indirect pace of her university education.

She entered university intending to study journalism. “I wanted to be a writer,” she explained. “But I quickly decided I hated university! I thought I could pick up a book and learn anything they were going to teach me on my own. So I convinced my parents to say yes to me dropping out if I could find a job.”

“I think they only said yes because they thought I would never find one!” she said with a laugh. But, she continued, she did find work. “It was the early ‘90s and I got a job doing operations reconciliation work at Citigroup in Sydney. I had a big computer sitting on my desk, yet everything was still being done manually. I thought, ‘why are we doing this with a calculator and pencil and paper?’”

Walker turned her computer on, and worked out a way to turn the 8-hour ordeal into a 1-hour process. “From then on, I’ve been hooked. My career has been about making processes more efficient and solving problems.”

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Movers and Shakers: Susan Bulkeley Butler, Founder and CEO of SBB Institute for the Development of Women Leaders

susanbulkeleybutlerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Be responsible for who you are and what you want to be and make it happen,” advised Susan Bulkeley Butler, founder and CEO of the SSB institute for the Development of Women Leaders.

This is advice Butler herself has lived – after being the first woman professional hired at Arthur Anderson (now Accenture) in 1965, she found herself passed over for promotion time and time again – until she realized she needed to take control of her career, that is. Butler turned her professional path around, eventually being named the first female partner at the firm. Now retired from the company, Butler is also a published author and leadership speaker, enthusiastically working toward the goal of getting more women into top jobs.

“We have one life and I’m not sure we all make things happen for us, rather than let things happen to us. If we’re not taking responsibility for who we are and where we want to be, then who are we outsourcing this to? Who is making this happen?”

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Intrepid Woman: Theresa Payton, President and CEO, Fortalice

theresapaytonBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Theresa Payton, President and CEO of Fortalice and co-author of Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online, one of the most important things she has learned throughout her career sounds simple, but it’s something many women find challenging. “Saying no sometimes is actually okay. It’s not a sign of not being a team player. “

Payton, who spent 16 years in technology in the banking industry before becoming the first female Chief Information Officer at the White House, continued, “Early in my career, I felt I needed to rush in, grab the ball, and do it all. I quickly became overloaded. There’s a difference between not letting a ball drop and feeling as if I needed to take on everything myself.”

“Fortunately, I had mentors say to me that it’s okay to say no and recommend someone else,” she added.

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Voice of Experience: Dana Kromm, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions Group, Shearman & Sterling

danakrommBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Graduating from law school at the University of California, Davis in 2001, Dana Kromm found herself at the “tail end of the tech boom.” But the rising M&A star at global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP in San Francisco has more than made up for her late arrival.

Recently named one of California’s Top Women Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal, Kromm, a partner in the firm’s M&A group, has established a solid reputation in Bay Area transactions and within the private equity community, advising the likes of Twitter, Visa and Sybase, as well as Francisco Partners and a number of other major technology-focused private equity firms.

“The great part about M&A is that it’s a field where you’re constantly learning new things – there’s always something in a deal that’s new, a new problem or a new issue,” she explained. “Your job as an M&A lawyer is to be a master of all the issues – which means you have the opportunity to be constantly learning.”

The same goes for working in the technology space, she continued. “Technology issues keep you on your toes in the same way, whether you’re working with IP issues, regulatory issues, or something else. It makes for a vibrant and ever-changing practice.”

Kromm says she established her reputation in the technology M&A field by getting a keen understanding of the business objectives of her clients. “Particularly on the private equity side, it’s understanding the investment motives, why they’re interested in the particular business, where they see the growth coming from. And second to that, particularly with the technology companies themselves, it’s making an effort to understand their business as well and why they’re doing the transaction.”

She added, “Technology has its own set of individual issues and I make it a priority to understand what those are.”

Recently Kromm has worked on several deals in the healthcare information technology field, and she said she is interested in how pending changes to healthcare law, including the US Supreme Court’s expected decision this summer on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will impact her clients.

“I’m interested in seeing how those changes impact the business model of the healthcare IT companies I’m working with,” she says.

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Voice of Experience: Minerva Tantoco, Executive Director, Client Facing Technology, UBS

MinervaTantocoBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“My path could not have been predicted early in my career,” said Minerva Tantoco, Executive Director of Client Facing Technology at UBS. “If I’d known it was just following your interests and passions and just doing them well, I think I’d have had a lot less stress.”

“Just be yourself, and have a sense of humor. Your path is you and what you find interesting.”

