Mary Inman: Partner and Head of International Whistleblower Practice, Constantine Cannon LLP

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Mary Inman“It shows you how powerful a single voice is in this world,” says Mary Inman, who specializes in representing whistleblowers under the U.S. and Canadian whistleblower reward programs. “I think that’s our love as humans for the David versus Goliath story. We still want David to prevail, or at least be heard.”

With an innate penchant for fairness and justice from childhood, Inman says her family could have predicted she’d become a lawyer.

She entered law with the “amorphous notion” of wanting to do good in the world and affect positive social change. What was not clear, even coming out of law school, was what kind of lawyer she would be.

An Unexpected Expertise

After a couple of years clerking for federal judges in Maine and New Hampshire and one year inside Big Law at a large commercial law firm, a headhunter extended her a novel opportunity—join the new San Francisco office of a boutique firm specializing in representing whistleblowers.

Inman went from a passing familiarity with the subject matter to spending 17 years honing her craft with Phillips & Cohen, before joining Constantine Cannon in 2015, now splitting her time between its San Francisco and London offices.

“At the beginning of my career, there were only a handful of whistleblower reward laws. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have chosen a field that has grown exponentially. The success of the whistleblower tool in aiding law enforcement efforts has spawned more and more whistleblower reward programs,” revels Inman. “My practice allows me to aid individual whistleblower clients, while at the same time helping them expose industry-wide frauds—so it’s the best of both worlds.”

With 24 years of specialization, Inman is an author, regular speaker and recognized expert in the area of U.S. and international whistleblower reward laws, with their focus on frauds in financial services, healthcare, automotive safety and government procurement as well as tax evasion, bribery of government officials and money laundering.

Encouraging Whistleblowers to Speak Out

Though whistleblowers are often ostracized, Inman asserts they play a critical role in maintaining the healthy ecosystem of an organization.

“Companies have an autoimmune response to whistleblowers, seeking to expel them from their system,” notes Inman. “However, research confirms my anecdotal experience that they’re actually the good bacteria that keeps a company healthy. Because they have the temerity to speak up and alert you to problems before they metastasize into a public relations nightmare, whistleblowers should be viewed by companies for what they really are — forward indicators of risk and an invaluable part of a company’s risk management system.”

She compares it to interpersonal relationships: “Only someone close to you, who really cares about you, will tell you the hard truths.”

Most countries’ laws focus on the employment law aspects of whistleblowing — whistleblower protection from retaliation and reprisal after they have spoken up, allowing whistleblowers to challenge unlawful retaliatory dismissal, demotion or blacklisting.

U.S. and Canadian law differs in that it also connects whistleblowers with the law enforcement and regulatory agencies who can act on their information and redress the harm. Agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Department of Transportation (DOT) roll out the welcome mat for whistleblowers. Each agency has a designated Whistleblower Office specially designed to receive and vet whistleblower tips. Credible tips are sent to the agencies’ enforcement attorneys who frequently use the whistleblowers’ information to launch an investigation. If the agency goes on to impose a fine or otherwise sanction the wrongdoer, the whistleblower is entitled to a financial reward in an amount that is a guaranteed percentage of the fine levied or sanction imposed (e.g., the typical award range is 10 to 30 percent).

“What a whistleblower actually wants is someone to do something about the wrongdoing she’s uncovered,” says Inman of her clients. “The North American reward programs ensure that the whistleblower’s concern will be taken seriously and dealt with by the regulatory authority. This active solicitation and empowerment of whistleblowers, using supports like mandatory financial awards and designated whistleblower offices, has put agencies like the SEC on the map with their successful deployment of whistleblower information to impose over $2 billion in fines on companies violating the U.S. securities laws and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Other agencies have taken notice and reward programs have been spreading rapidly both within the U.S. and across the globe.”

The Courage of the Individual Voice

Inman notes that our childhood conditioning creates internal conflict—we were all encouraged to speak up when we saw something wrong and yet we were discouraged from “snitching.”

“Everyone has had a whistleblower moment—a time when you spoke a hard truth, then something negative happened to you, so it can be difficult to figure out what to do when you’re in the heat of that moment,” she says. “Whistleblowers are those people who can’t abide by it, and actually turn off the personal warning signals that stop so many of us—such as the practical need to keep our jobs, a refusal to risk what we’ve worked and trained for and not disrupting our family lives.”

By the time her clients come to her—whether for a financial, healthcare or manufacturing fraud, or other corruption—they have usually had their voices silenced. Inman finds it rewarding to welcome those who have been marginalized, to let them know they’re not alone and to validate their reality in a moment when they’ve often been gaslighted and pushed to doubt themselves.

“There’s something really profound about taking someone who’s ‘in extremis’ and hopefully putting them into a place where they feel empowered again,” she says.

Inman sees it as her responsibility to go beyond being a legal advocate and to help her clients step back and consider what is at stake, not only for the individual whistleblower but for their families as well. With that wider consideration, they can undertake their personal risk/reward calculus and figure out what, if any, action is right for them.

“Once you’ve blown the whistle, you can’t unring that bell,” she remarks. “It’s a life-altering event.”

“Very few companies want to hire known whistleblowers,” notes Inman, who has recently campaigned to challenge companies to walk their talk. “If you truly believe in speak up and it’s not just lip service, then hire a former whistleblower. What says more to your employees that you value speak up than that you have purposefully hired someone who did?”

The Power of the Collective Voice

“Even though you’re the lowest in the pecking order, trust your instincts; you’re often in the best position to know that something’s wrong,” she tells fresh-eyed business students when she guest lectures in business ethics classes.

From the recent Ukraine whistleblower on the Trump Administration to the Me Too movement, Inman has characterized this as a time of “unprecedented speak out”—citing research that says people are speaking out in record numbers since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

She thinks that technology has played a role, with the development of anonymous reporting tools and sites such as WikiLeaks and GlobaLeaks fueling a brand of leaktivism that has allowed crowdsourced journalism models like those employed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to use this data to fuel impactful investigations like the Panama Papers, Luanda Leaks, and FinCEN files, to name a few. She also cites speculation that the rise of the remote workplace leaves workers feeling less connected and for new hires leaves little opportunity for the casual indoctrination about turning a blind eye that can be subtly communicated in the office. She also thinks there’s collective frustration that “the top 1% has become increasingly untouchable.”

“Speaking out is an act of rebellion, of people saying ‘no more’,” says Inman. “It gives me hope and restores my faith that the voices of individual citizen watchdogs can be heard and continue to serve as our first and last line of defense against fraud and corruption.”

Inspiration From Cross-Disciplines

“Don’t just stay in your lane and look at thought leaders in your field,” says Inman. “Adopt a multi-disciplinary approach. Teachings far flung from the legal world have been the most valuable to my career.”

As her husband is a filmmaker, tech and film are two peripheral realms from which Inman derives creative catalysis.

As an example, Inman was inspired by the Callisto app (technology to combat sexual assault)—created after the documentary film “The Hunting Ground,” which focused on the epidemic of campus date rape.

If a student does not want to file a report, the app allows them to confidentially record an assault incident within the Callisto database for possible future reference, in a form of information escrow. But the app also facilitates collective action, allowing the student to be contacted again to reconsider speaking up collectively in the event others subsequently make reports about the same assailant.

Inman was inspired to consider the possibilities of this approach for whistleblowing.

“You’ll take inspiration from the strangest places,” says Inman. “Don’t expect it in your industry. Expect it in the unexpected places.”

Rise to Those Opportunities

“My most defining life lesson is to accept every challenge and say ‘yes’,” says Inman, whose whistleblower practice pushes her out of the risk-aversion common to lawyers. “I’m inspired by my clients. Every day, their moral strength and bravery pushes me to step up my game.”

In the “scrappy creative environment” of the entrepreneurial, contingency-fee plaintiff side of law, Inman has learned to “fake it until you make it.”

