Voice of Experience: Angie Sabel, Managing Director at Abbot Downing New York

Being curious will get you far on your professional journey, finds Angie Sabel. “It drives your understanding of the ‘why’ and the people and the process.”

Angie SabelAnd that’s an approach that helps Sabel always anticipate how she can best serve her clients. “I am always anticipating and prepared with solutions no matter what the discussion might be with clients and colleagues.”

Helping Families Drives a Successful and Fulfilling Career

Sabel started her career in public accounting with a goal of advancing to a position where she would work hands-on with family offices or family enterprise. She gravitated toward this work because of the desire to be an inclusive contributing partner across all touch points of a client’s financial vision. “Helping future generations offers a connectivity and longevity that has been very rewarding,” she says. She finds that the best part of her position is meeting the entire family and understanding each individual’s role and how they want to use their wealth to positively impact their families and communities.

Sabel finds fulfillment in knowing that her team of thought leaders provides the most knowledgeable resources to help her clients. “Wealth clients are unique in their needs and clients realizes we have a depth of resources available, including connecting with other clients, that provide options to assist with decision making,” she says. “I’m proud to work with people who have spent their whole career developing their craft. Because each one is unique in its own way, we can share our knowledge, research and experience to help them achieve their goals.”

For Sabel, building these long-standing relationships has been one of the professional achievements she’s most proud of. “In school you’re always encouraged to earn the best scores in order to show you’re prepared and capable, but I have realized that even more important is really understanding the person with whom you’re working—whether it’s a client or manager. By focusing more on them and less on yourself, you’ll find ways to connect and that is how you are going to create the relationships that will lead to a rewarding career.”

Embracing the Benefits of Being a Mentor and Mentee

As Sabel nurtures the next generation of wealth advisors, she assures rising talent that no one needs to feel as though they have to strive for perfection. “It’s more engaging when we come as our real selves,” she says, adding that she wishes she had known this earlier in her career, as she would have been more prone to making decisions faster and being more confident knowing that she didn’t have to come with all the answers.

To that end, she encourages rising talent to explore avenues to build their self confidence. The good news, she says, is that this trait isn’t relative—it’s about what makes you personally confident. And for that reason, there’s no single prescribed path to success, but everyone needs to think about what they want to do and why they are seeking a particular position. “Be honest with yourself and trust your instincts to make good, informed decisions,” she advises.

Sabel always looks for opportunities to build her professional skills, and knows that learning can come at any time, and from any direction. She finds her direct manager to be an important resource and frequently learns from the mentees she has met through her work as a mentor with Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell, noting that their energy and questions inspire her.

Professional development is important, and she particularly appreciates participating in roundtables, as she finds them to be a very practical model for sharing what you’re dealing with in real time, and obtaining advice and best practices from others who have been in applicable situations. “Because roundtables are less formal and structured, they encourage people to come together and share ideas in a more free-form manner, without having to rely on a prepared agenda. It’s a forum where people feel comfortable to share their vulnerabilities, and learn from each other.”

Sabel enjoys exploring new restaurants in New York with her husband, and sharing her experiences with friends, family and colleagues. She considers her husband to be one of her most influential advocates. “It’s important to have someone outside of work who can serve as a mentor in another way—someone who offers a different perspective, but always encourages you.”

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Akila Raman, Partner, Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs

Akila Raman recommends to others: “Treat the senior people you work with as clients.”

Akila RamanRaman, who graduated with a degree in political theory and a certificate in finance from Princeton University, said she “found her home” in corporate derivatives at Goldman Sachs. She says of her decision to pursue a career at the firm, “I wanted to work at Goldman Sachs because I knew it was a very team-oriented culture.”

While she originally thought she would remain for only two years at Goldman Sachs, Raman stayed at the firm during the financial crisis and beyond.

“During the financial crisis I had a unique vantage point for observing the firm’s leaders coming together to adapt to changes and anticipate client needs,” said Raman. “As volatile markets became an increasingly important focus, our corporate hedging business became even more important for our clients, and I was ultimately asked to lead a joint risk management and debt financing effort.”

Hard Work Yields Results

After several years, Raman was named head of Natural Resources Debt Capital Markets and Risk Management within the Investment Banking Division. Reflecting upon her most significant client achievement, Raman cites her work advising Great Plains Energy, the local utility company in her Missouri hometown, on its merger with Westar Energy.

“Goldman Sachs was one of few banks that could have structured the Great Plains-Westar transaction given its unique complexities. We were able to bring together a variety of resources across GS and deliver comprehensive solutions, which ultimately resulted in value for our client and its stakeholders,” notes Raman. She continues, “Working on that transaction allowed me to form deeper relationships with the management team and also had a meaningful impact on the people in my hometown, making the deal extremely rewarding.”

Looking ahead, Raman is also interested in the effect of technology and renewables on the natural resources space. “We’re at a very interesting time in the energy space, particularly as energy policies globally are responding to changing dynamics due to technological advances, consumer preferences and investors’ ESG objectives,” says Raman. “I expect we’ll see the natural resources sector evolve over the coming years to adapt to these factors.”

