Dr. Sheena Menezes: Co-Founder and CEO, Simple HealthKit Inc

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Sheena Menezes“Healthcare is one of the spaces where it is so vulnerable, so precious. It’s your health; it’s your life,” says Dr. Sheena Menezes. “Knowing that what we build here at SHK can really impact people’s lives – is what wakes me up every day.”

We talked to Dr. Sheena Menezes, co-founder and CEO of Simple HealthKit, the first and only human-centric healthcare platform that delivers at-home diagnostics, treatment and follow-up care. A rare example of genuine female-led diversity and inclusion nestled right in Silicon Valley, 70% of SHK employees are women and 80% are people of color.

Born and raised in Kuwait, with Indian-Portuguese roots, Dr. Menezes has often spent family holidays focused on social service, empowering young girls at orphanages in India. Early life exposure to vast inequities, as well as loss and health challenges in her own family, inspired her to want to build healthcare solutions that bridge socioeconomic gaps and impact the trajectory of people’s lives – regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographic location.

Simple HealthKit empowers people through early detection with physician oversight, knowledge and access to support through an end-to-end system, tackling global health challenges such as STDs, chronic conditions such as diabetes, and the tripledemic.

As of June, Walmart has partnered with Simple HealthKit, making these at-home diagnostic tests now available at the largest retailer in the world. Dr. Menezes believes world-class healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and so SHK addresses high-need and high-impact health challenges in all communities.

On what personally inspired her to launch Simple HealthKit (SHK):

“Some founders have the ‘aha’ moment. For me, it was a journey of multiple forces that made starting SHK happen. From my childhood, I’m an immigrant, or refugee, during the Gulf War. So I’ve seen what it’s like when the lights are turning off, like what’s going on in Ukraine, and people are trying to escape and in camps.

Then, I also have the perspective of living in different countries and seeing wide disparities – some who have everything and some who don’t have anything at all. I was born and raised in Kuwait. I have Indian-Portuguese roots. And then I’m here in the United States. Back in the days while living in different countries, you’re expecting the US is just going to be great. Then you come here, and you realize there’s so much disparity here as well. So that’s one reason.

Also, it’s been having the support system of amazing family and believing we can do something that can really make a difference. Healthcare is one of the spaces where it is so vulnerable, so precious. It’s your health; it’s your life. Knowing that what we build here at SHK can really impact people’s lives – is what wakes me up every day. Think of early detection of STDs or getting an early HbA1c test and how that changes the course of people’s lives. Because often STDs are curable if you know. And with diabetes, with exercise and diet, you can get people back into good health. That’s really changing someone’s trajectory of health.

That’s our ‘why.’ That’s the culture here at Simple HealthKit. What’s your ‘why?’ Why do you want to do this? And it has to be a reason bigger than you. It has to be for people and the fact that you can make a big impact.”

On the difference Simple HealthKit is bringing to people:

“When you think of diagnostic tests, especially the earliest ones like the pregnancy test, you just got a test result. So, you are positive if there’s an extra line there. Now what?

From early on at SHK, we have always believed in the vision that we never want to leave someone disconnected. You want to be able to do a test, and if you’re positive, have that whole journey experience. Whether it’s via phone, tablet, laptop, whatever digital device an individual has – how do we empower that person? Today, for STDs, we did just that. If someone is positive, they are going through Telehealth and they’re getting a prescription. So we are able to impact that individual’s life – not just showing the person they are positive and leaving them with questions such as What do I do? and Where do I go? That’s such a daunting zone to be in.

How many times has each of us felt that Where do I go? And for the first time, we’re creating that seamless sense of “We got you.” We started with STDs. We’re doing that with diabetes and kidney disease, and we’re starting to solve at least the high-impact, high-need use cases and in the best way we can. Sometimes it might simply be a nurse to guide you on the other end of the line and tell you what you need to do next. The whole journey happens with a QR code.”