“Just take the opportunity and watch yourself rise to the occasion. You’ll surprise yourself,” says Inman. “A lot of people are paralyzed because they’re too worried about making mistakes. Embrace your mistakes. If you’re making mistakes, you’re doing something right, you’re taking risks and trying on something new. That’s where the growth happens.”

One of the risks Inman took was to advocate for taking on a “small case” involving an odious practice in what her instincts told her was a corrupt company. It later turned out to expose an industry-wide fraud and was a very rich lesson in validating her intuition.

“What I learned is that when a place is that corrupt, that’s not the only bad thing that they’re doing. As we investigate, that corruption is going to expand,” says Inman. “I love the psychology of what makes people decide to cross that ethical line.”

Your Voice Matters Because You’re A Woman

Inman accredits her grandmother, a county clerk of court, as her original mentor. She used to take her to court and whisper, ‘We need more women lawyers.’

Reflecting back on University of Pennsylvania Law School, Inman now realizes what a powerful mentor Professor Lani Guinier was for her (now at Harvard Law School)—because she was a passionate woman that deeply inspired Inman to throw herself into her vocation.

“At a formative phase like law school, it’s so fundamental that you have a woman who inspires you,” says Inman. “I don’t think at the time I assigned as much significance to it as I do now.”

Since then, most of Inman’s mentors and champions have been men with daughters. She is passionate about mentoring, including speaking to her sons’ classmates about being a woman in law.

When it comes to empowering her own voice, Inman takes license from the research that public companies with women on their boards are more effective than those who don’t.

“That gave me the empirical data that my voice is valuable precisely because I may have a different perspective. I feel more compelled to speak out because I’m often the only woman in the room and I often offer a very different perspective,” states Inman. “It makes intuitive sense that we’re better when we’re challenged and have different points of view. So being a woman has encouraged me to speak up and share my mind, especially in male-dominated situations.”

Her sons are 19 and 14, and she’s been taking up surfing lately to share time with them. Inman’s other passion is yoga, and the alchemical practice of sitting with discomfort and staying present.

By Aimee Hansen

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Alison Hoover: Partner, Banking Transformation Leader and Advisory Diversity & Inclusion Leader, PwC U.S.

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Alison Hoover“It took a long time to shake imposter syndrome. I’ve shifted my perspective now to believe that being a woman is an asset,” says Alison (Alie) Hoover. “It’s not just this sideline thing. It’s as much part of who I am, the same thing as being smart or outspoken.”

Hoover talks about going part-time after motherhood, growing her leadership confidence and how she is approaching diversity by championing the upside.

Braving the Part-Time Conversation

Four years into consulting, Hoover went on for her MBA at Kellogg School of Management. She joined Diamond Technology Partners, the hot tech boutique, after and continued on with PwC, when Diamond was acquired in 2010, where she is currently the banking transformation leader.

But her career almost ended abruptly after she had her first baby. Hoover returned to the office, after 12 weeks of leave, on a Monday morning in 2002. By Wednesday at 5pm, she had quit her job.

“I literally threw all of my stuff in the trash, all the notebooks and articles and old project folders.” And she recalls saying, “There’s no way I can do this. I have this baby. It’s impossible.”

After moving to Washington, D.C. to be near family, she decided on her daughter’s first birthday that she did want to work, but part-time. She decided to brave the conversation where she was a “known commodity.”

Hoover phoned a Diamond partner in Chicago and proposed to be their person on the ground in D.C., to help build the firm’s newly started public sector practice, at three days a week. Successful, she ended up being the first to pilot a part-time work arrangement.

For seven years, Hoover worked part-time, upgrading to four days a week once she became a director because “I felt like at three days a week, I could be an individual contributor. I didn’t feel like I could effectively manage other people.”

While still in her part-time stint, she had a second daughter and became a Partner at PwC.

“Honestly, if I hadn’t had the opportunity to work part-time, I don’t think I would be in consulting at all anymore,” she reflects. “Maybe I made partner a year or two later. I’ll never know, but the flip-side is I wouldn’t be here at all. I wouldn’t be sitting in a leadership position.”

Asking, Receiving Support and Valuing Yourself

“You have to ask for what you need and what you want,” Hoover notes. “No one’s going to be mind reading that you need it and give it to you. Sometimes, you have to lay these things out.”

Hoover not only had to ask for part-time, she also had to train her teammates to consider when she was available and not. It also helped that her husband is a huge supporter of her and has been an active co-parent, and she notes that having people around her—a husband, parents, colleagues, partners—that believed in her, maybe even more than she believed in herself, mattered.

Her bosses even reflected to her that she could work at 80% and still get as much done as others, so she didn’t need to sweat the clock.

When she made partner, Hoover remembers a PwC leader advised her: “’You are a partner now. Work when you want to work. Do the work that you need to do, and don’t worry about the rest.’”

Hoover had to get past the hesitation of asking for support from others by reminding herself of the value she added, and that giving and receiving support were more than reciprocal.

“When you’re giving it, it’s what you’re supposed to do, it’s your job,” she comments. “When you’re asking for it, somehow it feels like a favor. I think that’s how we’re wired.”

Stepping Up To a Leadership Mindset

Prior to becoming a partner, Hoover remembers wondering aloud where the senior women were to support her. Someone in the room called out: “You’re a director, you’re pretty senior now. Who are you turning around and reaching to?”

It was a teachable moment.

“I realized that I had been so self-focused, wondering where the help was above me, that I hadn’t considered that someone might actually be looking to me to help them,” admits Hoover. “There’s the little factor of that voice, ‘Who am I to help anybody else?’”

Hoover realized that even if you still have your own learning curves or insecurities, others are taken their cues from you as a leader. You have accrued guidance to give to others.

“What you realize, more and more, and especially as a partner, is that while you might feel like the same person in your own head,” she says, “your positional authority and tenure creates an obligation, and there is something valuable you have to share.”

When appointed to lead the banking transformation team, Hoover was tasked with leading more senior and more experienced partners. Initially, she stepped tentatively into the role, until a boss pulled her aside and reiterated she had been chosen for a reason.

“Sometimes we all need that kick. It gave me more confidence,” she recalls. “He was giving me permission, in fact a mandate, to lead these other partners.”

“So much of consulting is built on expertise and knowing the most about a given topic, but there’s so much about leadership that is not just about knowledge but behaviors and other skills,” Hoover notes. “That was a mind shift for me, that I didn’t have to know everything about everything to lead other people.”

She prides herself on her integrity of word, ability to get things done and adeptness in leveraging her network for other people’s benefits.

“I think one of my biggest and best skills is being that connector who is bringing things together, connecting ideas and people, to help them advance whatever their agenda may be,” she says.

Affirming A Culture of Inclusion

“As one of the fewer women leaders, I feel a great responsibility to be present and accessible and visible,” says Hoover, noting it’s a personal choice, as often the responsibility for showing up for diversity falls too much on the shoulders of the under-represented.

Hoover is also PwC’s U.S. Advisory Diversity & Inclusion leader, and she falls into stride when talking on D&I. Having significantly less than 50% women in the partnership ring (PwC transparently publishes their diversity report) is one priority.

“My focus is twofold. There’s the very public, very visible things like representation. Who are we hiring? Who are we promoting? Who are leaders?” says Hoover. “But I think so much of those outputs is the result of the small, everyday decisions that the majority, for the most part, are making. Who gets staffed on a project? Who gets called on in a meeting? Who makes the dinner reservations? Who talks first? Who gets the chair at the head of the table? Whose e-mail are you responding to first?”