Reflecting on her career, Raman, who was recently named a partner, said that being asked to join Goldman Sachs’ partnership was a career-defining moment. “As someone who began her career as a summer analyst looking up to senior bankers, being welcomed into the partnership was such an honor.”

Serving Clients Is a Priority

Raman is also keeping busy on several transactions that include complex financing and risk management solutions. She notes that Goldman’s involvement in these deals is a result of “many years of hard work and relationship-building in order to gain the trust of clients to be tapped as an advisor on these large-scale, intricate transactions.”

Raman places the same level of priority and focus when preparing deliverables for internal clients: “Treat the senior people you work with as clients – because they are,” advises Raman.

Carving Out Time for Your Passions

“Speak out, and don’t be afraid to have open lines of communication with your manager and your team around deadlines and deliverables,” recommends Raman. “Being able to carve out time for your own interests and your life is so important, especially as a junior team member.”

Outside of the office, Raman is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs: “I enjoy spending time investing in women-led companies. We don’t talk enough about wealth generation among women. I feel very passionately about having my investments reflect my values, and working towards making the next generation of entrepreneurs more diverse.”

In addition to investments she makes in her own time, Raman is also involved with Pursuit, a nonprofit that helps adults with the most need and potential receive technology training so they may get their first tech jobs and become the next generation of leaders in technology. Given many of Pursuit’s graduates are immigrants, this mission resonates with Raman, who is the daughter of Korean and Indian immigrants herself.

And, Raman makes sure to set aside plenty of time each week for her family. “No matter where I am each week, whether I’m in New York or traveling abroad, I always carve out time for my partner, and we try to make sure we have at least one kid-free evening together each week.”

She notes, “It’s important to make clear to my family that they are just as important to me as my career.” During this dedicated family time, Raman loves to experience New York’s parks and galleries with her husband and daughter, insightfully commenting, “It’s always a joy to experience New York through our daughter’s eyes.”

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Voice of Experience: Charlotte Hsu, Asia Pacific Diversity & Inclusion Leader and Singapore General Assurance Partner, PwC

Charlotte HsuFrom her leadership vantage point, PwC’s Charlotte Hsu knows that it is critical to help build a robust pipeline by encouraging other women in the industry.

“Now that you are there, don’t forget to look out for the little girls who were once you,” she says.

To that end, Hsu herself devotes time to helping bolster the careers of younger colleagues. The key, she shares, is that while basic technical competency or product knowledge is important, soft skills—or as she calls them, “fundamental skills”—are equally or more important in advancing your career. In fact, that attitude is what allowed her to build her audit career.

An Unconventional Start Leads to a Successful Audit Career

Hsu was a groundbreaker from the start, considering that she did not graduate with an accounting degree, yet is now an assurance partner in a Big Four firm. When she started her career in Singapore in the ‘90s, the most attractive jobs were management trainee programs with banks and oil and gas companies; however, as she acknowledges, her university grades weren’t sufficient to earn a spot in one of those programs.

Instead, she pursued qualification as a Forex dealer and life insurance agent—also lucrative professions—and it was through her insurance instructor that she became introduced to the auditing profession. She found herself fortunate to be recruited by a Big Six firm as an audit trainee, the program offered to non-accounting graduates.

From there her audit career took off, and she has worked in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai over the past 20 years. She came full circle back to Singapore in 2011, while still an assurance partner, and was given the opportunity to head the Learning and Development department and is now PwC’s Asia Pacific Diversity & Inclusion partner, as well as a member of PwC’s Global Corporate Responsibility Board. “If I had not taken the chance to try a new qualification and had let my graduate status hold me back, I would not have this career, one that has made my life so meaningful,” Hsu says.

Looking back at her 27 years as an auditor, the professional achievement she is most proud of so far is the relationships that she has built—clients who became good friends and coworkers who are now part of her personal life. “When you have coworkers who are willing to go above and beyond with you, it speaks volumes about the relationship, and to me this is an achievement that outweighs any awards on the wall or the titles behind your name,” she says.

Hsu also is proud of the role she has played in professional development for her colleagues, especially the junior ones. Recognizing the need for job rotation in order to motivate and develop non-client-facing colleagues, she was able to secure buy-in from various stakeholders to allow more junior colleagues to explore short-term internal secondment and job rotations. That has allowed them to develop new skill sets, as well as get out of their comfort zones to take on new tasks.

Right now, she is taking an active role with the PwC’s Global Corporate Responsibility Board to fulfill an ambitious global target they set in 2018: to invest in the future and growth of 15 million people, NGOs and social and micro enterprises to help them maximize their potential by 2022.

“I am excited to be working with my counterparts across the PwC network in coming up with ideas to achieve that ambition,” she says, adding that it is not about meeting the KPI, but the ability to make a significant difference in so many lives. “At PwC, we believe businesses have a key role to play in solving societal challenges, alongside other stakeholders.”

In addition, like many in the field, she is wrestling with the potential for AI to transform the accounting industry. Rather than take over accounting jobs, though, she believes AI will help accountants improve their efficiency and root out fraud detection.

The Ongoing Quest to Promote Balance and Equity

Work-life balance is important, and she dispels the myth she heard back in the day that you have to leave the office after your bosses in order to be promoted. She tells her younger counterparts that it is not impossible to pursue a thriving career and have a family at the same time. “Many people have done it successfully, and there will be more and more such cases,” she says.