On what has prepared for her success as a biotech founder:

“There is a lot of training that I had before arriving to this point. I hold an undergrad in computer science. I ended up doing a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Bioengineering at University of California, Santa Barbara. I wanted to do something that’s impacting lives and building tools. And so, for my Ph.D. days, I was able to utilize computational bioinformatics, discover a whole new protein (a novel tRNA methylation enzyme) and create a new arm for my Principal Investigator (PI). I had to figure out a lot of unknowns and do it very thoughtfully and methodically, following all the steps in getting publications out. That was definitely good training.

Further, being in any industry, it’s about learning what you must do and working with regulators. You need to understand everything because healthcare is a space where you need to know what you cannot do and what you can do. I’ve had that journey of learning what you must not do and what you must.

I would say that my journey has been to see two sides of a coin. I’ve seen two sides of a coin in my childhood. But I’ve also seen two sides of the coin in healthcare. From that lens, technically, with the right set of people and the right teams – people who are humble, have empathy, have the right experience and can execute – you can do it. Because you could have a dream, but if you can’t execute on the dream, it’s over. You really need to get the smartest, kindest people in the same room and say, ‘let’s get this done.’

It’s never one person. I always say it’s not about one human. It is really about the SHK team that’s able to execute and make SHK what it is today.”

On the team diversity of Simple HealthKit leadership and staff:

“I have been in teams where I was the only woman at the table, let alone the only woman of color at the table and in the leadership role. I do recall there were moments when there were opportunities for women to move up and there were not that many people at that table giving that opportunity. That’s drawn me to a sense that, as a leader, I do have the opportunity to do so.

Also, now that I’m a mom, I see how strong mothers have to be too really do it. And immigrants and people of color, they’ve often had it so hard. They already know what resilience is.

Back in the day when there was only one seat available at the table, potentially, there was competition for that one seat. Now, I really believe in bringing the smartest people onboard, people with resilience, people who can take a ball thrown and get back up. And I feel that is the composition of our team.

And I wanted to make more seats at the table that increase the diversity of leadership and teams. It starts sometimes at the top-down and sometimes at the bottom-up, but you need the leader’s leadership to support that. I’m definitely a strong believer in women, minorities and people of color at the table because diversity is healthy. They say the best teams are the ones who have a diverse team because you’re seeing so many viewpoints and you’re able to capture others’ blindspots. I feel that is what defines the SHK team.”

On the importance of “intention” in bridging differences:

“When you have such a diverse team, there’s going to be language and cultural barriers. Different cultures that have to interact and work together. I used to be president of International Students back at UC, Santa Barbara. When you have different cultures, there’s a lot of things that can be misinterpreted. For example, I use my hands a lot and I might find certain hand movements mean something else in another culture that I did not intend.

One thing that is helpful that I’ve learned, and work with my leadership team on, is to start with your intent. Because there’s a lot about communication that doesn’t land the way you want to say it. Often, simply leading with your intent before you even start the conversation can change the ability to have difficult conversations.”

On her biggest personal growth area as a co-founder and CEO:

“The biggest stretch has been learning multiple hats and learning different subject areas – marketing, sales computer science, quality control, regulatory – and understanding what you need for those elements of success. That’s been amazing and exciting because I’m a learner.

It’s definitely been an exciting journey of learning and you also build more tools of resilience. It’s not all green grass and roses. On different levels, it’s a very humbling journey. Having empathy for yourself and for your team is important. If someone falls down, you have to say ‘let’s get back up, we need to solve this, we need to execute.’ So it’s about being able to do that without reacting.”

On being a female, and women of color, founder in Silicon Valley:

“It’s hard on many aspects. The numbers are there on how many women get funded, how many founding teams have women in them, people of color in them, and other diversity dimensions. Those numbers are real data and it’s true.

But, I also believe differences are our strengths and not something we have to hide behind. So being different but also being super-technical and data-driven changes the conversation. When that inevitable question comes – “What are your numbers?“ – for me, it’s being really strong about it and being thoughtful in what you answer. It’s keeping the stance that this is not about me. This is about the impact we’re going to make in people’s lives.

I would emphasize again it’s about leading with intent – even, the intent I set for myself going into those rooms with VCs. Right now, we’re so blessed. We have amazing VCs. And that’s evident because as the company is succeeding, they’re succeeding. So we’ve got a lot of trust with a great set of VCs. It’s very important to pick the right board and right VCs as part of your team. That can be hard for some founders, but we are in a very healthy and happy position.”