Hoover threads that conversation across conversations and decisions—suspecting those “everyday nudges help to tweak behaviors that over time add up to massive impact. “

“It’s often much more who are you helping versus who are you hurting, because I think 99% of the time, people are not intentionally discriminating,” she pinpoints. “How do we harness the good intentions of our leaders to create a more inclusive culture on a regular basis, and change all of the things that people unconsciously do that are not increasing inclusion? A lot of what I’m very focused on is subtler culture dynamics. Like, what does it feel like to go to work every day? How much do you believe in your ability to succeed and to make an impact?”

She indicates that her approach to that conversation is to positively reinforce the inclusive-habits that leads to organizational wins—more “carrot” than “stick”.

“How do we tell those stories where people are actually doing better or winning because of their inclusive behavior? Every time we get that note from a client impressed at the number of women present and speaking in the session,” she says, “I want to celebrate the successes, advancements, achievements and accomplishments.”

As well as accountability metrics, Hoover emphasizes the importance of top leadership in driving cultural change.

“I think everyone’s looking for that silver bullet around implementation, and cultural change is always a challenge, regardless of what element of culture you’re trying to change,” observes Hoover. “But those key decisions—tone at the top, who are your leaders, who and what you’re celebrating, transparency—go a long way.”

Outside of work, Hoover loves to cook homemade meals, spend time with her 15 and 18 year old daughters, keep up with politics and enjoy the outdoors as much as she possibly can.

By Aimee Hansen

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Beverly Jo Slaughter: Managing Counsel, Wells Fargo Advisors

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“It doesn’t have to be weighty. We don’t have to solve the problems of the world all of the time, but we do need to take the effort to have conversations that begin to reach out,” says Beverly Jo Slaughter, managing counsel at Wells Fargo Advisors.

“I find that when we have an open dialogue, we learn that we are more alike than we are different. It gives us the opportunity to look at the world through somebody else’s eyes—and that’s huge, just huge.”

Match Your Work To Natural Talents

Slaughter’s dream to be a lawyer in a major corporation was so strong that she decided to return to college to earn her juris doctorate degree from Fordham University School of Law during her early forties, just as her kids were beginning to leave the nest.

“I remembered distinctly walking into orientation and looking at people who were not too much older than my own children,” she recalls of being an “alternative student.”

Today, Slaughter heads a team of lawyers and paralegals in the financial services industry, and often reflects on the notion of “never working a day in her life.”

“A big part of job satisfaction is determining what talents and skills you possess naturally,” she observes, “and then how you can fashion that into a career.”

“I like written and oral advocacy. I like advising and advocating for a position whether it’s through, litigation or advising,” Slaughter says. “I enjoy setting out a position and deciding what benefits, advantages and downsides there are, too. I believe that you need to have a nuanced approach.”

While the love of advocacy was present as a paralegal and other positions she held prior to law school, only at Wells Fargo Advisors has Slaughter found the level and breadth of intellectual challenge she craved.

“It’s not only advocacy but also getting your arms around a new problem or an issue and coming to understand it and master it,” she says. “That’s fascinating to me.”

Slaughter is a proponent of heading off conflict before it arises, by being an even better advisor than an advocate.

“I always wanted to be a litigator, but, to me, the best litigator in the world is an advisor,” she discerns. “The other part of my job is to help us avoid litigation and to use those resources to be a better company and to better serve our clients.”

Shape Your Role For Your Fulfillment

“Although I’ve had the same job title since 2008, I have not had the same job,” notes Slaughter. “I’ve been blessed to have the capability to shape my roles in a way that has satisfied me and helped me grow.”

She thrives on getting involved in opportunities where she learns about a new subject matter. One example is taking on a case through which she cultivated an expertise in litigation practices when working with tribal law and tribal court, and developed an understanding of some of the specific issues around financial affairs for tribal people.

“It was my way of going from 0 to 50,” reflects Slaughter. “But it was also my way of enriching my job and continuing to offer better value to the company.”

“I’m a person who believes that you have a great deal of influence and power when it comes to making your job fulfilling for yourself and for increasing your value,” she iterates.

Be A Resource and Advocate For Others

Taking the opportunity to help others realize their worth and navigate their path is her favorite part of leading a team—such as appointing adept paralegals to project management, which showcases the skills they’ve mastered that are very applicable on the business side.

“When you see somebody’s face light up because they found a new skill that they’re good at,” she says, “and they begin to realize the tremendous opportunities that are available to them at a company like Wells Fargo Advisors—that’s a kind of satisfaction like no other to me.”

Slaughter recalls an intriguing piece of advice she received from a mentor decades ago: you will get very far in the world if you are nice.

“I came later to understand what she meant,” says Slaughter. “If you are authentic with people —and interested in their good, in their issues, in the things that are difficult for them—often times you can develop a marvelous work relationship, and you become a go-to person.”

She has found the willingness to be that person of counsel has helped her become someone others come to with issues in confidence and to seek ideas for resolution. It has also positioned her team at the table from the start, having a voice as policies and projects are being crafted, not after decisions are made.

“Quite frankly, that’s who you want to be,” says Slaughter. “You want to be the go-to person who is known as the individual who will get it done and who appreciates the contingencies of the business.”

Be Coachable And Enjoy Your Successes

Along with hard work and helping others, she feels another critical element of success is being coachable and celebrating your value.

“You have to reach out and ask people for help in identifying places you can perhaps get better,” Slaughter notes, “and it takes a great deal of bravery to admit that you can be wrong or less than perfect.”

But being genuinely open to your growth means also being self-aware of your worth and value, and standing in it.

“The biggest thing I think I took away from mentors and coaches over the years was to learn to give a value to myself,” Slaughter reflects. “External recognition is a wonderful thing, but we all have to learn to give recognition to ourselves, to recognize when we have done well, to celebrate our value and feel confident that we bring it to the table.”

She recommends pausing to appreciate what you do well and acknowledge successes because that will carry you through the challenges.

“I think humor is extraordinarily important,” she adds. “The ability to laugh, and sometimes at one’s self, is crucial. Often times that can be a bonding agent. There’s a lot of life that’s really joyful and to be celebrated.”

Brave the Diversity Conversation

Slaughter’s most fulfilling experience came while speaking during a series of company presentations around diversity, equity and inclusion.

In that moment, she crystallized the realization that diversity is difficult, but as a black woman in corporate law, she has been successfully bridging the difficult conversation for her entire career— reaching out to people who appear different than her, or have different backgrounds, in order to build those relationships.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion to me is often times the willingness to recognize your initial communication may not be perfect,” says Slaughter. “But in the end, most people will respond to you in an effort to continue the dialogue.”

“That was a really freeing moment for me,” she says, having been widely thanked by colleagues for reflecting that back.

Slaughter loves reading, crossword puzzles and is passionate about literacy for children and immigrants— the gateway to self-education so you can dream and even overcome disadvantage and adversity.

Growing up in Harlem and passionate about travel, a crowning moment for Slaughter was standing with her husband in front of the pyramids in Egypt and reveling at how much dreams, even when they seem out of reach, can be yours.

Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

By Aimee Hansen

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Renad Younes: Regional Managing Partner for the Middle East, M&A and Project Development, Shearman & Sterling LLP

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Renad Younes“If you look at the Shearman & Sterling office in the Middle East, it’s a truly diverse office which represents the region in which we are operating,” testifies Renad Younes, who joined the firm over two years ago.

From Abu Dhabi, Younes speaks to how she prioritizes relationships in her advisory work, as a female leader in the Middle East with pride in diversity and inclusion.

Relocating Back to The Middle East

After growing up in Palestine, Younes moved to London to complete her higher education at the London School of Economics in 2003. She stayed in London for ten more years—working, getting married and having her first child.

The London scene magnetized her to the work of large law firms, and she quickly found that international M&A and projects work was closely related to her keen interests—navigating cross-border transactions, collaborating with diverse people and working with different laws, transactions and involved parties to meet their needs.

In 2013, Younes made the move to Abu Dhabi to be closer to her clients in the region. Relocating also meant that she was closer to family.

