Voice of Experience: Priscila Palazzo, Legal Director, WEX Latin America

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By Cathie EricsonPriscilla

“While law might appear to be my main job, I also excel at understanding people and their behavior,” says WEX’s Priscila Palazzo. “It’s important to be open to new ideas and thoughts, but especially to feedback. If you seek it out and reflect on it, it can help show you areas where you can grow and improve. As women, we tend to follow our hearts and intuition, but we need to balance that with feedback.”

Law and Business Combine for Success

Palazzo’s “career” began at an early age when she worked with her dad as a child, making two pennies to start. But as she got older, he started including her in meetings which gave her a flavor for work situations. Although she had hoped to eventually work with him, she ended up pursuing a law degree. In her native country of Brazil, you can begin working as soon as you start law school, and so on her first day of class she started as a trainee in a law firm, experiencing the challenge of balancing work and school simultaneously.

With a specialty in labor and consumer law, Palazzo moved to the United States as soon as she graduated to take summer courses at Harvard, and on her return joined a firm specializing in business law. She became a partner at a young age, which gave her more exposure, and a larger law firm soon invited her to join the M & A team where she assisted the former company that became WEX.

She says that when WEX took over, she made what at the time was a joke that maybe they could actually sign her paycheck, but it wasn’t long before she realized that she was interested in leaving the law firm to go to the corporate environment. Though she had initially worried that she wouldn’t find it as inspiring to work for just one client, Palazzo has been there four years now and continues to appreciate the variety of work.

Recently she was invited to lead an exciting project that focuses on business, a fascinating intersection that keeps her connected to people all around the company. “Being a lawyer is amazing, but it’s also exciting to be able to reinvent yourself. I’ve had to learn how to communicate with different audiences, other than exclusively with lawyers,” she notes.

While she names her dad as her first sponsor, she also appreciates the foresight of the main partner at the boutique law firm who offered her a trainee job. As Palazzo says, since then she has been surrounded with good people who have been helpful in providing advice – and sometimes, most helpfully, sharing what not to do.

A Multi-Cultural Heritage Contributes to Success at the Global Company

Palazzo is delighted to be able to use her Latino heritage to make a difference; as WEX expands to multiple regions, the company has begun translating its internal communications into Spanish, and she has enjoyed sharing her knowledge.

That multi-cultural bent extends to her mentors, including José Roberto Kracochansky (CEO for WEX Latin America) and two colleagues, Hilary Rapkin and Keith Rodda, with whom she’s been working for four years. “Hilary is Canadian and Keith is from South Africa, so it’s not only language but behaviors and customs we have to integrate,” she says, adding that everyone has a different idea of the ideal model for practicing law.

                 Being attuned to different cultures is something that’s always been part of her makeup, with a big family who is half Spanish and half Italian. She speaks several languages and is an avid traveler, which began at an early age when she participated in exchange programs. Over the years, she has grown to appreciate the significant upsides that come from meeting new people and learning about their cultures. “The more you learn from other people, the more you can relate to others and learn cues to their behavior,” she says.

“I am also not a traditional lawyer; I laugh out loud and am not the buttoned-up stereotype you might imagine,” Palazzo says, to the point that she finds sometimes people are surprised to learn her occupation.

“I was always encouraged to live outside the box, and it has paid off in my ability to face different challenges,” she says.

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Voice of Experience: Kathleen Ziegler, Head of Distribution, AIG’s new technology-focused subsidiary

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By Cathie EricsonKathleen
As you move throughout your career, never underestimate the importance of your network, notes Kathleen Ziegler. “As an extrovert I have amassed a relatively robust network, but I don’t think it was until later in my career that I became strategic about it,” she says. “It’s never too early in your career to start thinking about how you should build relationships, taking care to create a balance of both women and men, as mentors and sponsors.”
 
A Global Career
 
In Ziegler’s case, her network has truly shaped her path. She says she never dreamed of a career in insurance, as an English/French major with parents who were both professors. After graduation, she wasn’t “quite ready for the real world,” so went overseas to teach English in the Czech Republic. At the end of her second year, she decided to market her other skills and started researching potential roles in advertising or public relations. After studying a hard copy of the American Chamber of Commerce’s listing of companies in Prague, she ended up working for a small PR agency that was run by an American woman. The position was perfect for her, opening up doors to meet local VIPs and see amazing venues and even travel.
 
After her time there, she decided to apply for graduate school and was considering a PhD in linguistics, but other opportunities came her way that led her to cut it short at the master level. A friend who was earning her MBA was distributing resumes at the campus job fair, so Ziegler went along to keep her company – and offer a few as well.
 