Unfortunately she sees that women are often tested when making choices in balancing work and personal lives, largely because the auditing profession is known for demanding hours. “For women who have to put in those hours at work and at the same time fulfill their obligations as a mom—call it maternal instinct or social pressure—most women choose family over career,” Hsu says. And even though they are seeing a rise in the number of men homemakers, the pace of the increase is still slower than that of females leaving their job to assume the role.

That’s why she sees a gap in women who are reaching the upper echelons of the industry. In fact, the fairly equal representation of females in the industry, particularly in managerial positions, should yield a reasonably strong pipeline of highly qualified women to become partners. However in reality they are seeing that women tend to drop out of the pipeline at the managerial level as that is usually the age when they start a family.

Still, she is proud of the strides that PwC has made, with women making up approximately 53 percent of managerial positions and above. As a Diversity & Inclusion partner, she has the privilege of sitting in promotion meetings to encourage equal opportunities and diversity in decision making. The firm recently reviewed its internal policies for everything from recruitment to job allocation to promotion to ensure there are no policies biased against women. In the coming months they will be running a refresher program on unconscious bias and are looking into better support for new parents and women returning from maternity leave. “We understand that returning to work after maternity is tough; thus if we are able to help smoothen the transition, we believe more new mothers will choose to stay in the profession,” Hsu notes.

Her own “off time” includes indulging in a wide variety of interests that include cooking, cars, collecting whisky, electronic gadgets and video games—in fact she just bought a VR set for the home. But what interests her most is finding ways to help the elderly and less-privileged women. “We talk a lot about gender equality but often times it’s in reference to professionals. We should not forget to care for those less-privileged women around us who are not professionals,” she points out.

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Voice of Experience: Kimberly Smith, National Co-Chair, Private Equity, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

As Kimberly Smith has moved up in the legal profession, she’s also advanced her belief that along the way, it’s vital to be true to yourself.

Kimberly Smith“When I started my law career I often heard this advice, but it took years of experience as a professional woman at a law firm to truly appreciate it,” she says, adding that she has seen situations where people were trying to be someone that they thought they should be, and the lack of authenticity was clear. And, as she has learned, success is not just about being smart and working hard.

Owning her Career

Of course, Smith is both those things.

Smith first joined Katten as a summer associate with a passion for the law. Upon graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 1998, she returned to Katten as an associate and became immersed in the dot-com bubble and the funding of IPOs in record time for internet startup companies.

And then the bubble burst. She credits her “trial by fire” experience in the dot-com world with teaching her how not to approach deals. Now, she prefers to dig in to discover and address her clients’ long-term objectives, not just their immediate needs. In the aftermath, Smith easily transitioned to M&A work in many industries, including healthcare.

Her success led her to be promoted to partner in 2006. After a five-year stint at another law firm, she rejoined Katten in 2015 as co-head of the nationwide Private Equity practice. “There were many compelling reasons to return to Katten. It provides a strong platform with phenomenal specialists with robust experience, and one of the strongest healthcare regulatory practices in the industry,” she explains. Smith has been back three-and-a-half years, enjoying the intellectual charge of working on complicated deal structures and working closely with tax partners to find new ways to accomplish client goals that might seem impossible at first glance.

“My clients are under a lot of pressure to get the deals done quickly, and in cases where the other side won’t budge, I need to figure out how to bridge that gap,” Smith says, adding that one of the best parts of the job is the relationships she has built with repeat clients.

“I might work with an entrepreneur very closely as they sell their business and then I’m finished working with them. But with a private equity fund, I might work on their deals for 20 years so we get to know each other and work together well. Time and again I come back to the fact that the intellectual challenges and personal relationships are what make my job so wonderful.”

Taking Advantage of Every Opportunity

Smith shares that she came in to the working world with mindset familiar to many—that if she was smart and worked hard, she would be successful. “I wasn’t prepared for the fact that in every organization, it takes more than just hard work. In order to really start climbing the ladder you need take advantage of every opportunity from mentoring and networking to developing business to seeking out leadership positions.”

“It was when I started to engage myself at every level of the firm – with my clients, the leadership, my peers, and younger associates – that I started to get more traction in terms of advancing my career.”

Along with that, you have to learn to be comfortable with self-promotion, because it’s necessary to put yourself out there and tout your hard work. When she returned to Katten in an authoritative role, she realized that her words carried more weight.

“Women should not be shy about self-promotion. It doesn’t mean you have to go on about how great you are. You can keep it very factual and state something that isn’t an opinion or a boast. In law, both women and men have to make sure that people appreciate their value,” Smith says. So, for example, if you’re a litigator who just won a big case, make sure others are aware of your accomplishment.

Integrating Balance

Smith enjoys her position on the firm’s Women’s Leadership Forum National Mentorship Panel, which consists of more than a dozen women partners who counsel other women with professional and personal advice. Each mentor is profiled so rising attorneys at the firm can choose whomever is the best resource for a particular topic—everything from how to balance work and family to how to develop business.