Younes continued to practice law as she also began to raise her family. Able to balance her working life and family without putting her career on pause —Younes made partner in 2014.

“Being a successful career woman doesn’t mean sacrificing your family life,” says Younes, who had her second child in 2016. “You have to put your mind to it and be organized – but it’s not impossible to have a successful career just because you’re a woman or a parent.”

Younes reflects on diversity at work: “inclusivity at work, while it’s perceived as a gender issue, is actually much broader than that. It’s about creating an environment which is supportive of all people so that it’s not impossible to balance your work and personal life. That is what I have been fortunate enough to experience.

“At Shearman & Sterling, our commitment and focus around diversity and inclusion remains non-negotiable,” she continues. “I think the ongoing pandemic has shown just how important it is that our workplaces are inclusive of the responsibilities we all have, regardless of gender. Whether you’re a parent or caring for parents, or simply have other interests and responsibilities, we all have demands outside of work.”

Mediating Within Complex Relationships

“I work with commercial enterprise clients and government organizations who typically have a social responsibility emphasis,” Younes notes. “I am quite aware that the image attached to M&A is that you’re only focused on business, but it’s just not the case in our day-to-day job.”

She observes that the clients that work with her at Shearman & Sterling are highly involved in the community aspect and awareness of what they bring to where their business is operating, which animates her as well.

“Helping and empowering the community through developing their natural resources for example is fulfilling for me as a lawyer,” says Younes, who mediates between governments, government owned companies, international companies and communities—supporting communities, governments and corporations towards what they aspire to achieve.

“I think the technical legal aspect is very interesting,” she says, “but the human interactions, working with different cultures and political structures and governments, draws me the most to what I do.”

Staying Close to Your Team and Your Clients

Younes reflects on her role as a more senior lawyer and a member of the firm’s executive management: “As I become more senior, it’s about having a successful team that enables us to execute complex transactions and deliver whilst creating the right environment for those coming through,” she notes. “It’s about the importance of our team, both collectively and as individuals.”

Younes knows that managing a successful team is about “creating and implementing a meritocracy- not an autocracy in which there is one voice and people follow. Nor is it a democracy in which nothing can be achieved without an equal weight to every single opinion—but a meritocracy that encourages different perspectives and explores the various opinions of all team members in proportion to their merits.

“It is ultimately what makes us successful,” she continues. “Having a team that shares the same values and views is wonderful, but you also want people that challenge and push each other so that you encourage creativity. Great teams do both equally well.”

As to the clients, for Younes, being an M&A lawyer is not just working through the next deal, but about nurturing a long-term relationship and becoming an advisor to her clients.

“I think of myself as a member of the client’s team. One of my aspirations as a lawyer is not to be perceived as an external supplier of services, but to become a trusted advisor,” she says. “It’s a personal relationship—clients want to call the person they trust will give them the right advice that is tailored for them.”

What has surprised her is that she never stops being fascinated and compelled by the work. Each year, she sets out with more momentum and aspirations, even as the work demands have become more difficult with seniority.

“It doesn’t matter how many deals you have done, how much work you have on, there is something new everyday and something new that you learn, whether from clients, transactions, team members at Shearman or in other firms, including opposing counsel,” she says. “You have to stay on your toes and continue to be relevant. That’s great, as it keeps the job fascinating and interesting.”

Being in the Company of Senior Women Leaders

“The perception is that M&A and projects is a male-dominated field, but that has not always been my experience. Many of our clients are diverse and we have many senior very successful female clients,” says Younes. “The diversity progress that I have witnessed in the market in the past few years has been very encouraging.”

Younes is especially proud of her Shearman & Sterling team, and how well they have maintained team cohesion over the last year while delivering results to clients.

“I’ve only been with Shearman & Sterling for two years, but it’s amazing how diverse the firm is – the number of female partners, female associates, different cultures and diverse perspectives. There’s a genuine attention and commitment to diversity and we have implemented a number of initiatives that are aimed to increasing diversity and inclusion in the firm,” she observes.

“It’s not just talking about it, it’s actual implementation, and not just because of the stats,” testifies Younes. “We genuinely believe it’s important to have different perspectives in the meeting room.”

Looking Towards Our Possibilities

Most of Younes’ spare time is spent with her family.

While it’s a big adjustment and many are struggling, she thinks the flexibility realized by the remote office will hopefully serve to empower women and indeed everyone juggling work and personal commitments.

Looking at the future, she is excited about our human capacity for innovation and the possibility of communities being catalyzed to come together to create new solutions amidst the collective challenges in the world right now.

By Aimee Hansen

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Thought Leader: Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer, Phillip Morris International

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Silke MuensterDiversity can drive innovation and innovation can drive diversity. This is a sentiment shared by Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer at Phillip Morris International (PMI), a self-described ‘German mathematician’ but an interesting, committed and fierce change leader who goes way beyond any formula when she speaks passionately about diversity.

“Diversity is numbers, but inclusion is what makes diverse teams work.” She continues, “It is the culture that makes inclusion work and then innovation can happen. Innovation is fundamental to our vision at PMI of creating a smoke-free future. There are one billion smokers in the world, and our company is undertaking a huge task to make smoking cigarettes a thing of the past. Imagine the diversity that lies within our adult customer base so this is something we want to represent also inside PMI.”

Silke recounts how at university and in a large portion of her career, she was always surrounded by men from school classes to the senior management meetings she attended in Germany. Her career journey started at Coca-Cola where she stayed for twelve years and she joined PMI in 2011 as director, Market and Consumer Research, and then was appointed Vice President, Market Research in 2012.

In March 2020, she became PMI’s first Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) starting on the ‘first day of lockdown’ in Switzerland, in a year that would lead most people to reflect on the role of companies in advancing equity and furthering inclusion and diversity in society, and the future of work. Silke was working on this exact topic of “smart work” when COVID-19 hit, and sees real opportunity for everyone to have flexibility, now that the theory that remote work is not only possible, but possible for the vast majority of employees in many companies, has been truly road tested.

When she took the role of CDO, she felt that it was an excellent time to start. She noticed that it was clear that people wanted to talk about the topic and wanted to reflect on their priorities due to pandemic-induced changes of circumstances and the happenings in the world at large that occurred in 2020 – notably, the extension of the Black Lives Matter movement and the growing awareness that came to the forefront of social justice issues.

Diversity And Inclusion

“There has been a tendency for people to think that Diversity and Inclusion is about everyone being nice to each other, but D&I is about creating room for people to speak up so that everyone’s voice is heard.”

Silke believes that it is crucial for people in the company to have the right discussions but that the organization needed to first create the psychological safety to start these conversations. She believes that not everyone has to be an expert, but rather a willing participant, to engage in the conversation about how they would like to see the world in the future.

“Discussions can be had, and conflict can also occur, but ultimately those discussions can be therefore very productive.”

Silke believes that inclusion has benefits for everyone and on her list of things to ensure she and other senior leaders do, is to find a way to empower every employee to enter into the discussion about how to improve inclusion and advance our diversity –to ultimately better our organization and our business— no matter who they are, where they come from, what they look like, who they love, their ability or any other dimension of their identity.

“Different views need to be heard. I&D is something for everyone to participate in. Everyone has to drive this agenda as everyone will benefit. It starts from the top as it needs total commitment that it is a valued task to undertake.”

When she reveals what she is working on, she mentions that this is where she does delight in the numbers, as she has seen the needle move from 29% of women in management in 2014 go to 37% at the end of 2020—with the number of women on PMI’s Senior Management Team doubling from 8 percent to 16 percent in the space of 12 months (since January 2020 until year-end).

“We make gender diversity a company-wide goal and part of leaders’ efforts, and we make sure internal talent processes align. We also have worked hard to create Employee Resource Groups and have updated policies, such as most recently ensuring that we have a more inclusive minimum global parental leave principles which include men and women, and ensuring everyone is covered regardless of sexual orientation. I am also proud to say we have just signed The Valuable 500 and are committed to bring disability onto our 2021 agenda in a much bigger way.”