After receiving interest from entities as varied as the CIA and consulting firms, she accepted an offer from Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where she spent five years primarily working with insurance clients which began her career trajectory. She left largely because of the grueling travel schedule and took a job with Zurich in underwriting; two years later she was approached by her manager to be considered for a position as chief of staff for the global CEO. She subsequently spent two years overseas in Switzerland, returning to New York to become COO of a relatively new business division they were launching. Her most recent post at Zurich came when she was asked to consider a P&L job, resulting in a positon running the northeast commercial markets business.
 
While she enjoyed the opportunity, she learned that a former mentor from Accenture had just taken on a global COO role at Marsh so she went there as head of operations and technology for the United States. Several years later, a mentor from Zurich persuaded her to join AIG which is where she is today.
 
After working on strategic initiatives in the company’s transformation office, Ziegler is currently managing distribution for AIG’s new technology-focused subsidiary. 
 
Helping Change the Company Face
 
While she acknowledges that the insurance industry doesn’t tend to be a trend setter, she sees the growing use of artificial intelligence as one that will provide more opportunities for women in the workplace as it supplants administrative tasks and encourages more strategic work and stakeholder engagement. “From what I’ve been reading, we will need more people with social networking, people development and coaching, and collaboration skills. There is a clear intersection between these soft skills, which generally play to women’s strengths in those areas,” she says.
 
Ziegler has been actively involved in advancing women throughout her career, a cultivation that became more pronounced in Switzerland when she noticed the dearth of women in executive roles. That motivated her to corral a number of smart women she knew to attend informal meetings, which progressively grew and ultimately became the women’s network group for Zurich which is still in place today and has expanded globally. “This group was a labor of love and genuinely borne out of a desire to create something that would help women,” she says.
 
The need was clear — pull up most insurance company websites and you will see their executive committee and boards don’t have the diversity they are aiming for. “While the pipeline is building, we are not progressing fast enough,” she says, adding that only 8 to 12 percent of the C-suite seats are currently held by women. That being said, AIG’s Executive Leadership Team of 12 now consists of six women which, according to Ziegler, “inspires employees about their opportunities at the firm.”
 
Ziegler is currently on the leadership committee for AIG’s women and allies employee resource group and believes strongly in progressing change to help elevate women into leadership roles. “I always want to play a role no matter what company I work for,” she says, noting that being involved helps you feel more connected to the company but also allows you to meet other people at all levels outside your department.
 
In her free time, she enjoys exploring with her husband, whom she met taking a Second City improv class in Chicago, and their eight-and-a-half-year-old son. “We are big on travel and the outdoors, and are currently making a point to visit as many national parks as we can.”
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Voice of Experience: Sue Ann Khoo, Partner, PwC Australia

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By Cathie Ericson

Women excel at the one-on-one relationship-building style of networking, which PwC’s Sue Ann Khoo sees as an advantage as she looks back at her career. “I wish I had believed in myself more at first, but when I realized the advantages to being both a woman and able to understand a different culture, it was a huge boost to my career, given the growing number of clients from Asia, many of whom are women as well,” she says, referencing the often-heard “glass” ceiling and “bamboo” ceiling that women and Asians have to break through to succeed in their career.

She advises women never to say no to opportunities, even if they are outside your comfort zone, because that is how you grow. “You have to be brave to ask for what you want because what’s the worst that could happen?” she asks.

A Cross-Cultural Career

A Malaysian native, Khoo completed her university studies in Australia, then returned to Malaysia where she started her career with PwC. After four years she moved back to Australia and has been there 11 years.

In addition to providing tax advice to foreign companies investing in Australia and Australian companies investing overseas, she leads the Southeast Asian desk in Australia.

“Since Australia, a transparent market, is able to produce attractive yields in the current environment, it’s exciting to help new and existing clients invest in areas such as property, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure and more,” she says. In return, there are significant opportunities for Australian businesses to invest in Asia with the growing middle class population, in sectors such as education, financial services, healthcare and infrastructure.

In her role as the Southeast Asian desk leader, she regularly engages with Australia and South East Asia government including Ministers and Ambassadors and CEOs of private sectors to drive engagement between Australia and South East Asian businesses.

“There is a need to understand the different ways of working interculturally, so leveraging my knowledge of both Asian and Australian cultures helps bridge the divide,” Khoo notes.

Growing Gender Diversity

While she is proud of becoming a partner in 2016, Khoo considers her most acclaimed professional achievement to be the opportunity she has to mentor women of diverse backgrounds and watch them progress.