Outside the office, Smith spends time with her husband Stephen and their two daughters—Victoria, age 11, and Natalie, age 5—and recently enjoyed a vacation to Orlando with them.

She’s also recently discovered a new hobby, when last year one of her clients invited her to be on their team to compete in the Spartan Race, an obstacle course that involves four miles of climbing walls, jumping over fire, carrying sandbags and crawling through muddy trenches. “It was a great way to develop a deeper connection to my client, but I was terrified of an obstacle course,” she admits. She began training and embarked on a rigorous fitness program that she acknowledges she might not have otherwise started. Although she completed the race a year ago, she’s maintained the workout regimen because she realized how much better she felt being active and strong.

“It presented a great turning point for me to make time to take care of myself. A lot of good has come out of that,” she said. And Smith adds, nothing bonds you more with a client than being covered in mud. “If I can be a warrior on the Spartan field, navigating the battle field of a transaction should be a piece of cake.”

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Voice of Experience: Sarah Alter, President and CEO of Network of Executive Women (NEW)

Sarah Alter“Find a company or career path with a runway that’s both long and wide so you can pivot throughout your career journey and expose yourself to diverse thoughts and perspectives,” suggests Sarah Alter.

She’s found an important piece of advice to be surrounding herself with people who have different backgrounds and experiences to achieve diversity of thought and plans—a desire that has led her to her newest challenge.

A NEW Challenge Complements Her Experience

While Alter currently serves as CEO of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), a nonprofit designed to advance all women in the workplace, the majority of her career has been in marketing and digital marketing both globally and nationally for retailers including Staples and Discover. Before taking over NEW, she served as the chief marketing officer for General Growth Properties, a shopping mall REIT that owned and operated 140 malls, helping to drive the right type of traffic into the stores.

While she was drawn to the altruistic nature of NEW and the ability to advance positive opportunities for women, she knew that she was ideally suited to the job due to her previous management experience in a similar industry and her time spent on boards and as a volunteer.

In this role, Alter looks forward to helping other women embrace their true selves and set them up for success. “Women are not broken, and they don’t need to be fixed, but they need to be developed and celebrated, which is a truth regardless of gender,” she says.

“I’m proud that I was given the opportunity to be a CEO and that I am able to deliver true and meaningful impact, not just from a business and financial perspective, but to help women.”

Her empathy for women in the work world stems in part from wishing that she had known at a younger age that she could truly be herself and ultimately still be successful.

Early in her career she was in a role at a financial services company where she had far exceeded a sales target she had been given. As she walked into her review, she expected the accolades to flow, but after a cursory “good job,” her manager proceeded to tell her that it was a team effort.

While Alter embraces the importance of collaboration and shared credit, she still had expected more, but what really prompted her to search out another role was the feedback that followed. Her manager proceeded to share “insight” he’d gained from male executives who said she wore clothing that was too bright and she was too motherly. With that, Alter knew she couldn’t succeed in that sort of workplace and left for greener pastures in the retail industry—eventually coming full circle to today where she can help advocate for women.

NEW-Sponsored Research Illuminates Opportunities

Alter has already had a number of accomplishments at NEW, and one she is proud of is a recent change to the mission statement to “advance all women in the workplace.” The addition of the word “all” was important to reinforce the concept that diversity and inclusion is a business imperative and the key to success. It also reflects conversations and research studies conducted with C-suite leaders that underscored the recurring theme that advancing women of color was the biggest priority that need to be addressed.

From these research findings, NEW has developed learning programs and corporate solutions that specifically assist companies on how better to support women of color. They are designed to address two main issues; the first is bias. As she says, “Like it or not, everyone is biased, and that begets favoritism as people promote those who think and act and look like them.”

By tackling unconscious bias, companies can create a more consciously inclusive culture, she says, adding that it’s also important to focus on moving women from corporate support roles and give them the opportunity to own a P and L.

Adding more women in upper levels also negates another common problem, that of isolation. As women of color progress in their career, they frequently don’t see others like them which creates a new challenge as younger leaders tend to believe that If they can’t see it, they can’t be it.

Finally the research offers a blueprint framework of solutions to effectively address the need for companies to offer the cultures, policies and support services that women need for appropriate work/life integration.

While the NEW research focuses on what companies can do, Alter believes that women need to assert their needs to help change norms from all directions. “Embrace your true authentic self and don’t settle for a company with a culture that doesn’t allow that to happen,” she says. In addition she encourages women to build their network and continue to rebuild and nurture it so it’s ready when needed. Finally she suggests women become more comfortable and educated on the technological transformation occurring in the world of business today to help broaden opportunities for growth.

Finding a Brilliant Balance of Her Own

Alter and her husband work hard to be a team in finding appropriate work/life integration themselves. With their three kids—two currently in college and one in high school—it’s a little easier to manage career and family, and Alter is realizing the importance of focusing on herself in a physical, spiritual and emotional way.

With their kids soon embarking on their own life journeys, Alter says they have been planning fabulous family vacations that have included sojourns to Argentina and Brazil, with an upcoming trip planned for Africa. “We want to have these great experiences with them but also show them that you have to work hard to get this. We have worked hard and appreciate that we can now bless our family with these amazing journeys and time together.”

