Voice of Experience: Tamara Box, Partner, Head of International Structured Finance, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP

TamaraBoxBy Cleo Thompson (London), Founder of The Gender Blog

A self confessed “start-up junkie”, Tamara Box always wanted to be a lawyer and was told from a young age that she was too argumentative – an ambition and a personality trait which has subsequently stood her in good stead in her career as an award-winning structured finance lawyer and steering committee member of the 30% Club.

“I grew up in Texas and had a great role model in my mother, who worked in the telecoms industry at a senior level. My first international move came when I relocated to London to study at the London School of Economics. Then I returned to the USA and did law at Georgetown. After graduation, I joined Coudert Brothers, first in New York and then in Singapore where I worked for four years and met my English husband. My first “start up” opportunity came early as a founding member of the first overseas office (in Singapore) of US law firm Orrick. In 1997, I moved back to the UK to open Orrick’s London office and I made Partner in 2000.”

After stints at top London firms Tite & Lewis and Lovells, Box landed at Berwin Leighton Paisner in 2006 – the same year in which her son Hugo was born – in order to build their structured finance business from scratch.

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Voice of Experience: Lupin Rahman, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Emerging Markets, PIMCO

LupinRahmanBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“A valuable lesson I learned over the years is to make one’s mark head first,” said Lupin Rahman, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets at PIMCO.

Having navigated between academia, the public sector, and the investment management industry, Rahman has developed expertise in how to successfully transition to new opportunities.

When you begin a role in a new company or industry, she explained, focus on networking and building your personal brand. “The first six months are extremely critical to your brand capital and in shaping how others view your work. It’s also the time when networking is the easiest.”

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Voice of Experience: Dr. Sonja Koerner, Partner, Risk, Financial Services, Ernst & Young

SonjaKoernerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Dr. Sonja Koerner, Partner, Risk, Financial Services at Ernst & Young, women in senior roles in the industry need to see themselves as role models.

“Make yourself available as a mentor,” Dr. Koerner said. She also encouraged senior women to support diversity and inclusiveness in their organizations and drive the debate around things like flexible work arrangements.

“Many women – and some men – would hugely benefit [from these programs]. We should make sure that once women sign up for them, this does not mean the end of their career progression,” she said.

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Voice of Experience: Carole Berndt, Head of Global Treasury Solutions, EMEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

CaroleBerndtBy Cleo Thompson (London), founder of The Gender Blog

At an early stage in her career, Carole Berndt, winner of the 2011 Women in Banking and Finance’s Award for Achievement, stood on a mountain in Hong Kong and was asked to quote on the risk element of turning the side of the mountain into an airport. She duly quoted, the site was purchased and developed and is now Hong Kong’s Chep Lak Kok international airport – a story which reflects Berndt’s geographically diverse career, first in insurance and now in banking.

“I was born in the UK and in 1970 my family moved to Australia; I grew up in Sydney and went to university there. My first job was as a book keeper with an insurance company – subsequently purchased by Allianz – and they invested in me. I did accounting, then computer science, then an MBA in international business. I led the very early efforts in the e-commerce space in the 1990s for the company’s Asia region and spent considerable time in Singapore and Indonesia.

“Around the late 1990s, I became known in my company as the “grandmother of the internet” – that’s when I knew I’d become part of the furniture and life had become too easy. I was offered and took a role with Citi in Hong Kong running the project office for their e-business unit, which then become known as Global Transaction Services.”

Berndt stayed for eight years, leading the client delivery services team before moving to New York following her promotion to global head of client delivery. She was then approached by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, so with a great opportunity on offer, she relocated to London in 2010 into her current role of head of global treasury solutions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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Voice of Experience: Jennifer Christie, Chief Diversity Officer and VP, Global Executive, American Express

Jennifer ChristieBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Right now is a very exciting time for the Diversity and Inclusion team at American Express,” said Jennifer Christie, Chief Diversity Officer and VP, Global Executive at American Express.