On championing girls and women to take the leap:

“I have a young daughter. I am blessed by that because it’s almost like you see a little ‘you’ in some aspects of the motherhood journey. I’m super passionate about women’s empowerment. I really believe women and people of color have had to build resilience. But I also think it’s so important to not hold yourself back. Too often women say, ‘I don’t know if I can do it. Maybe I need to study this. Take one more course. Wait one more year.’ And I’m like, ‘no, you got this.’

You need to have a support system that pushes you farther but also telling yourself that you have this. Since college, I’ve inspired people to learn, learn, learn. Learn, because you’re the product – what you’re learning, what you’re building – but also you have to also give yourself that strength. When women feel like they can’t do something, I challenge them to go ahead and take an attempt at it. Don’t say ‘no’ upfront. Go ahead and take that attempt to give yourself that time to bring it and then, come up with a plan. Maybe you’ve never done it before. But before you say ‘no,’ go try. Don’t give up too fast. Take a stab at it. Propose something.

I’m happy that I get to be both a cheerleader and support system for women. I’m happy to do any amount of inspiration, because I think there’s a lot of women holding back. Can I be a mom and be a founder? Yes you can. Trust me, you can. So I’m all about championing the ‘yes.’”

On why overcoming challenge means you are very strong:

“This is simple but a super powerful set of advice. A lot of times people feel nervous or fearful. Maybe you even think nobody knows you or that deep inside, you are weak. But your core is a really strong core. That’s what’s been able to get you through those tough times when you were falling but also able to get back up. So remind yourself, you are strong. You did the hard work. You got through. Remind yourself of your successes. Remind yourself it’s just another challenge. If you’ve gone through hardship and you’ve endured an emotionally hard time, then what got your here today is actually your strength.

I’m also Christian, so I was always raised with that spiritual sense of knowing I’m going to do good and God’s going to take care of me. I was also encouraged by my Mom telling me that if you really work hard and put your mind to it, you can get it done with God’s grace. So that’s generally who I am as a person and I have an amazing support system.”

On making a greater impact on lives:

“The vehicle of SHK is massive right with our recent announcement with Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, and the reach of Walmart in rural America and health deserts. It’s literally creating that front door access point for some who never had access. They can get that diabetes test online or at the store, and now it’s telling someone they aren’t tracking right and we have resources that can help them for a lifestyle and nutrition change.

We’re excited about that partnership because of the impact. In America, 40% are pre-diabetic; 80% don’t know. With STDs, one in five adults have an STD and one in two under the age of 24. So it affects young people, college students, young professionals and even among the baby boomers retirement community, we see a spike in STDS. We’re really solving for high-need, high use cases but we also know that early detection can change the course of a life.

Internally at Simple HealthKit, I believe people have also perhaps seen two sides of a coin in the workplace. Maybe they’ve seen healthy and toxic. They’ve seen hurtful and painful and successful and happy. What I hope to create is almost a professional family. Similar to family, it’s not going to be all roses and green grass. We’re going to have things thrown at us. And it’s so important at that moment to get back up, get back to work, figure out what to do and create that bond that is like no other with such a diverse team. I want us to be that exceptional team in Silicon Valley that has more women and women of color at the table delivering and executing on the mission that we set out to do.

For me, creating impact is also about teaching simple things like remembering the strength in your core and having intentions around conversations. My intent is to inspire with those tools. I feel those tools are like your belt of strength for anything – your journey at your work, your journey as a future leader.

I love seeing that one of our leadership team started as an intern and then moved from scientist to associate scientist to taking a leading position in the company. For me it’s so amazing to see growth in individuals and then watch them inspiring another set of leaders. So I feel we can only pass the love, the tools, and the resilience to each other. We can create that spiral effect to the next generation of young leaders.”

On deriving more meaning and fulfillment in work:

“When you wake up, do you feel like this is what you set out to do? Are you happy? You spend a lot of time at work. Like with any relationship, ask yourself, Are you happy? Does it bring joy?

Also, are you doing the right thing? I think it’s important to ground yourself. Do you feel you’re doing good? You’re now in a place where you have a platform, so how can you bring others with you?