In addition to family time, Alter and her husband pay it forward in their community. Both are involved in philanthropy and have served as co-chairs for the Chicago gala that benefits the JDRF for Type 1 diabetes research. In addition, Alter says she loves to partner with local business schools to mentor and coach and judge local competitions. “I consider it a fun pay back to all the people whom I’ve had support me over the years,” she says.

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Voice of Experience: Lisa Hutter, Senior Director of Planning for the Southwest Region, Wells Fargo Private Bank

Lisa Hutter has been well served by the advice to take time to listen, but then also reflect, in order to figure out how you want to respond.

“If you are listening solely to respond, you won’t hear everything you should,” she cautions. “Focusing, being present and then taking time to be thoughtful will always lead you to a better answer,” she says.

These skills have been especially pertinent in her career, particularly in her current role where she has a hand in helping both her clients and her internal team.

Helping Clients Achieve the Best

Hutter went right from college to law school but always knew she wanted to focus on estate planning. She joined a major accounting firm for four years, then moved into the banking arena and even had her own law firm for a short time before finding her home in the trust industry. Her first role was as a trust officer focusing on estate planning, and then she joined Wells Fargo as a team leader, where she manages a team of planners who include attorneys, CFPs and accountants who offer a collaborative approach to advising private clients.

Three years ago she was offered her current position as senior director of planning for the southwest region and moved to Austin, Texas, where she has added strategy to her responsibilities. In addition she is closely involved with the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts, helping to continue education and awareness and has been gratified at the strides they have made in moving the needle.

As she thinks back over her career, one of the accomplishments she’s been proud of is her focus on building teams—focusing not only on supporting one another and promoting trust, but also offering her employees a clear path forward in their career. She has been pleased with the way she has been able to manage a cultural shift in her region, leading to stronger teams who can better serve clients.

And that’s the cornerstone of everything she does, noting how rewarding it is to work with clients and see the positive difference she can nurture in the family unit. In fact, Hutter is excited about advances Wells Fargo is making with a more recent offering in the Private Bank called Family Dynamics.

Statistics show that when families of wealth fail, 70 percent of the time it’s because of a breakdown in communication. In that way, this offering is ideal to help bolster communication for any family contemplating their future.

Another growing trend that is inspiring her work is the “graying” of the business owner; Hutter finds there are many in her region who are nearing retirement age and exploring their options. “The best way to create a smooth transition is to start three to five years out, which also pulls in the family dynamics element,” she notes.

Confidence Will Take You Far

Hutter has always admired Sheryl Sandberg’s advice, particularly the reality that a lot of times we second guess ourselves and think we have to be perfect for a certain role or project before we throw our hat in the ring. “It’s important to realize that job descriptions shouldn’t be read as prescriptive around every single element where if you don’t have a few items on the list you shouldn’t bother applying; instead rely on the right skills you already have to succeed and be confident in yourself, apply for the role and through the course of interviews you and the folks making the hiring decision will determine if you are the right fit for the role. In the end, you might surprise yourself.”

Confidence is vitally important in her industry, when it’s not uncommon to walk into a senior leadership meeting and be outnumbered, sometimes even as the only woman. “You have to get comfortable with leaning forward and making your voice heard,” she says, adding that she has helped her teammates understand this perspective by encouraging them to put themselves in those shoes.

At the same time that you should always strive for new paths, Hutter believes that young women who are entering this industry would be well-served by being patient and taking the time to really master their job. “You can get involved in so many projects and therefore find opportunities to be challenged, even while you sit in your current job and make a name for yourself there,” she points out.

In fact, she finds that a lot of success has to do with getting to know people all over the organization and at all levels and learning more about their day-to-day jobs. “That can help you identify another area where your skills might be transferable but is more interesting to you, and you don’t want to miss out on that by not seeking new opportunities.”

It’s one of the reasons she served in the role of regional leader for the firm’s Women’s Team Network while she has continued to serve in similar roles. She urges all her colleagues to take advantage of the development programs available in person as well as on the internal site—both to boost specific skills as well as to expand networking by meeting others with whom they don’t interact on a day-to-day basis.

“Be Kind To Yourself”

Hutter’s advice for women at her level will resonate with anyone in a fast-paced field. “Be kind to yourself,” she says. “We are not perfect and so we need to believe that what we are doing is enough. Take the time to be present and focus on what matters, like your family, and shut down if you need to because that’s okay.”

She herself takes that advice to heart with her own family. In addition, she has an excellent outlet through regular workouts at her husband’s CrossFit box, appropriately named “Third Element.”

“It’s my community and home away from home, and it helps us model a healthy lifestyle for our kids,” Hutter says. In addition to mitigating stress, achieving a new goal in her workout has another important byproduct—transferring those feelings of success to the workplace.

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Voice of Experience: Becky Lindahl, Head of Litigation, Charlotte, N.C.; Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Rebecca LindahlAs a junior associate, Becky Lindahl says it took her a while to learn to stress less and recognize that building her practice was a long-term process, more particularly when it came to new business.

Only through experience did she come to realize that it was unrealistic to expect a young lawyer, fresh out of law school, to deliver solid business prospects. It turns out that some of the steps she was taking were the right ones and they ultimately put her on a path to success: making contacts in-house and keeping in touch with peers at law firms.