“It’s important to surround yourself with mentors who believe in you, even sometimes who believe in you more than you believe in yourself, which gives you the opportunity to succeed,”
she says, a role she is now able to fulfill for the next generation.

Diversity is an important part of PwC Australia’s strategy. With a stated target for the new partners of 40/40/20 – as in, 40 percent male, 40 percent women, and 20 percent either; and 20 percent of partners of diverse cultural background, PwC has attained those numbers for the second year in a row with its current roster of 40 percent female partners and 22 percent who are culturally diverse new partner admissions in 2017.  It’s an important initiative to focus on, says Khoo, because she has been surprised at the lack of diverse senior leaders in corporate Australia.

Besides the lack of female role models in Australia, she believes part of the reason is due to the expense of childcare in Australia, one that families in Malaysia often don’t have to shoulder as grandparents are culturally more involved in raising grandchildren , an arrangement that is less prevalent in Australia.

“In Malaysia, many partners and clients in leadership positions were women, and from the start I saw how they were able to balance work and home,” she says, adding that those role models from early in her career helped ignite her determination to become a partner. She acknowledges that her journey to partnership in Australia was not an easy one, as she had to learn the Australia way of working which is different than Asia, spurring the need to learn different styles of working which have helped her cross culturally.

Among the leadership programs that have helped nurture her leadership abilities are the PwC Leadership Talent Pool, designed to offer professional development for directors on the partnership track, and Asian leadership programs such as Asialink Leaders Program and Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Program (A2ELP). She also actively participates in both internal and external diversity events, including serving as a panel speaker for the launch of “Leading for Change, a blueprint for cultural diversity and inclusive leadership in 2016, Australia’s Human Rights Commission initiative.

In her free time Khoo enjoys yoga, which she says relaxes her and also helps her gain perspective. “Holding an uncomfortable pose in yoga is like enduring challenging situations at work,” she points out. In addition, she loves outdoor recreation in the beautiful environs of Sydney and frequently travels to see her family and friends in Malaysia.

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Voice of Experience: Padideh Raphael, Partner, Goldman Sachs Hong Kong

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pad By Cathie Ericson

“Know yourself and be assured of your sense of judgement. This will empower confidence in your decisions,” Padideh Raphael says, noting that this theme has resonated with her since childhood as her mom, a psychologist, raised her with an emphasis on trusting her own instincts, enabling confidence in her choices and encouraging decisive action. “This has been instrumental in allowing me to get to where I am today.”

Finding Her Niche

Although she graduated with a degree in neuroscience, when thinking about a career, Raphael realized that while she loved the field, she didn’t want to work in a lab or a hospital. A close friend recommended she think about finance, and after several rounds of interviews with Goldman Sachs, she began her career at the firm in Goldman Sachs Asset Management in institutional marketing.

Although it was a great introduction to Goldman Sachs, Raphael realized her skills might be better utilized in another part of the firm, and she took advantage of a planned move to London to look into other opportunities. After visiting the trading floor, Raphael immediately knew she belonged in the Securities Division. “I knew I would enjoy the fast-paced environment,” she says, and it’s what she’s done for the last 17 years. After serving as co-head of European Equity Derivatives Flow Sales in London, Raphael moved to Hong Kong three years ago to head Asia Pacific Equity-Derivatives Sales.

“It’s been great to see how markets differ across the world as I have worked in different regions throughout my career,” she notes. As she has gotten to know the Asia market, she views the evolving Chinese economy as the most interesting dynamic she expects to see in the coming years, as China begins to accept external investment to meet a tremendous demand.

Helping Other Women Reach Their Potential

Reflecting upon her career, Raphael pinpoints the moment when she realized she had become a role model for others as an achievement of which she is particularly proud. “As a younger professional, my neck was always craned, looking up to the leaders and drivers of our business and those who were experts at their craft,” Raphael says. “At some point I realized I was that person for more junior members of the group, which is a huge responsibility and one I take seriously.”

“I know I have to be thoughtful about the signals I send,” she says, especially in light of her role as one of the first female partners in international equities.

Her advice to women is to be bold and share your point of view at the onset of your career. “Put it all out there on the field every day,” recommends Raphael. “Women tend to wait for validation before sharing their opinion, but they should speak up earlier.”

Raphael is a first generation American, and her Iranian mom raised her without gender-related boundaries, which served as an important foundation throughout her childhood and into adulthood. “I believe there are no inherent barriers to success in this industry, but in some cases I have seen that women are traditionally raised or shaped to abide by societal norms,” she says.  “To the extent possible, women should be confident in having a place in the discussion.”