Also, think of all the different ways you specifically want to create impact. Go-getters can be racing and have a goal. But, pause. And ask, am I running in the right direction? It’s okay to pause for a good minute, and take that time to think about is this what makes you really, really happy?

For my daughter’s first birthday several years ago, we were at a shelter celebrating with young girls who were rescued from the streets in India. That experience was so amazing, because these young girls have a chance, and that mission was inspiring.

With healthcare, it combines the skills I had and it’s also mission-driven. So, can you combine your passion with your skillset? That’s why I feel like I’m happy, because I am doing exactly that with SHK.”

On gratitude and being present:

“Gratefulness is a big quality in my home and household and my team. Kindness and gratefulness, especially when you’ve seen disparity on the other side of the table. Look at what you have. Start with gratefulness.

My daughter is six years old and my son is three. I love spending time with my kids. I just love their joy. The life and sparkle in their eyes. all the way from doing science experiments at home – they’re super fascinated by that – to going to the beach and parks and swimming.

More than anything, just being present. Because with digital devices, it’s so easy to be distracted. It’s so important to be present. When I am with my children, I am present.”

Interviewed by Aimee Hansen

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Vanessa Rodriguez: Head of Community Lending & Investment, Commercial Real Estate, Wells Fargo

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Vanessa Rodriguez“At some stage, it’s not completely linear any longer. Sometimes, you must take a step back, or move laterally, to go forward,” says Vanessa Rodriguez. “You have to leave what you’ve exclusively done, branch out, take a risk or accept a new challenge. That could be a geographical change, a different line of business, a new company or position – but generally, it’s out of your comfort zone.”

Rodriguez shares on interviewing for a senior promotion while becoming a mother for the first time, learning to show up authentically regardless of who is in the room, and her commitment to coming at life and work from a genuine and constructive perspective.

On A Mission Towards Affordable Housing

After completing her B.S. in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Rodriguez was recruited to join the Wells Fargo Financial Analyst program in the Company’s Commercial Banking business. In 2007, she moved to NYC to take a position in Wells Fargo’s Real Estate Merchant Banking business, jumping into the hot seat just before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit in 2009.

“I had no clue as a young banker how bad it could or would get. I’d never seen a market cycle,” she says. “Being in commercial real estate, specifically in workouts, in NYC during the GFC was intense but an amazing and enriching experience. Three years felt like ten years and only elevated my interest in building my career in commercial real estate.” She began to rise in the ranks, leading teams in NYC and then back home again in the San Francisco Bay area. In the past couple years, she took the opportunity to further expand her real estate career by becoming the Group Head of Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment (CLI) group.

“Affordable housing is one of the Bank’s top priorities, and this was an opportunity to lead a premier affordable housing team and large national business at Wells Fargo,” says Rodriguez. “It’s exciting to look at commercial real estate from a different angle and immerse myself in this new ecosystem – which includes non-profits, housing authorities, foundation work, government and community relations, public policy state and local governments.”

Rodriguez notes that providing a quality, affordable home to all must be a top priority everywhere in the US. In the San Francisco Bay Area, many of the families and friends she grew up with have had to relocate to attain good, cost-effective housing. Some now have 2-3 hour super commutes to work.

“It’s really sad when you become priced out of the place that you grew up, and that’s happening for more and more people across the country,” she says. “There are so many amazing things here in the Bay Area- the outdoors, the moderate climate, the diverse culture, so many top notch universities, the innovative tech industry, think tanks and VCs. But the downside is an extremely high cost of living in which regular people are forced out, breaking up families and communities, and negatively impacting the landscape. We need to work on these problems in communities across the country, and I want to be a part of that solution.”

Taking a New Role While Welcoming Her First Born

At a certain point as you ascend in leadership, Rodriguez notes that the path can become less clear. What your next step will be depends on investing in a lot of self-reflection and soul-searching around core questions: What do you want to do? How do you want to spend your time? Where can you add the most value? Because ultimately nobody else is going to be equipped to hand you those answers.

Such a moment came for Rodriguez when she was 41 years old and seven months pregnant with her first baby in 2021. The opportunity to run Wells Fargo’s CLI group came up, and she “looked away, frankly.”