Christie is leading the company’s global diversity team on putting together its next three-year strategy. She said, “We’re taking the diversity and inclusion work that was done here, which was really transformational, and taking it to the next level.”

“This company and culture allows you to dream big – and we are,” she added.

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Voice of Experience: Petra Van Hoeken, Chief Risk Officer – EMEA, RBS Global Banking & Markets

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Make sure you enter your career excited, that you have a desire to do the job and that you want it,” advised Petra Van Hoeken, Chief Risk Officer – EMEA, RBS Global Banking & Markets.

Van Hoeken, whose career has spanned decades and has worked in different roles around the world, has stayed true to this mantra herself. Part of her success, she explained, has to do with her openness to new opportunities.

She continued, “It’s amazing what kinds of opportunities there are. I see so many youngsters coming into their careers and they want to plan everything. My advice is to be open minded and learn.”

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Intrepid Woman: Amanda Steinberg, Founder and CEO, DailyWorth

AmandaSteinbergBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Our mission is to transform women’s relationship to self worth and money – to empower women to increase their net worth,” said Amanda Steinberg, Founder and CEO of DailyWorth. “There is a lot of media attention around increasing savings and salary potential, but increasing net worth – you don’t hear a lot about it.”

“We want to really understand what the particular issues are around money, and provide engaging and interesting financial information,” she continued. DailyWorth is a web community for women to learn about personal finance in a more engaging, empowering way.

“It’s about freedom of choices in life,” Steinberg explained. “The endgame for many women – even successful ones – is this ideal of the ‘full scholarship.’ So many women still strive toward this husband/provider construct. It’s like some sort of princess rescue fantasy.”

She continued, “But for far too many women, it doesn’t work out that way – and it’s an antiquated idea that lives in our subconscious.”

“The next level of the women’s movement is knowing that you have a choice. You don’t necessarily have to be the breadwinner or the CEO – but you can choose to be.”

“It’s about liberation. Or it is for me, anyway,” Steinberg added.

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Voice of Experience: Joanna Cound, Managing Director, Government Affairs and Public Policy, BlackRock

joannacoundBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to Joanna Cound, Managing Director of Government affairs and Public Policy at BlackRock, a critical career juncture for women is the move from director level to managing director.

“I made MD in 1994, before there were a lot of [women’s leadership] programs in place. It’s amazing how robust the program that BlackRock has set up is,” she said. BlackRock Women’s Initiative Network (“WIN”) was launched in April 2010 and currently has seven regional chapters with over 1,800 members. She advised that women begin to build a supportive network early, to help navigate and seek mentorship throughout their career.

“Networks are hugely important to your career,” she said. “Women know this but often neglect networking for more immediate priorities. Seeking guidance from senior executives, both from mentors and more informally from colleagues, is also critical. They say ‘feedback is the food of kings’ and it’s true. Ask for feedback and act on it.”

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Voice of Experience: Monica McConville, Partner, Practice Leader, English Law Equity Capital Markets, Shearman & Sterling

Monica_McConvilleBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“It’s important for women, when first starting out, to remember that you have a right to a seat at the table, even if you’re the only woman in the room,” said Monica McConville, a London-based partner and leader of Shearman & Sterling’s English law equity capital markets practice.”

She added, “Opportunities will come your way. Always try to embrace them.”

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Voice of Experience: Natalie Horton, Head of Synthetic Equity Trading for North America, Deutsche Bank

nataliehortonBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Natalie Horton, Head of Synthetic Equity Trading for North America at Deutsche Bank, has spent seventeen years learning the business. And her biggest piece of advice comes down to building relationships.

“Network – I could say it a thousand times. It’s so important. Above you, around you, and below you,” she said. “Get to know everyone. That’s how you learn. If I have any sort of problem, maybe I don’t have the answer, but I know who does,” she explained.

Horton has built her career by taking risks and making connection with others – and, she said – she wants more women to feel comfortable doing the same.

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