Family First at Work and Home

When Raphael went on maternity leave with her first child in London, the firm provided a childcare facility that was available for back-up but not full-time care. However, Raphael was determined that she didn’t want to leave her daughter at home, and told her manager that if she was to come back, she wanted to bring her daughter to work on a full-time basis.

“Goldman revamped the on-site child care policy, which was not only a huge vote of confidence and logistical support for me personally, but a testament to the organization in that they gave me the flexibility to arrange my childcare in a way that suited my family’s best interests.”
Raphael was thus able to come back from maternity leave best-positioned to strengthen her career, in part due to the wellness policies Goldman Sachs adopted.

“My family and my career are the two elements that are the defining points of my identity,” Raphael says. “My husband’s support has been instrumental in allowing me to pursue my career.” She notes that cultivating this type of partnership with one’s spouse is helpful when balancing both a family and career.

Raphael has recently rediscovered her love of reading, reinvigorating her passion for both neuroscience and history. She also describes herself as “mildly obsessed” with the history of the British monarchy, identifying parallels between societies. “The role of women in British royal society was very prescriptive, but even during that time period, there were ambitious women that did not allow societal norms to impede their success.”

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Voice of Experience: Sharon Trulock, Counsel, Shearman & Sterling

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By Cathie Ericson

It’s ok to lighten up once in a while, says Shearman’s Sharon Trulock. “Not everything is life or death and even when you make mistakes, you will survive them,” she says, noting that it takes experience to figure out how to put missteps in context and know you will move on.

She looks back on her earlier years and urges young women to be more confident in themselves. “Starting out as a young lawyer especially in an area of the law where there are complicated issues and a high learning curve, it’s natural to doubt yourself, no matter how hard you try,” she says, but that can make you look less professional and confident in your answers. While you should never pretend to know something you don’t, it’s important to realize that law is a field of continual learning.

A Steady Career in a Field She Loves

Trulock always knew she wanted to attend law school so it was an easy decision to go right out of college. After earning her law degree from Harvard Law School, she joined another firm but subsequently left to join Shearman in 1989 and has been there ever since. “I’m proud that I have earned my position as a respected professional based on all I’ve learned, and I never thought I would have learned so much over the course of my time here.”

Each day brings with it new variety – right now she mentions that everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what will happen with tax law, and she notes that the entire concept of digitization impacts everyone, whether it’s knowing they need to create a digital estate or making sure that electronic signed documents are safeguarded as carefully as paper ones.

Becoming Assertive for Clients’ Best Interests

When considering challenges to women in the industry, she makes a distinction between actual barriers and personality types. “One thing I’ve struggled with myself is the need to be more assertive and not apologize for everything. You want things to be perfect for the client, but it’s not your fault if the law says they can’t do something,” she says. In those moments, she has to rely on the message that the law says one thing, and they need to comply, within a given set of options. “Some people are just naturally more assertive, but it’s not necessarily a specific trait that is male or female.”

Along the way, she has been an active participant in Shearman’s noted women’s networking group WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention). “It’s well organized and beneficial to everyone in the firm as well as our clients – male and female.” Trulock especially enjoys the opportunities she has to participate in give-and-take discussions where each participant is able to learn from the others and find out something new.

An avid traveler who loves to experience different places, Trulock gravitates toward tropical locations, having just returned from Hawaii, with a hope to someday visit two places on her bucket list — Australia and New Zealand. “I find I am already planning my next vacation when I finish the first,” she says. She also enjoys the time she spends with her family and dog.

“Work can consume all of your time, but you can’t let everything work-related be life and death. You have to know when to take a break.”

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Voice of Experience: Alica Pavukova, Partner, PwC Slovakia, CEE

alica pavukovaBy Cathie Ericson

When you live in a culture, rather than just visit it, you learn to adapt your own style to day-to-day norms in that new environment, says PwC’s Alica Pavukova. “You can bring that knowledge back home and utilize it in a broader way, which can help create better relationships and rapport if you learn how to cooperate and exist in different environments.”

A Career Built on International Travel

That philosophy has led Pavukova far in her diverse career with PwC. After earning her degree in mechanical engineering, traveling around US for a year, she attended a recruitment meeting at Coopers and Lybrand where she realized she really enjoyed audit work, so much so that she has been there for 26 years.

Her tenure there has allowed her to fulfill her passion for not only travel but really immersing herself in cultures with a wide variety of international experience. She began with a project in Russia; then went to the U.K. for six months and subsequently transferred to Melbourne for 18 months where she became a senior manager. In fact, she credits her mobility and experience in in different cultures as a fundamental reason for her success.