The Hard Conversations

“Diversity work is a journey and I personally have done a serious amount of reading to learn what I didn’t know and was interested in growing my understanding in this domain. To do this work, to take the journey, you have to start somewhere and have discussions, perhaps hard conversations that include talking about how the playing field is not level. Senior managers have to show vulnerability, which runs deep of course.”

Silke speaks of her thoughts around mentoring and sponsorship freely, revealing she is a very passionate mentor herself and believes that mentoring is the best way to start a sponsor relationship as the chemistry can truly evolve. She feels strongly that pilot programs are the best way to see if certain programmatic efforts work specifically for PMI so that the success of the program can be evaluated and then implemented widely for optimal success.

“It is not about ‘fixing’ women; rather, it is important to recognize that there are specific barriers that women face when it comes to career advancement and we want to make sure to create the right solution that actually helps.”

Silke reiterates her desire for specificity and not a broad approach and believes that she is now a coaching convert also.

“If you had of asked me twenty years ago about coaching, I would have not been convinced, but I have seen how well this can work, especially when there are specific challenges identified, then coaching can really help women and men alike.”

Hope for the Future

Silke hopes that diversity and inclusion stops being such a hard topic in the future but understands that much like quitting smoking cigarettes, that change comes from new behaviors and habits often underpinned by educational facts, incentives via good policies and shifting of cultural norms for everyone in the society.

“If I was to hope for one thing to happen, it would be that everyone gets fully involved so that they can feel and see the joy of belonging for themselves and others; that they can feel the joy of being seen and heard when the speak up at PMI; and that they find benefits in an inclusive environment no matter who they are.”

by Nicki Gilmour, CEO and Founder, Evolved People (theglasshammer.com)

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Julie Gottshall: Partner and Chair, Employment Litigation and Counseling Practice, Katten

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Julie Gottshall

When she was first starting out, Katten’s Julie Gottshall would not have predicted she would spend nearly her entire legal career working for a single large law firm. In a profession with many options, and an era that often rewards job changes, Gottshall believed she would join different employers and maybe even take some time off the career fast track. Instead, Gottshall found a position that enabled her to grow and balance, and decided to stick with it.

Sometimes, says Gottshall, the best opportunity is the one you already have.

Finding Her Niche

Gottshall’s career has been a steady climb. After graduating from George Washington University Law School, she decided that moving to Chicago would be her “great life adventure,” despite the fact that she had no obvious connection to the city. She initially eschewed the largest law firms, choosing to start her legal career at a midsize firm that she hoped would provide a more appealing lifestyle. But when she was a fourth-year associate, two partners with whom she worked closely joined Katten. She moved with them to continue her career focus on employment counseling and litigation, a practice she has solidly established and now leads.

Gottshall felt drawn to employment law for the human element of the practice, and the opportunity to keep her corporate clients out of trouble but defend them if they nonetheless found themselves facing a lawsuit. At Katten, Gottshall handles a broad spectrum of employment issues, including worker mobility (e.g., non-compete implementation and enforcement); employee separations and reductions in force; worker classification and wage/ hour compliance; handbook and policy implementation; workplace investigations; and discrimination and harassment prevention. She has litigated in numerous state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate level, and before all manner of government agencies. She also acts as an impartial third-party arbitrator on the Employment Panel of the American Arbitration Association, where she has decided cases involving breach of contract; discrimination, retaliation and harassment issues; and other workplace matters.

Gottshall likes to quip that one of her most impressive professional achievements is to fly deftly under the radar, since she works hard to keep her clients on track and out of the spotlight.  Always one to look for practical solutions, she describes herself as a counselor first, an attorney second, and a litigator last. Still, she knows her way around a courtroom. She is particularly proud of a whistleblower case she argued and won before the Illinois Supreme Court – a victory that was the culmination of 11 years of work. After she prevailed in the lower court only to see the decision overturned on appeal, she sought certiorari, becoming one of seven out of 237 petitions the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear that session. The high court ruled unanimously in her client’s favor, marking a noteworthy victory for her client and a favorable precedent for other employers.

Gottshall finds employment law is a particularly exciting space right now, given the current remote work environment during the pandemic that has prompted employers to reimagine the workplace and what it will look like in both the near and distant future, as well as presented challenges regarding workplace safety, sick leave and furloughs and layoffs.

Mastering the Balancing Act

While the legal field continues to evolve in its support for personal life choices, Gottshall finds that women still face a constant challenge in finding the right balance. “We are called upon to take on so many roles— some that we need to do and some that we want to do,” says Gottshall. “It’s up to each person to decide how to allocate her time and navigate how much is spent on family and other pursuits, versus how much is poured into a career.”

Still, Gottshall has found Katten conducive to personal as well as professional growth. As she notes, a long tenure at a single firm allows you to build credibility and good will. Your colleagues know your work ethic and contributions, which better positions you to set boundaries and request flexibility. She encourages the use of maternity and paternity leave and other options such as Katten’s sabbatical program, designed to help promote work-life balance. “I applaud women who lean in, but also take advantage of the programs offered, especially today as companies realize they have to adapt to keep their top performers,” Gottshall said. Like most women, Gottshall tries to multi-task when she can. In fact, she once leveraged her maternity leave to take a mediation course to further her career. “Women should determine the best course for them, their families and careers.”

Gottshall appreciates opportunities like the Katten Women’s Leadership Forum that can support women attorneys’ desire to create bonds with other women and fulfill the responsibility to be a mentor.

Part of her balance also comes from using her skills in her community. For example, she has been a school board member for eight years, which she sees as an important commitment. “It’s a gratifying way to leverage my professional knowledge while giving back,” she says.

With one daughter in college and another in her senior year of high school, Gottshall and her husband are looking forward to determining what it means to be “empty nesters.” For now, they enjoy paddle sports and indulge in their passion for travel, especially visiting national parks.

“You have to be mindful of your priorities,” she said, “and look for the joy in everyday pursuits so you don’t lose sight of perspective in all the things life offers you.”

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Jamila Houser: Deputy Chief Underwriter – Agency Lending, PGIM Real Estate

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Jamila Houser“People often say ‘if you can see it, you can be it.’ Well if you don’t see it, does that mean you can’t be it?” challenges Jamila Houser.

Houser speaks honestly on qualifying yourself, showing up as you and the challenges of leveling up while finding your balance.

Getting Into The Door

With strong natural abilities in math and science, Houser grew up thinking her job options were becoming a doctor or an engineer.

But while picking up her second undergrad degree at Georgia Tech (in engineering), she realized that designing laptop fans—her final senior test —was not the gateway to her ideal field, as a naturally outgoing people person.

After working in consulting at Accenture, she moved towards a real estate concentration in her MBA at Georgia State, which eventually launched her into 17 years of moving up through the ranks with PGIM Real Estate so far—where she loves the people, culture, challenges and opportunities.

But getting that initial foot in the door was no small feat. Her resume lacked real estate experience and 75% of the job post read like a foreign language. So Houser chose to emphasize from her daily life how she was a bright individual with genuine passion for the space, who could learn and had the energy to come in, figure things out and get stuff done.

“What skills do you think you bring to the space and what is it that interests you most about this opportunity?” Houser advises to ask, emphasizing that as women we too often mistake that we have to tick every box.

“Forget the fact that you have no experience,” she says. “How can you communicate your interest in such a way that you convince them that you are worth the investment?”

She recommends to be aware of the energy you are bringing foremost, come with clarity on what skills you offer and clearly exemplify those skills and how they will add value.

She also attributes her success to managers who had the courage to do something different and invest in knowing and growing her.

“It’s so important that when people are choosing an organization to work with, they are interviewing that manager just as much as they are being interviewed,” notes Houser. “You want to go somewhere where there are people who see value in you and are going to do their part to help ensure your success.”