Now, Lindahl encourages younger associates to first focus on getting basic core skills, such as writing and reviewing and analyzing documents, down pat. “I see how they want to advise clients right away, and I can sense the frustration when they don’t have the opportunity to immediately sit in the first, or even the second, chair,” she says. “But the only way you learn is through mastering the fundamentals and observing senior attorneys to gain the experience you need. Eventually it all clicks.”

Earning Litigation Credibility

That savvy advice comes from experience and is the foundation for Lindahl’s impressive career rise. After joining Katten as a summer associate in 2005, she became a full-time associate following her graduation from Wake Forest University School of Law and federal clerkship. She was elevated to income partner in August 2014 and became Charlotte’s litigation head in January 2018.

Over the years, she has amassed numerous successes. One of her most notable was the first major case she managed from start to finish as lead counsel in a four-week federal jury trial during the summer of 2017 in Greensboro, N.C., representing a leading manufacturer and innovator in LED lighting technology. Under Lindahl’s leadership, with tens of millions of dollars in damages on the line, she scored a courtroom victory when the jury sided with her client on every issue.

“While the case was obviously high-stakes for the client financially, it also had great reputational risks and industry-wide concerns, so it was incredibly satisfying to lead the team to success,” Lindahl says. She found an affinity for bigger impact litigation and is currently lead counsel in two other similarly high-stakes lawsuits within the industry.

Concerning industry trends, Lindahl is concerned with balancing the risks and rewards of technology-assisted and automated discovery, which is becoming more prevalent in litigation. As she notes, automation of operations and services can lower costs for firms and increase efficiency. However, she also sees potential challenges in relying too much on innovating tools for tasks and processes when diving deep into cases, particularly in cases that may reach a jury. For example, lawyers might spot patterns in emails that emerging technology could miss, such as a meeting place that pops up regularly and corroborates timing of key events. “We have to be smart about managing litigation in a way that’s cost-sensitive and effective, and when you are preparing for a high-stakes trial, there is no substitute for having a comprehensive knowledge of the details of critical documents,” Lindahl says.

Advocates at Home and Work Help Bring Balance

Lindahl brings that same measured vision to her own work/life blend. With little control over your schedule in federal court, the unpredictability can be challenging for trial lawyers who are also trying to manage a family.

An understanding firm culture can help. For example, she says that she trusts her Charlotte associates to appropriately prioritize client needs and works with her associates on a one-on-one basis to provide necessary flexibility to accomplish that goal.

For her, having an understanding spouse is vital, and she encourages women who are starting in the industry to consider the importance of surrounding themselves with compassionate people in their corner. “The job is hard enough as it is, but it would be impossible to sustain without a supportive partner, if you choose to have one,” Lindahl said.

While some women have struggled over having a perfect balance or being able to “do it all,” she appreciates advice she received early in her career from a fellow female attorney at Katten who suggested she be kinder to herself and give herself some grace when things are challenging either at work or home.

Now, Lindahl passes on that same philosophy to younger associates in her current role as the Charlotte co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Forum. The group offers a national mentoring panel where senior women serve as mentors to younger women, whether for practice- or career-related topics or even personal issues.

For example, before Lindahl and her husband adopted their daughter, they went through years of infertility treatments. She said she appreciated how generous women at the firm were with their advice as she balanced the rigors of the time commitment, and that the firm’s benefits provided insurance coverage for the expensive treatments. When the couple made the decision to adopt a child, Lindahl reached out to another attorney to talk about the adoption process and managing parental leave on the short notice at which adoption sometimes occurs, and now offers her insight to women facing similar scenarios and seeking advice.

Today, she is mom to a 13-month-old daughter.

Lindahl is committed to variety of causes and sits on the board of directors for Safe Alliance, which provides wraparound support services for victims of domestic assault and sexual assault.

As an avid sports fan, she is looking forward to moving her family to Charlotte’s center city, within walking distance of the Spectrum Center, home to the NBA’s Hornets and other entertainment acts.

“There is no perfect balance between work and home, but I have had some success managing my practice and family by simply focusing on the most important task—whether client or family-related—before me at any given time,” Lindahl says.

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Voice of Experience: Diane Ramirez, Chairman and CEO of Halstead

Diane Ramirez 1You have to have trust in your intuition; it can be easy to listen to all the buzz around you, but paying attention to your inner self will always lead you down the correct path, says Diane Ramirez.

As chairman and CEO of real estate firm Halstead, she knows that it takes an entrepreneurial bent to be successful in the business. “You’re not going to sit back and have someone guide you—you have to own who you are going to be, and it can be easy to forget that,” she says. But those who understand the business side of real estate will find themselves successful.

The Ideal Time for Each Step of Her Career

Ramirez came to this success via a path and timeline different from most women. While she started her career in marketing and advertising, she had two children quickly, and her focus turned to being a wife and mom for her young family. As she notes, most women tend to delay a family, which means they are often at the pinnacle of their careers and have to downshift, but hers was the opposite.