Seventeen years ago Pavukova returned to the Slovakia office, where she continued to help grow a profitable division – from six people to now more than 250 in audit and 550 overall — and now leads assurance and audit, as well as serving as the diversity and inclusion leader overseeing 28 countries in CEE.

That’s one of the achievements she is most proud of, expanding the diversity and inclusion footprint through the introduction of a an awards competition for business women in Slovakia, run in conjunction with a reputable economics magazine, that helps bring attention to successful women in local corporations. She is also proud that PwC in Slovakia has been instrumental in the Initiative of Diversity Charter, spearheaded by EU, where companies sign a diversity charter, acknowledging that they implement polices to promote diversity and inclusion.

Championing Women in the Workplace

As the leader of the audit practice, she plans to continue the success they’ve had so far developing future leaders by working with the pipeline of managers and developers to ensure there is equal access to promotions. The D&I element in CEE has been very successful thus far, currently 30% of the partners are women, one of the leading regions globally, although they realize there is always room for growth.

As a diversity leader, Pavukova sees unconscious bias as an ongoing issue. First, people need to identify their own biases, and then through accountability training, leaders can be given objectives to promote diversity and ensure the pipeline for partner and manager promotion takes into account all forms of diversity.

While she acknowledges there are some barriers for women, she says the greater question is about how you look at them: For example, PwC’s CEE levels are impressive with a 50 percent balance throughout the organization below partner level and 30 percent at partner level, which is better than most, yet still she sees the falloff as careers escalate.

Of course, some women decide after starting a family that they don’t want to progress in their career, but she knows there must be many who want to continue, but the work and family environment don’t support them in the way that’s most conducive, and then their mindset confirms it.

Pavukova believes that three components must mesh for it to work: First, employers need to create work environments where mothers are encouraged to work, through flexibility and maternity/paternity leaves; second, working parents must support each other and mutually participate in the activities of running the family; and finally, women themselves must not constantly create guilt but rather feel proud of their success. There’s a simple reason: She believes that when kids are grown, they will recognize their moms’ achievements.

She herself is an excellent example of realizing that work/life balance and serving as a role model. She and her husband and two sons love sports and travel and try to combine them; for example on a recent trip to Costa Rica where they hiked, surfed and more.

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Voice of Experience: Saralyn Cohen, Pro Bono Counsel and Global Director, Shearman & Sterling

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 By Cathie Ericson

Saralyn

One of the keys to career success, according to Saralyn Cohen? Having an open mind about where you’re working. “You never know where you will end up – so take chances and be open-minded when opportunities present themselves,” she says. “A law degree can open multiple doors – so don’t sell yourself short. Take a chance and say ‘I would love to learn that.’ Don’t get too narrow, especially early on in your career.”

Tracing Her Successful Path One Step at A Time

Reflecting on her own route, it’s easy for Cohen to see how each step she took built upon the previous one, eventually leading to her current position, which she has held since 1999. She says that if you had told her in law school this is where she would end up, she never would have believed it. “It’s too good to be true,” she says.

Her dreams of being a lawyer began in middle school as did her passion for thoroughbred horse racing. She had intended to combine the two – forgoing the on-campus interviews during law school to pursue firms that practiced in her niche, typically in southern states. That’s why she and her adviser were shocked when a job was posted looking for someone for a thoroughbred racing law practice in a New York firm.

She got the job and spent several years there – able to practice in her niche, but since racing wasn’t a full time specialty, she was also exposed to other disciples, such as reinsurance and litigation. That led to a job with a medium-size firm where she was hired in the reinsurance practice, working her way up to junior partner.

While at the firm, she and two other associates formed a pro bono committee as a way to professionalize the pro bono practice, and upon her return from maternity leave, Cohen learned of a job availability for the pro bono position at Shearman. “I feel very fortunate to be working at a place I love and doing meaningful work I love,” she says.

Advancing the Specialty

Cohen was the only practitioner in the firm of this relatively new, unique practice and had few people to bounce ideas off of. She soon learned that was the case at most firms, and with fellow practitioners, helped formalize the discipline in the industry, forming the Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo). Ten years later they have 200 members globally and benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with counterparts at other firms.

“We are doing everything we can to try to narrow the justice gap,” she says.

One current topic of great interest is immigration law, helping immigrants know their rights and obtain representation and guidance. As a federal law, it invites collaboration as the issues and the filings are the same in all states. Another new and upcoming field is social ventures, including figuring out sustainability and access to clean water and solar energy and how this discipline can benefit from pro bono.