If You Can’t See It, Can You Still Be It?

Houser admits feeling like an outsider when she initially entered into finance those couple decades ago. The industry appeared to be a conservative, formal and stifled male world where she didn’t belong as a warm and friendly people person.

While there are far more women and women events since she entered the industry, Houser notes that it still takes energy to network in a conference room where she is one of few people of color, let alone senior women of color.

“I think for me personally I have had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” she says. Houser has learned to go into new roles as who she is, not measuring her compatibility for the role by the gender, skin color, personality or approach of her predecessor.

“I may not see someone who looks like me, talks like me, sounds like me, but I still see myself in people who are in leadership,” she notes. “You get to realize you’re not that different.”

“I’ve never met a stranger. I just love people,” says Houser. “And I can empathize and understand that the people I’m dealing with are in a large part influenced by the lenses they’ve developed over time. So I can build relationships in a way that allows us to get to know each other.”

Recently, in a Zoom presentation to several heads of business, a simple smile from one gentleman amidst a screen of faces reminded her: “You’re just talking to other regular human beings. You’re here, you have something to say and they’re here to listen to you.”

Leveling Up Your Skills and Brand

“I’ve built my brand on hard work,” says Houser, coming from a line of single mothers. Her own mother completed her Ph.D. across 20 years while also working three jobs.

“Hard work, determination and persistence caused me to rise in the organization very quickly up to a certain point. The earlier promotions happened automatically,” Houser observes. “But there comes a point where those qualities alone are not enough, and moving up through senior management levels requires mastering new skills.”

Houser admits she works to rebuild proficiency and confidence each time she levels up.

“I have to be very intentional about negative speak—especially when I’m going into new positions or new opportunities,” she says of the critical inner voices familiar to many of us. “How quickly can I cut that off?”

Houser is grateful for mentors and sponsors who have witnessed and magnified her strengths as well as been able to point out her subtler blindspots or gaps… and dissolve her false concerns.

With her recent promotion, she’s been facing the common leadership growth pains of moving from the “hardworking” brand she’s confidently built her career on to redefining her value by leading and supporting others to be effective and productive.

“I hold myself to a very high standard, probably unreasonably high,” says Houser, “so when you’re shifting to no longer being the doer but now the manager, you have to tone it down. Moving from colleague, or peer, to manager is a difficult transition that I’m still mastering.”

Rather than assume how her team wants her to support them, her approach has been to get very clear on what support her team needs from her while communicating what she needs and expects from her team.

At first it was difficult not to jump in and put her hand in everything out of habit, but the sheer volume of work has shifted her towards more delegation and trust, so she can focus on where she needs to go now too.

Finding Your Authentic Expression

Houser is an outcomes-driven person who has learned across time to bridge the conversation differently with those who are more process, detail or strategy-oriented, with their own inclinations and gifts.

One of her personal journeys has been finding her authentic expression in a professional setting, and letting that move with her.

“The switch flipped for me with authenticity that I can still be myself but there’s a way to be myself at work,” says Houser, noting her husband pointed out to her that her professional self is as much a part of her wholeness as her Sunday dinner self.

“I have had to wrestle with the idea of authenticity,” says Houser, “and I think I’ve become much more comfortable that I can be who I am and express how I express. I have found the right balance where I bring my authentic self but into the work setting.”

Bringing Others Up With You

“Once it clicked that not only do I have a seat at the table, but people also look up to me,” observes Houser, “I began to take the responsibility to lift others to success very seriously.”

While she used to be focused solely on her own contribution, Houser now spends most of her time looking around to see who she can advocate for, make visible and elevate, building the close mentor relationships she herself has valued as a mentee.

“I especially champion the ones who no one is thinking about, nobody is talking about, they’re not raising their hand,” she says. “They’re fine sitting over there and doing their job every day to a very high degree.”

“That gives me so much joy,” says Houser, “using the skills, the talent, the relationships, the knowledge I’ve gained to help someone else be successful.”

Practicing Self-Care to Show Up For Others

As many women share, being passionate about her job in the remote, 24/7 availability work environment and being a mother of ten and eight year old sons who are distant learning beside her at home has made creating balance more challenging.

“I’ve found that if I don’t take care of myself, I can’t show up and be there for my staff, for my kids or my husband,” observes Houser. “So though I may want to put my hand in all these efforts and do all of these things, I need to put my own oxygen mask on first.”

She has found declaring self-care recharge days and moments for herself to be a necessary grace. She plans to cultivate more intentional quality time and movie nights with her boys.

Houser finds meditative rhythm by running in a women’s group each morning come rain or snow, and gardening continues to be a lifelong love of hers, with a future interest in helping to create urban farms.

By Aimee Hansen

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Linda Descano, CFA®: Executive Vice President, Red Havas

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Linda Descano“‘We will be known forever by the tracks we leave,’” quotes Linda Descano, from the Native American proverb she lives by. “To me, that means we need to tread lightly because words and actions have profound consequences.”

“But it also means that through our tracks, we can leave a footprint behind to follow,” she remarks, “so other people not only avoid our pitfalls, but also accelerate because they build on our lessons and experiences.”

In this interview, Descano shares some footprints to follow. 

Allow Intrigue To Guide You

“My career path has been anything but linear,” says Linda Descano, based again in Philadelphia after thirty years away. Instead she has let intrigue and excitement guide her. 

“For me, it’s been about finding opportunities to learn…and finding interesting problems to solve with smart people who want to somehow improve the world or make a difference,” she reflects.

Following that spark of intrigue began in university, when she took a geology class to fulfill her science elective for her English Communications degree, then switched her major.

After pursuing graduate studies in earthquake prediction, she pivoted to work on ways to make K-12 STEM education more hands-on, and then joined a team that was developing a ‘brain’ to drive autonomous underwater vehicles.

Descano then joined an environmental consulting practice which led her to eventually become a member of the environmental affairs team at Citi predecessor Salomon Inc. in 1994. She leveraged her understanding of environmental and social issues to join a socially responsible investment program at Citi, which was one of the first—if not the first—on Wall Street.

Descano then leapt to help launch Women & Co. in 2003 within Citi, an award-winning online financial lifestyle resource for women, eventually serving as President and Chief Executive Officer.

In 2012, she became Managing Director and Global Head of Content and Social at Citi. In 2015, Descano pivoted yet again and went from the brand side to the agency side, joining Red Havas as Executive Vice President in 2015.

 “My entire career has been questioning, listening and hearing about challenges—friction in the system, opportunities to grow, trends reshaping customer preferences and needs—and being willing to raise my hand and get involved,” says Descano. “I’m always looking to find a way to learn and grow myself.”

Define Your Own Parameters

Early in her journey, Descano experienced professors and colleagues who judged her potential as less than she knew herself capable of—whether due to her Italian heritage, her Catholic upbringing, her weight, her gender, not having a finance degree or not having an MBA.

Time and again, she resisted having others box her in, cultivating inner resilience while growing in self-awareness and managing her own triggers and sensitivities. 

“It taught me that people will always see you with perceptions and judgments,” she notes. “And it’s up to each of us to decide—will we let others define the sandbox in which we operate, or will we blow it apart and carve our own path?”

She recalls saying to one such colleague, “I might not have an MBA from Harvard, but I do have an MBA from the ‘School of Hard Knocks.’ So between my brute experience and your Ivy League education, we should together be able to create a stellar program.”

“You have to decide who is going to own and set the parameters for your career and make your choices—don’t put them on autopilot,” she advises. “You have to be the navigator of your career. I set out to become a Managing Director, and that’s exactly what I did.”

Be Intrapreneurial In Your Leadership

“Execution is a passion of mine,” says Descano. “I’m always very focused on ‘I understand the strategy, but how do you execute flawlessly and what’s the right organizational structure?’”