“This is the value of having those strong personal and professional relationships in your life, whether they are formal or informal mentors or sponsors or ultimately over time perhaps become friends after years of working together” she says. “I had some of these people call me and say, ‘Don’t look away from this. It’s probably tough to think about a new opportunity now or interviewing for a new role at eight months pregnant, but do not check out right now.’”

So, despite how daunting it felt, Rodriguez began the interviewing process while pregnant in her third trimester, finished while on maternity leave, and ultimately returned to work in a new position. She had a second child in November 2022, and appreciates Wells Fargo for the support she’s received: assuming the role at this stage in her life has included managing her own high expectations around her career and motherhood, working hard to deliver, but speaking up where flexibility is needed. Rodriguez is inspired that while there are many things about parenthood that remain unique to women, parental matters are seen less and less as only women’s issues.

“But I will say that every day, I am forced to make decisions about where I am most needed because there are only so many hours in the day,” she admits. “I would love to get up every day and have my set routine, but my current state is more like a Rubik’s cube, where I move this piece down, pull it up here, take the lever off here, and make tough decisions about what I can and can’t do today. The truth is it’s not always graceful but tomorrow is always another chance to improve and do it better.”

Building Your Personal and Authentic Brand

“From the beginning of my career, I always focused on treating every single task like it was very important. It was all about building my personal brand,” she notes. “I tell young people: ‘You need to sweat the small things as well as the big things as you build your brand. Make your mark. What do you stand for? What are your standards on the quality of your work product and how do you approach it?’ Because if you build that personal brand and do great work for people, there is a multiplier effect where people start asking for you and saying your name in the room when you’re not there.”

Yet keeping your head down isn’t enough. Rodriguez also focused on real estate being a people business, and the importance of connecting, regardless of whether she may have initially felt like an outsider, to gain a strong network and the right visibility. Rising into that confidence to bring more of herself to the table has been immensely important to her growth.

“Twenty years ago, I entered the space focusing on being less visible. Over time, I realized there is a lot lost when you try to fit the mold, when you do not bring your full self to work, your best self to work” says Rodriguez. “We can and should bring our personal style and unique experience to work and connect in different ways. I certainly would encourage that in a sea of many, be memorable.”

Being extremely competent, authentic and walking the walk are important to Rodriguez’s sense of personal brand. As a leader, she never asks anyone to do something she hasn’t done or wouldn’t do herself. She prefers to roll up her sleeves. She values genuine and transparent communication and people feeling comfortable enough to share their unique perspectives.

“I want to bring value to people, whether it’s my clients, my team, or senior management, and what it means to bring value is going to be different for every situation,” she notes. “I hope that when I’m not in the room, people say she brings leadership value everyday, and she brings it in an authentic and genuine way – and we enjoy being in her orbit.”

Belonging, Irrespective of the Room

When it comes to entering a room where she may be the only woman, let alone the only Latina, Rodriguez says, “It starts with whether any of those factors intimidate you. I’ve always just prided myself on not being intimidated, even if there were moments I could have been.”

“When I enter the room, I focus on being prepared for the content of the meeting, on being a good listener, on finding solutions,” she says. “I focus on the principles that matter, irrespective of who’s in the room and whether you’re the only woman.”

While she’s had many moments of feeling she wasn’t part of the club and remembers once being told it was a career-limiting move not to golf, Rodriguez comes back to her confidence in the subject matter and being memorable because of her difference.

While twenty years ago, she may have gone with a strategy of blending in, today she would advise: “Embrace who you are and everybody else will be richer for it.”

Maintaining A Constructive Mindset

“There’s a moment, which is certainly an adjustment, when you’ve reached the point in your career where the buck stops with you in leadership. I’ve always been someone that took responsibility and was willing to make decisions, but when you get to the level where you have complete ownership from start to finish, it’s no longer someone else’s problem in leadership,” she says. “It’s ‘we’ and it’s ‘me.’ You’re not alone – you have peers, a whole team, a manager – but it’s embracing an entirely new level of ownership and responsibility.”

At that level, Rodriguez has embraced the advice to be vigilant with her mental approach, day-to-day and in all parts of life.