Industry wide, they also have to counteract the image of pro bono law as “a mommy job,” which she finds slightly offensive as external contacts picture her and her counterparts flitting about the community looking for work or attending galas.

“It’s not an issue within my firm as they understand and value what I do, but one of APBCo’s goals is to underscore throughout the industry that it is a legitimate practice area,” she says, adding that she and her counterparts in the law firm pro bono industry space have the responsibility not to undervalue their work. “We add value in our firm and within the legal profession, and we work hard to do that; it’s not a frivolous job.”

On a broader scale, she hopes women continue to act as role models for more junior women. “It’s vital to have access to mentors and those who can guide you from the standpoint of being a woman lawyer,” she says, noting how grateful she is for how much Shearman is doing to advance the cause.

With a “wonderful husband and two teens,” she appreciates that her job allows her to inspire her kids that everyone can use their skills to address a need in the community. “You don’t wait around for someone to tell you what to do. Take action and get involved – if everyone does a little something, a lot can get done.”

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Voice of Experience: Hilary Rapkin, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, WEX

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By Cathie Ericson

Life is a series of stages, says WEX’s Hilary Rapkin, an observation she was recently reflecting on as advice given to her by a mentor. That means what you feel like when you have a six-month-old baby is not what you’ll feel like when that child is two or four. Life changes, and you can’t base career decisions on those emotions you feel at the start, she says.

Over the years Rapkin has been able to cultivate relationships with professional women in similar stages so they could share common experiences — whether about babies, teens or elderly parents– all in an effort to have a rich life and find the elusive work/life balance. That vision and support is how women can successfully integrate a high-powered career with family, she says.

A Serendipitous Interview Launches an Illustrious Career

After law school, Rapkin joined a boutique firm in Portland, Maine, where she soon found that law firm life, specifically litigation, wasn’t a good fit for her. However, she realized she could parlay the employment discrimination work she was doing into a potential career in HR. While interviewing with WEX, the HR director noted that Rapkin’s experience was a better match to a legal position – one the company was considering creating. She was hired and has spent 22 years at the company, growing from a one-person legal department to today, where she oversees the company’s global legal footprint and has HR reporting directly to her.

Among the many noteworthy experiences she’s had over the years, Rapkin considers her involvement in WEX’s IPO in 2005 to be the professional achievement she is most proud of thus far. The team accomplished the filing in three months – while she was pregnant – and she remembers the fast learning curve as being particularly exciting.

Aside from that, she says that over the past few years she has been involved with the HR function, she has found it extremely satisfying to watch the evolution of cultural elements that make WEX special. “The process that has made our culture so strong has been very intentional, and some of the HR programs, such as philanthropy, have had a meaningful impact on employees that may be hard to measure, but you know it when you see it,” she says. “It’s made me really proud of who WEX is and how it is becoming visible to the outside world.”

She looks forward to seeing how WEX can continue to move forward along that trajectory, and to watching the forward-thinking programs and compensation plans come to fruition.

On the legal front, she is pleased to see investments in technology which will create efficiencies and opportunities for legal staff to develop deeper advisory roles with their clients. The new systems are designed to simplify core processes like contract maintenance in an effort to free up associates’ time for more strategic work, such as building business relationships and helping WEX achieve its business objectives. “It’s hard to work on becoming a trusted business partner if you are mired in contract work, so I look forward to seeing how these additional systems will help our team.”

As the department has grown, Rapkin has become an expert on new business segments, as WEX has moved into the broader payments landscape. She finds that 22 years later, her job is still challenging as she works through evolutions in technology and the complexities that a global payments company present.  She thinks future lawyers will have similar interdisciplinary experiences as law schools couple with business and finance functions to groom lawyers who are more well-rounded when they enter the field.

An Environment Dedicated to Success

While Rapkin never took psychology, she remembers taking the Myers-Briggs personality test. This led her to think about who she was compared to peers, and the effect those different personality styles had on their relationships.

“By knowing your relative strengths and weaknesses, you start realizing that it’s the sum of the parts that makes companies successful, and you don’t have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” she says. “It’s important to figure out how to get the best out of your team by managing each individual as an individual.”

She’s proud of the strides WEX has made in implementing programs that she says are a clear depiction of the company’s commitment to offering choices to both women and men, including paid parental leave, which only 17 percent of companies offer. “I hear from people all the time about how that sets us apart, and certainly our profile as a diverse company is bolstered by having three female members on the executive leadership team.”