No matter what organization she is a part of, Descano assumes the mindset of the “intrapreneurial executive.”

“When you think of an entrepreneur, you think of people with a lot of flexibility and they’re adaptive. They act as owners. They take initiative. They lean in,” says Descano. 

“So as I think of being an ‘intrapreneurial executive,’ I bring that same sense of acting like an owner to the organization I work for. I’m going to be constantly thinking about ways of improving the business,” says Descano. “I act like I own it, as if it’s my investment. It’s working with that same sense of responsibility and drive to make it grow.”

Descano has valued the leaders—both at Citi and Red Havas—that gave her the green lights to create and test and do things differently in order to bring more value to the consumer and community.  

“If you just put your head down, you will lift your head up one day and the world around you will have changed and you have not, so how could you be adding value?” says Descano. “It’s so important to deliver, but I believe you have to keep looking around, looking up, looking down, looking sideways— because the world is changing. You have to evolve and grow and adapt.”

Value the Value of Your Network

With incredible female role models in her family, Descano also internalized the importance of helping others and paying it forward.

Outside of her ‘day job,’ Linda has served on the board of numerous organizations dedicated to advancing women and girls, including Step Up, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., and New York Women in Communications (NYWICI). A past president of NYWICI, she remains an active board member and currently serves as the Treasurer.

“I’ve made it a point throughout my career to spend part of my personal time and money investing in paying it forward with women and girls, mentoring both informally and formally.” says Descano. “Sharing your fortune and facilitating opportunities, that’s how you help people move forward.”

Descano considers running Women & Co.— a business focused on supporting women to be their personal best— for over a decade to be the highlight of her career. 

In today’s knowledge economy, Descano also advises that the network you build by supporting others is your greatest asset. 

“When I’m faced with a challenge and issue, I have a tremendous network of people I can call on to get the benefit of their experience, insights and knowledge,” says Descano. “Part of the power and value that I bring to an organization’s table is my network and relationships.” 

Whether it’s getting a 101 on a new industry for a new business opportunity, connecting a client to several women she trusts in a new field they are entering, or recruiting a speaker, her network has been absolutely invaluable to her.

When you are there for your network, you also create a net for yourself. 

“When you show kindness, when you’re willing to help others, even if just to listen to them,” notes Descano, “then the days you fall, the days you aren’t the best you could be, the days you get displaced by circumstance, you have all these people that are softening your fall and supporting you, almost like a spring back up.”

Remember We Are All Human

Much of Descano’s work today is designing transformational communications for organizations during times of change—which has never been more salient than now. 

One of the big focuses at Red Havas that animates her is person to person (P2P) communications, or bringing the humanity and empathy back to the forefront of communications.

Remembering that we are all human—no matter if you’re talking to employees, customers or a business—is one topic featured in the monthly podcast she has launched as part of a team, Red Sky Fuel for Thought, providing insight into the communications landscape.

When she’s not being an intrapreneur or supporting other women, Descano can be found reading, or listening to True Crime podcasts in her kitchen while making a couple dozen stromboli for her family.

By Aimee Hansen

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Kelli Hill: Senior Director of Planning, Central Region, Wells Fargo Private Bank

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Kelli Hill

“In the moment, you might think that your path in life doesn’t seem clear. It might seem like it’s going in a direction that’s not what you had planned,” says Wells Fargo’s Kelli Hill, based in Minneapolis. “I’ve learned to go with it and have confidence that life will take you right where you need to be.”

From unexpected career and personal turns to crossing the finish line at an Ironman Triathlon, Hill shares on navigating towards growth and fulfillment.

Trusting A “Zig-Zagging” Career Track

“Prior to joining Wells Fargo over eight years ago, I would have described my career path as a bit of a zig-zag road. That’s the way that I thought of it.”

While at the University of Minnesota Law School, she wanted to become a public defender. But Hill remembers sitting in a tax class one day and turning to the student next to her and saying, “Isn’t this fantastic?” The reaction she received was quite the contrary.

That was the moment she suspected this might be the field for her.

Out of law school, Hill took a job in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche. She left Deloitte (now Deloitte Tax) to practice law and spent most of private law practice in the trust & estates and business transition planning groups at Minneapolis-based, Fredrikson & Byron, PA. She enjoyed the work, the firm and her colleagues, and was learning a lot, but felt like something was missing.

“I didn’t want to look back and say, ‘I was a successful attorney and worked at a terrific firm with so many talented colleagues, but was never really completely fulfilled.’” reflects Hill.

Hill left private law practice to run the tax, trust and legal group of a single-family office headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.  It was during her time at the family office that Hill discovered the benefits and impact that having a financial plan and, specifically doing strategic wealth planning, can have on high net worth families.

When she joined Wells Fargo as a senior wealth planning strategist in 2012, she began to see congruency in the experiences she’d accumulated and where she was going, eventually rising to a Senior Director of Planning in Wealth Management.

“I thought to myself, ‘my entire career path has been tailor-made for this role and this experience,’” says Hill. “It was no longer a zig-zag to me.”

Working with Individuals and Families

What Hill loves most about her work in wealth management (and wealth planning, in particular) is supporting and advising clients on personal and financial decisions that are otherwise difficult to make, to greater outcomes than you might even imagine.

“As a professional, when you help somebody to make financial decisions, it has a qualitative impact that often far outweighs any tax dollars saved,” she says. “It can have such profound impacts on their lives and, when that happens, the appreciation and gratitude is overwhelming.”

As an exemplary moment of this, Hill recalls working with a family to transition their business to the next generation.  Her work led to conversations that, as a family, they had not previously been able to confront.

“We had this moment where they actually told each other how they felt about the business and their desired places in it,” remembers Hill, “I will never forget it.”  Beyond ultimately being able to identify solutions that enabled the family to achieve their financial goals, Hill recalls this moment and how important to the family their work together had become.

Being Open and Receptive to Mentorship

“I would not be in the position I am today without having had the benefit of supportive mentors and sponsors,” Hill attests. “I’ve worked with some pretty wonderful people in my career, especially while at Wells Fargo.  In fact, most of the mentors and sponsors with whom I’ve had the privilege of having were/are managers of mine.”

If you want to attain strong mentorship and sponsorship, whether you are the mentor or mentee, Hill recommends listening, being receptive and open, and most of all—being yourself.  Early in her career, Hill recalls a mentor saying to her “don’t try to fake it, people will know.”

“I always try to be open to feedback, even if it stings a little.  I want to continue to improve and work on my professional and personal development,” she notes. “The individuals who have become my mentors and sponsors have pointed out that my openness to feedback and focus on self-improvement are characteristics they enjoy most about working with me. The other is my being authentic, being me.”

Hill says her professional self is just who she is. These days, that includes embracing the realness of her seven year old daughter wanting to say hello to her colleagues on a Zoom call.

“This is me,” says Hill. “I always try to be my authentic self.  To really connect with people —your colleagues, your clients —you have to let them see you. I’ve learned that to be a great leader, it’s a good thing to be vulnerable, authentic, natural. To be you.”

Hill also recommends implementing the advice you receive.

“It’s one thing to solicit and ask for advice and guidance,” says Hill. “It’s another thing to actually take it, and I do my best to do so and will continue to.”

Growth Through Change And Adversity

On a personal level, Hill values personal growth through challenge as well as learning through making mistakes.

In her early thirties, she experienced an unexpected divorce that shook her world.

“I took the opportunity to work through a big change in my life very seriously,” says Hill. “I remember saying, ‘This is an opportunity for me to really figure out who I am.’ It impacted my life tremendously, it was traumatic—and yet I would do it all over again, every bump, every hurdle. My life experiences have helped shape who I am today and, as painful as some may have been to go through, I appreciate them all.”

In both personal and work life, Hill is aware the road of transition can be a time of discomfort and challenge, but keeps focused on the vision.