Through a career spanning three decades and covering multiple industries, Tantoco has worked on the cutting edge of online advertising, e-commerce, mobile technology, and shifting workflows.

“To be part of generating change and really revolutionizing how we do business every two years, and to be part of the changes that have occurred over the past 30 years – I feel like I’m a part of the history of computing,” she said.

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Movers and Shakers: Beth Devin, Chief Technology Officer, Manilla

BethDevinBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Beth Devin is conscious of the challenges that women face in Silicon Valley. As Chief Technology Officer of Manilla, she works for men and with a majority of men, and said that there are times when she has wished for more gender diversity. But she also believes that technology is a terrific field to work in – and by discussing the industry’s challenges and benefits, the good and the bad, senior women can provide encouragement for younger women coming up the ranks.

“Successful women in technology leadership roles are few and far between – we should not underestimate the positive impact we can have on women considering a technology career or just starting out,” she said.

“Speak up as women in technology, talk about the amazing opportunities and what the challenges are. Your wisdom and experience are valuable. The more information that’s out there, the more storytelling you can do, the more it will benefit others.”

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Voice of Experience: Meredith Prange, CAO, Citi Technology Infrastructure, Citi

MeredithPrangeBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Make sure that you jump at an opportunity to move outside your comfort zone or area of expertise,” said Meredith Prange, Chief Administrative Officer for Citi’s Technology Infrastructure Group at Citigroup.

Prange, who has risen through the ranks to leadership as an IT engineer, explained how seeking out and accepting new challenges is the way to develop critical leadership skills.

“If you look at very successful men and women, you will see that their experience includes roles that are aligned to the business lines as well as technology leadership roles, in addition movement to different companies is also not uncommon,” she explained.

“Look for those opportunities that will challenge you and broaden your experience.”

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Voice of Experience: Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation

JoyceStClairBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I think you have to take risks,” said Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation. “Be willing to stretch yourself. We get comfortable in the job that we do. We have to be willing to embrace change and take calculated risks – it doesn’t mean being reckless.”

“You’ll have stumbles, but you need to take stretch opportunities – otherwise you’ll never show your worth.”

One big risk she took – a two and a half year long assignment in London – really paid off, St. Clair said. “It was the hardest thing I did – moving my children mid-year and putting my career ahead of my husband’s at that time. We are supportive of each other, looking at opportunities as they arise.”

“Finding a flat, and even finding a doctor was challenging. But I think it brings you together as a family,” she recalled. “It was a great experience. Especially when my oldest daughter said she wanted to know how I had arranged it, and that she hoped to provide that experience for her kids someday.”

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Voice of Experience, Christa D’Alimonte, Partner and Deputy Practice Group Leader, Mergers & Acquisitions, Shearman & Sterling

ChristaD'AlimonteBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Ask Christa D’Alimonte, a leading mergers & acquisitions partner at global law firm Shearman & Sterling, and she’ll tell you that one of the key things she’s learned throughout her career is the importance of being flexible.

“In this kind of profession, we tend to be extraordinarily good planners and extraordinarily well organized,” she says. “But you can’t always plan everything. Both your personal and professional life will throw curve balls at you.”

And the proof, according to D’Alimonte: “I never thought I would be an M&A lawyer.”

That’s quite surprising, considering that D’Alimonte, who is currently advising Synthes on its $21 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson – one of the biggest M&A deals in the last couple of years – is considered a top-tier dealmaker. D’Alimonte also works with Viacom and other leading companies, as well as all the major financial institutions.

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Voice of Experience: Stacy Bash Polley, Partner, Co-Head of Fixed Income Sales, Americas, Goldman Sachs

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Stacy Bash PolleyAccording to Stacy Bash Polley, Partner and Co-Head of Fixed Income Sales for the Americas at Goldman Sachs, it’s important for senior women to serve as role models and advocates for the next generation of women in finance.

Bash Polley, co-chair of Goldman Sachs’ Firmwide Women’s Network, said that the group’s events are designed to make senior women aware of their own impact on career development.

She explained that in her experience, there are three ways that women engage: as role models, mentors and advocates. Role models are the most passive of the three, serving as visible examples of career success and inspiring younger women to visualize their own career trajectories. Mentors serve as coaches and counselors, guiding women to optimize their current situations to achieve success. Advocates actively engage in the tactical management of someone’s career, identifying the platform that will allow that person to combine his or her passion and skill set for maximum performance.

“All successful women become role models, so we want them to understand that with more visibility comes more responsibility. Once a woman becomes more senior, she should become a mentor or advocate of more junior women and pay it forward. This is how we get critical mass,” she said.

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