Rapkin is poised to launch an informal women’s group this summer that will encourage them to learn from one another through informal dialogue around topics like networking, perceptions of women in the workplace and goal-setting.

Gender equality is just part of who WEX is as a company so Rapkin has never felt any gender bias. She does note that sometimes it’s hard to balance parenting and work, although she stresses that her work has ultimately made her a better parent.

A Commitment to Balance

Rapkin takes every opportunity to do yoga as part of her quest for balance, and also counts philanthropy as an important component towards that end. She enjoys bringing her kids, ages 15 and 12, with her to volunteer at a local Jewish nursing home, and is also on the board of a local theater company that often produces original works.

Her kids have inherited her love of adventure, having traveled since they were babies. “We live in a beautiful place, but I want them to see the world,” she says, adding they are looking forward to a summer trip to Chile.

She is also quick to mention that she doesn’t do it all herself.

“I’ve had the same nanny for 15 years; she’s part of our family, and I couldn’t be successful without her. In life, at home and at work, you get out of relationships what you put into them.”

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Voice of Experience: Amanda Rubin, Managing Director, Global co-Head of Brand and Content Strategy, Goldman Sachs

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 By Cathie EricsonAmanda Rubin

“When you work with a group of intelligent and diverse people there are bound to be those who disagree with your opinion, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t speak up,” says Goldman Sachs’ Amanda Rubin.

When first beginning a new position, she recommends focusing on excelling in the fundamentals of your role.  But once you have mastered some of your tasks, Rubin advocates communicating your opinions with confidence. “Sharing a thoughtful opinion backed by good judgment and facts will allow you to differentiate yourself and move forward in a meaningful way,” she says.

As your career progresses, Rubin advises that you are responsible for harvesting talent, and this means allowing junior members on your team to express their points of view: “Remember that your team is looking at you and your actions – from how you treat people and encourage them to be involved in the dialogue to how you engage in your day-to-day activities.”

An Evolving Industry, Ripe For Disruption

After earning her BA in Political Science from Emory University and an MBA from The George Washington School of Government and Business Administration, Rubin dove into the advertising world. She earned positions at top agencies such as Chiat Day, Ogilvy & Mather and DDB Needham Worldwide, where her MBA made her a perfect match with industry-leading financial services clients.

Building on her robust background working with clients in the space, Rubin joined Goldman Sachs’ Brand Marketing and Digital Strategy Group in the late 1990s, eager to parlay her experience into helping to establish the firm’s marketing department. At the time, the firm was just beginning to enhance its external communication efforts as it built its brand in advance of its initial public offering. In support of these efforts, Rubin helped launch Goldman Sachs’ first public website; developed a series of advertising campaigns designed to position Goldman Sachs competitively; and created recruitment marketing materials to further cement the firm as an employer of choice globally.

Almost a decade later as the financial crisis began, Rubin and the team had to evolve their strategy as the firm made a conscious effort to combat an increasingly negative narrative in traditional and social media. “We realized that a lot of people didn’t know what Goldman Sachs does, so we began to actively engage the public in our communication efforts,” she explains.  Previously Goldman Sachs had only targeted a limited set of stakeholders with its marketing outreach, but the crisis became a pivot point in her career as this set of constituents broadened and changed.

“While our approach may be different from other financial services firms who have more of a retail presence, our goal is the same: to demonstrate transparency and share the firm’s purpose and mission.”

Creating her team is the professional achievement Rubin is most proud of to date.  “When I look across the floor and see this talented group of people who are making an impact, it’s gratifying to consider the important role we are playing in shaping the firm’s narrative and explaining the role of Goldman Sachs in the economy and markets.  I am proud of what the team has accomplished and the profile we have earned for the firm.”

As Goldman Sachs has begun its foray into the retail space by taking deposits and making loans, her team has been working closely with the consumer group as they look at new ways to engage and leverage what she describes as “the most innovative toolkit available.”  From Facebook to Twitter, they are constantly seeking new ways to introduce Goldman Sachs’ thinking and expertise to new channels and audiences.

This focus is more important than ever given the general disruption surrounding the intersection of advertising, media and brands.  Previously, each was a separate pillar: a brand would depend on agencies to develop content, which media companies would then distribute.  Now, as brands have the ability to be publishers of content, it allows them to directly share insights with their audience.  “Lines will continue to be blurred, which creates opportunities to establish our own thought leadership platform, distribute content efficiently and partner with new entities,” Rubin says.

Continuous Learning Yields Growth

One reason Rubin has been able to thrive during this time of disruption in the traditional marketing environment is her enjoyment of continuous learning.