On an organizational level, Wells Fargo has embarked on an evolution to create greater consistency around bringing financial products, services and solutions to all clients through a more horizontal structure.  While the work will result in “a more effective and efficient organization for our clients and shareholders, the change can be challenging.”

“When we look back six months from now, we’ll see how we’ve transformed and know that it is right where we are supposed to be.” Hill tells her team.

Trusting Your Own Strength

Hill never for a moment doubted her own vision of being personally successful.  Though she came from a single-parent household with modest financial means, Hill is proud of being the first in her family to go to college and then on to law school, which was the beginning of her career path.

While recovering from that divorce years ago, she remembers a moment of personal empowerment that taught her she was capable of anything.

A few years into her career, she was a self-confessed coach potato who realized it was time to change. The first time she put on a pair of tennis shoes and ran a single mile, it took her 14 minutes. But she was thrilled.

Then, she was hooked—training up to participate in marathons and eventually an Ironman triathlon.

“I remember crossing the finish line of the Wisconsin Ironman and thinking, ‘There is nothing I can’t do’” beams Hill, who also met her husband through the triathlon community, with whom she is raising their daughter.

Her contagious enthusiasm has encouraged several others on the running path, and she keeps up a morning workout which she loves, though being a mom is now her number one priority.

Her favorite time with her daughter is bedtime reading. It began with she and her husband reading to their daughter when she was an infant and now it’s listening to their daughter read to them—and Hill wouldn’t trade it for any finish line, not these days.

Abbot Downing, a Wells Fargo business, offers products and services through Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and its various affiliates and subsidiaries. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

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Melanie Priddy: Chief Talent Officer, Katten

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Melanie Priddy

Photo provided by Gittings Photography

“At the end of day, relationships are the key to everything, regardless of what industry you’re in, or what your profession is,” says Melanie Priddy.

Katten’s Chief Talent Officer speaks about the value of connections, the need to merge professional development with diversity and the importance of self-advocacy.

Becoming a Business Professional in Law

“I wish I could tell you this was the plan all along, but sometimes the careers we find are ones we fall into,” says Priddy, about being a people-oriented business professional within the legal industry.

Upon graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, she started her legal career as a practicing lawyer at an Am Law 50 firm.

After a few years as a transactional attorney, Priddy gravitated toward recruiting attorneys for law firms and counseling law students on their career options. She went to work for a staffing firm and then a university and found that she loved advising others on making choices to navigate their career in line with their ambitions.

Priddy joined Katten in 2008 as an attorney recruiting and development manager in the firm’s Los Angeles office, where she managed professional development programs for associates for a few years. She worked at a couple other law firms before she returned to Katten in 2018 as Chief Talent Officer based in the Washington, DC office where she oversees administrative areas including human resources, attorney recruitment, professional development, and diversity and inclusion with an eye on hiring, career growth opportunities, diversity and inclusion efforts, and retention of both attorneys and business professionals.

Diversity and Development Are Inseparable

“To me, diversity and professional development are closely tied,” says Priddy.

At a previous firm, she led recruiting strategies and managed training programs. She took the initiative to expand her role by launching a diverse lawyer mentoring program. She became the Development & Diversity Manager and implemented programs to advance diversity and inclusion within the firm. At a subsequent firm, Priddy was able to incorporate her work in professional development programming with her interest in making workplaces more diverse and inclusive.

“I honestly pressed for it, rather than sitting back and waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder,” says Priddy. “I had to say, ‘I think I would be really good at this combination of roles, and let me explain how and why they should be combined for me to be successful, and what I could do.’ That set the stage for me to be in the role I have now at Katten.”

She’s committed to offering diversity and development support at every level, and integrating it into the decision-making process at law firms.

“My approach has been that diversity is part of every discussion—when you are talking about recruitment, about development, about choices people are making with regards to business or client development or opportunities around training,” states Priddy.

From the top down in law firm hierarchy, diversity should be top of mind.

“One of the things we always talk about is that everyone is responsible for improving diversity in the legal field,” she says. “The diversity professional brings the opportunities and the resources to others in the law firm or legal industry, but everyone is responsible for ensuring a diverse workforce. When you look at it that way, then you’re really going to make progress.”

Priddy emphasizes Katten’s successful participation in the Mansfield Rule, which sets benchmarks for women, attorneys of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities to account for at least 30 percent of the candidate pool considered for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior lateral positions. This initiative, coupled with the firm’s newly launched Kattalyst Sponsorship program aimed at retaining and advancing diverse associates and income partners, works toward the goal of increasing representation of historically underrepresented attorneys in law firm leadership.

Invest in Relationships and Self-Advocacy

Priddy stresses how important it is to nurture relationships and curate a support network for career guidance.

“When I started in my career, as many people do, I thought if you just keep your head down and work hard, everything will be okay. You’ll advance and be rewarded,” she reflects. “What I’ve come to realize over time is the importance of developing relationships—obviously with the people you’re working with and for, but also outside of your immediate circle and within the industry itself.”

She advises others to network within various organizations that align with their interests at all stages of their careers. For example, she has been involved with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), previously serving on the board of directors and most recently as chair of the nominating committee, which solicits nominations for elected positions, slates members for officer and director positions and administers the election process.

She also stresses the importance of advocating for yourself to achieve your goals.

“As women, often there’s a tendency to downplay your success, your role or leadership skills, whether with a boss or with a group,” she says. “But someone else can’t speak up for you on your behalf, if you don’t do it for yourself first.”

Bring Your Whole Self

“A lot of times as women of color, we bring just a part of ourselves to work and we leave a broader sense of who we are back at home,” she says.

Priddy feels that this year’s remote work environment is helping to break down some barriers with her colleagues.

“Our personal and professional lives are so blended because we’re at home, and you hear my dog barking and you see my kids going through the background—and I’m getting my job done,” says Priddy. “I would say in some respects, because of tearing down these walls, I’m more connected to people now than I was in person.”

She adds, “I see how important it is to bring some vulnerability into the workplace so people feel like they can connect and share and get to know you.”

Supporting Personal and Professional Integration

Priddy has been instrumental in Katten’s efforts to destigmatize mental health issues and to draw attention to substance use disorders within the legal profession by joining the American Bar Association’s well-being pledge and launching a firm-wide wellness program, Katten Well-Being 360: Live Well, Work Well, Be Well to support attorneys and employees with information, training, and helpful resources.

She’s proud of being a mother of two sons, ages 10 and 13, modeling for them a world where they grow up with a mother who has a seat at the table where high-level decisions are made.

Under Priddy’s leadership, Katten created a Parents Affinity Group as a resource and support network for working parents at the firm to connect and discuss approaches to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked with firm leaders to get the  parental leave policy expanded to a 12-week, gender-neutral paid leave, with an extension of 8 more weeks for a total of up to 20 weeks for birth mothers and those who have exceptional circumstances, such as adoptive and surrogate parents.

In this virtual environment, her team is also tasked with seamlessly bringing on new attorneys and employees without daily in-person interactions with co-workers and supervisors. “How do you onboard and integrate new people, or create relationships when you’re never in the same room physically together?” Priddy said. Her answer: offer productive programs that build relationships.

For example, she helped roll out a more elaborate mentoring program involving mentoring circles to foster a sense of connection at the firm, as well as a coaching program covering career development topics, goal setting and development of an action plan for summer associates and first-year associates who joined Katten during the pandemic.

These creative solutions appear to be cultivating connections—whether virtual water cooler moments or shared creative nights from home. With less travel, she finds her colleagues are more available than ever to get on the phone.

Outside of work, she’s enjoying more time at home with her family, cycling on her Peloton bike, and perfecting her green thumb, checking on her tomatoes in the garden. A proponent of integration where it serves better results, Priddy is embracing the experience of blending her home and professional life.

By Aimee Hansen

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