That’s because it wasn’t long until Ramirez realized she wanted and needed the passion that a career provided, and she found she was attracted to the entrepreneurial pace of real estate.

When her kids were in elementary school, she started as an agent, and as they got older and needed less hands-on attention, she was able to devote increasingly more time to building her career, eventually opening her own firm.

She started with a vision of three offices, and since then it has continued to grow to 36 offices in three states and more than 1,400 agents. But while the growth has been extraordinary, the professional achievement Ramirez is most proud of is that they are known for their culture, which while not easy to maintain throughout the growth, has been crucial to their success.

A Place To Belong

The firm underwent a rebranding last year, and she has been delighted to see that both her customer base, and, more importantly, the agents, have embraced it. One of their signature perks is access to a tailor who helps them procure a high-quality professional, yet affordable, wardrobe. The company included the new logo as the lining in the overcoats it designed and Ramirez has been happy to see that the agents are so proud of it that they’ll give a peek to a fellow agent, much like a secret handshake. The rebranding also included regional colors, which have also been well-received—in fact, she said that it has been gratifying to see each region’s agents believe they have the best colors.

Another important upgrade they’ve completed recently is a substantial technology initiative that has made it easier for agents to be more productive and keep up with advances that are important to their clients.

Ramirez finds real estate to be a fantastic field for women because of the flexibility it offers, but she also underscores that they need to realize that it can also be a 24/7 business, which is why it’s crucial to have support at home.

As she sees more women enter the industry, she encourages them to embrace fellow colleagues and be willing to share knowledge, with men and women alike. “The more we share, the more it will come back to you,” Ramirez says, adding that it’s important to remember that you’re not necessarily competing against each other for the same property, but rather competing to succeed in the business.

She finds that women frequently say they are excited to work for a woman. “It makes me really proud that they are looking for the support of someone who’s been there,” Ramirez says. And, she adds, not by design as her only goal was to seek the best talent, but her executive staff is half women and half men.

Family has always been important to Ramirez, and she makes certain that whatever part of her day she’s in, she is 100 percent present. “They know they can call me if they need something, but work is work, and then family time is family time,” she says. “That has always served me well because you can’t be both places at once or both will suffer. You have to find the ‘soft barrier’ between the two to make sure that everyone is taken care of at the right time.”

An avid traveler, she goes on trips with her family as much as she can and just took her children and grandchildren ages 11 to 21 on a safari that she says was “pure magic.” And while that was a marquee adventure, she makes the time to do frequent relaxing vacations so they can spend ample quality time together.

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Voice of Experience: Satyavati Berera, Chief Operating Office, PwC, India

Satyavati Berera“As you join the profession, don’t lose sight of your ambition—continue to plan for growth and upskilling to stay relevant—but remember to keep a view to long-term goals and balance professional and personal needs to avoid burn out,” says Satyavati Berera, COO of PwC in India.

“There will be times when something will have to take precedence and something else might take a backseat, but that’s natural and expected.”

Making Her Mark

Berera joined PwC more than three decades ago as an intern after graduating from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. During her tenure, she’s had the opportunity to work in a wide variety of positions as she built her career trajectory, from her first role as an auditor, then moving to Risk Advisory, becoming Managing Partner for North in 2011, Consulting Leader for PwC India in 2013 and eventually taking up the COO position in 2016.

She takes pride in several milestones as she made the most of the multiple opportunities offered by the firm, assuming various roles that enriched her professional journey. But of course, nothing surpasses the fulfillment she feels in the honor of being the first woman partner in 100 years in the Audit practice of the India firm (then Price Waterhouse) and subsequently becoming the first woman COO in Big 4 in India in 2016.

Currently she is leading the transformation agenda for the firm, working to increase collaboration among its people and with the network, and spearheading programs to meet the expectations of a younger than ever workforce. “As COO, to be in the center of all these changes is frankly very exciting,” Berera says. “It’s a thrilling opportunity to lead these initiatives to drive meaningful change and help break barriers to make PwC and our people more future-ready.”

And she notes, she personally has benefited from a great deal of learning, both in this role and throughout her career. Berera also embraces her role as a change agent as the firm continues to enmesh technology and digital strategies, making it central to everything they do.

Berera says that “Today clients are increasingly looking to firms to provide specialized integrated offerings, where they take more than one competency to the client, thus providing holistic solutions to larger business problems. Technology is no longer the solution only to a CEO’s technology problem, it is at the centre of their business strategy. Therefore, we have to create an ecosystem for our people to really think like that.” Encouraging innovation and improving digital acumen of its people is firmly rooted in the firm’s strategy and Berera is committed to making it a success.

Continuing to Create Equal Opportunities

Success paths for women continue to be an issue throughout most organizations in India, which largely lacks an enabling culture for women in the middle to senior management areas. While all firms are working to establish programs and initiatives that address the void, she believes the country is a few years behind. “The sponsorship opportunities for women and custom development programs are still not enough, given the demands of their personal lives,” Berera says. “We still lose women in the mid- to senior-management levels because of personal needs, and it is unfortunate that we’ve not been able to plug this leak.”