“It’s not possible to keep up with changes in this industry if you’re not willing to continuously learn and ask questions, which can be uncomfortable at times,” she acknowledges.  However, she believes being intellectually curious and leveraging talented people is a strength.

In addition to staying abreast of industry changes, Rubin advises that networking is also vital to success in the space.  “That’s the only way you can expand your day-to-day world and contribute in a valuable way to people beyond your immediate sphere,” she says.

An advocate for more formal networking involvement as well, Rubin served as co-chair of the Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit and Executive Office Women’s Network from 2010 to 2014.

“One of the greatest things about Goldman Sachs is our people, and you have a unique opportunity while working here to connect with and learn from a group of incredibly intelligent and accomplished individuals,” she says.

Work and Family: Mutually Beneficial

With two teenagers and a husband, Rubin embraces both her time at work and at home. She finds that being a mom gives her valuable perspective that helps her in the workplace, and in turn, her colleagues give her perspective that helps her be a better mom.

“My kids see me experience highs and lows; they see me working hard and succeeding, but they also see me face challenges, dust myself off and go back to work the next day. I am grateful that work provides me with a platform to teach them these life lessons.”

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Voice of Experience: Leilani Farol, Executive Director, Program Management at J.P. Morgan

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By Cathie Ericson

JP Morgan

“Remember why you were hired, and you will continue to outperform. We brought you in not to conform but to shake things up,” is the advice JP Morgan’s Leilani Farol gives young women.

“Don’t do exactly what your boss does, but do things in a new way that only you can.”

Soft Skills Make the Difference

Leilani is proof that grades aren’t everything. As a self-described C-student, she never let her grades hold her back.

In fact Leilani hoped to parlay her degrees in marketing and computer information services into a position with one of the big companies that was conducting on-campus interviews. She visited one of the IBM recruiters while he was planning for the evening meetings but he told her she wasn’t on the list due to her grades. She persisted, and he said she could talk to him while he prepped for the first real interview; she impressed him so much she got the job.

Her career took off with stops at IBM, 1-800-Flowers, Estee Lauder, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and finally JP Morgan. This has been her longest tenure to date, a place she has stayed because of the variety of roles within the firm, from tech operations to cybersecurity and her current position in global technology infrastructure.

While she started out as a technical developer, she soon realized her social skills lent themselves to success as a business analyst; Leilani credits these soft skills with being able to attain “unexpected wins” despite her non-traditional background. In an environment where most people rise within the financial industry, she was recently promoted to executive director even though she came into the industry through a different route.

She’s also learned to trust herself. “I could have taken my ‘C-student-ness’ and said that was my path, but I know my ability and what I can offer to any organization so when I was given an opportunity I knew I would take it and run with it. It’s fun to come in every day and be thrown into the deep end.”

One area of particular fascination within the financial industry is technology risk, given the potential for cybersecurity incidents. “We always have to stay diligent with both active and passive plans to address any potential attacks. The hacker’s job is to attack, and mine is to thwart it. It’s a high-stakes game.”

Finding Support As a Woman and LGBT

Leilani counsels women not to put a gender barrier on themselves by assuming they will hit a ceiling. “I encourage them to work on realizing their value as a tremendous asset to the technology industry. You need to get out of your own way and be bold and fearless with all you bring to the table,” she says.

And women need to help one another. One moment that stands out was meeting the CTO who reported to President Obama at a Lesbians Who Tech Conference. At the time Leilani’s six-year-old hated computers, and she was trying to show her the many ways that women were successful in tech. “She gave me her card and asked my daughter to email her. This woman was so busy and did it anyway, and that meant a lot to me.”

In addition to her outside groups, Leilani appreciates the dedicated JP Morgan business resource groups such as Women in Tech and Women in FinTech and notes she’s always been able to find a supportive network of women in technology willing to bring people along.

She also recognizes great strides that have been made in the LGBT movement. She laughs that when she first started in the corporate world, there technically was a LGBT group, yet it was a “secret list.”  Fast forward to 2015 when she co-chaired the Tri State Pride Network, marching her family proudly down Fifth Avenue. “It was positively overwhelming to look around and see the support.

“Being gay is a non-event for me in my corporate life, but it didn’t happen because I did it but because of the fact others paved the way,” she says.

Leilani says that her two daughters, age nine and two, are as different as can be — one more gender nonspecific and the other “a princess.”  She appreciates her wife, who is a psychotherapist and has adjusted her schedule to be with the kids most of the time.

Originally transplanted to the east coast on a volleyball scholarship, she still enjoys sports, particularly following beach volleyball.

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