But as she notes, PwC is a leader in this arena, having pioneered a number of initiatives to help support the advancement and retention of women. Some of the most noteworthy ones include a generous sabbatical policy and the “full-circle” program, which allows women employees to take a break for family reasons or to pursue other dreams, and then later re-join the firm. Additionally, high-performing employees can retain their last year’s rating if they have worked for significantly less time during a performance year due to a leave of absence or extended leave for maternity or other personal needs.

The firm is also proud to support mentoring programs for women at the manager level and above, where they can spend time with senior leadership, which can provide a boost to their career development journey. Other small, yet very powerful, actions include providing flexibility to women employees to address challenges that arise from working at home or reduced hours, as well as additional support for expectant mothers in the last trimester.

Finding Balance in Her Own Life

Berera prioritizes spending time with her husband and son. They all love to travel, which helps them de-stress, and wellness is important to her, so she starts each day with yoga.

She also likes to spend time organic farming on a small piece of land about 45 minutes from her home, where she grows seasonal flowers and produce.

“It’s a very soothing experience, as it teaches you to be calm, patient and to stay invested for the long term,” Berera says, adding that farming has also taught her to appreciate that success is not always predicted solely by the effort you put in. “Sometimes outcomes are beyond your control, due to factors like environmental conditions. You learn to take it in stride and move ahead.”

And of course, that philosophy bears fruit for all aspects of life.

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Voice of Experience: Lily Chinn, Managing Partner, San Francisco Bay Area, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Chinn Lily“I recommend any young professional have a plan, but be open to unforeseen opportunities and pivot as needed,” says Katten Partner Lily Chinn.
A Sharp Learning Curve Promotes Experience

That belief has shaped her own career, which started in an atypical fashion compared to most law firm attorneys, as she worked for the Department of Justice in Washington, DC after graduating from law school at UCLA. Chinn found her federal government experience to be exceedingly useful and informative in her approach to law because of the responsibility of immediately handling her own cases. In fact, it’s a path she would recommend to any ambitious attorney, as an ideal way to earn hands-on experience, particularly for future litigators.

One key to success is feeling confident enough to ask for help—which she says is excellent advice for any young associate, but was particularly crucial at the DOJ. She was able to build relationships by asking questions of various senior attorneys while learning about career opportunities she would have otherwise missed if she did not have these conversations.

Chinn also advises all young attorneys to take control of their professional development, whether at a law firm that has an established program or more importantly at a government agency that does not. Proactively initiating contact in areas that interested her—such volunteering for cases going to trial and seeking work in the DOJ computer crime division—helped propel her career, and allowed her to gain essential experience that led to her next position at an environmental boutique law firm in Washington, DC, where she was named a partner.

Chinn later moved back to California with that firm and began concentrating on criminal enforcement, which ultimately attracted her to Katten’s Environmental Workplace Safety Group as it is one of the premier white collar environmental crime practices in the country.

Play to Your Diversity Strengths

Mentors can play an important role in a career trajectory, and Chinn recommends that all young professionals find someone who can provide inspiration and guidance, but she also stresses that you should continue to seek out different mentors throughout your career.

“As you become more senior and experienced, you still need to continue to find mentors and support so you can keep growing,” she says.

Chinn also recommends finding peer groups that will support your goals. She stays active in organizations like the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), which she finds can be extremely important to the career of diverse professionals. “You need to create your own network, so find groups that support what makes you unique and different and build your profile there.”

At Katten, she has worked with the Chief Diversity Partner to strengthen firm ties with similar groups focused on improving diversity in the legal profession, including providing networking and speaking opportunities for diverse attorneys. For example, the firm is active in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), which was started by a group of corporate chief legal officers and law firm partners to help diverse high potential attorneys succeed. Chinn was part of the second class of LCLD Fellows, which is now in its eighth year.

Make Work/Life Balance A Key Goal

Creating time for yourself and your family are all critical for career longevity, Chinn says, since being a lawyer can be a demanding and all-consuming profession.

That’s one of the reasons she urges fellow attorneys to choose colleagues whose company will help enhance their quality of life, a factor that she recommends keeping in mind when interviewing for positions. “It’s important to work with people whom you respect and with whom you will enjoy working during the grueling hours that legal cases often require.”

Some behind-the-scenes intelligence gathering with those who know the culture at a new law firm or agency can confirm you’re making the right choice in a workplace. “It’s easy to overlook when you consider other aspects of the job, but I’ve found that your team is actually one of the most important elements in the long run,” Chinn says.

Chinn has been pleased with the culture at Katten, and her satisfaction has been magnified by a close working relationship with a good friend who joined Katten with her. “Having someone you can rely on—who has your back—can be an important component of a successful career,” she says, adding that this type of collaboration can also promote work/life balance on a daily basis, especially when they can provide cover when you need to be out of the office.

While Chinn has helped her corporate clients achieve ongoing success, one of her proudest professional achievements involved a pro bono case where she was able to help a woman who was a victim of domestic abuse. The resolution of that case allowed Chinn to see the life-changing difference she helped make. That experience led Chinn to get involved with groups such as Elevated Legacy, a nonprofit that teaches urban youth leadership skills through sports, where she sits on the board.

“Through my day-to-day work, as well as my pro bono work, I always seek opportunities that support diversity, which is a value I hold dear.”

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