“How constructively you approach anything is going to be the difference-maker for you and for all those who work with you and for you,” she says, “When you hit those roadblocks and it’s tempting to pivot to feeling captive or negative, I force myself to remember that the only way out is forward. Approach issues constructively and that will help you rise above the challenge or circumstance, to focus on a solution.”

She continues, “I’ve needed that encouragement at times. We could waste time wallowing, but the work will be there tomorrow. So give yourself a few minutes, if you need to take a step away, do. But then, come back to it, calmly and constructively. That’s what I want to exemplify for my team, the leader I want to be. Cooler heads will always prevail.”

Keeping the Perspective of a Longer Arc

Twenty years into her work journey, Rodriguez would also advise that it’s okay to slow down and pace yourself: “If we’re lucky, the career is long. We live in a culture of instant gratification and are wired to constantly seek it. Technology only serves to reinforce and accelerate the need for instant gratification,” she notes. “But you truly have to toil away at something to really learn it, to master it, to become an expert, to unlock the benefits and skills that will propel you to that next level. The corporate ladder is really a staircase with various landings along the way and you have to play the long game. Climb the staircase…”

With two little ones at home, Rodriguez observes that “six months feels like a night” and time feels more precious than ever. Rodriguez loves spending time with her kids, husband and extended family. She’s seeking to weave back in her wellness focus and routine, and having enjoyed much travel before motherhood, muses on family travels to one day come.

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Liora Haymann: Managing Director, OBM International

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Liora Haymann“When you stumble on a rock in a mountain climb, you find your way around and keep going,” says Liora Haymann. “You may even later sit on the rock that seemingly blocked you to enjoy the view.”

During her first year in Architecture School in Chile, Haymann’s studio teacher declared that he didn’t like wasting his time reviewing women’s projects because in two years they would marry and leave school. While it would be unacceptable today, that comment ignited a motivational fire in Haymann.

“I’m a rational person, so I looked at the classes above me and I thought, he’s just stating a fact. And then I said to myself, I’m going to prove him wrong,” she says. “I never thought he meant to dismiss us. He meant to push us. And that’s how I’ve taken it every time I found such challenges. I’ve never thought that somebody is putting me down. I’ve always thought it’s a challenge.”

Five years later, that teacher congratulated Haymann for being accepted for graduate studies at MIT in the US. But it remained true that out of a 50/50 gender split in the first year, only five women graduated as part of the 1983 class – whereas about twenty men did. She remains friends with her tight-knit female classmates still today.

From MIT to Chilean Urban Market to Global Destinations

MIT was eye-opening and introduced her to a more inclusive culture: “It gave me a lot more confidence on who I was, and I understood the freedom to pursue a path that was more mine.”

After graduating, and a couple of years working in Washington D.C., Haymann returned to Chile with her newborn daughter. With a few of her former male classmates, she co-founded an innovative architectural firm called URBE, as the only woman partner. With a combined background of US studies, they brought new techniques, visions and ways of introducing urban quality to the market. URBE became the best-in-class training ground for a new generation of young urban planners in Chile. But for family reasons, she then moved to Miami.

“Leaving URBE behind was difficult. It was my baby. At that time, there was not a global economy like we have now. Working across borders was not so common, so it was a darker time,” she reflects. “But again, every challenge is an opportunity.”

She crossed paths with OBMI, a premier hospitality and destination design company, which put her on the global stage and took her all around the world – China, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, the Caribbean and much more.

OBMI work is imbued with vision: the belief that design must celebrate local culture, landscape, or heritage, and create a journey of discovery for those who inhabit the space, whether for a weekend or a lifetime. OBMI became a great platform to develop her talents.

Moving From Design into Business Management

Being a very organized, structured, and process-oriented person, Haymann found that as she grew professionally, she gravitated towards management. After several years running international design projects – remote island resorts, boutique hotels, large scale master plans for waterfronts and mix-use, this eventually led to becoming a managing director and board member at OBMI, despite not having formal business education.

“Architects are trained to focus on design and to believe that design is the only valuable aspect of architecture,” she admits. “I had to re-educate my brain that I am even more valuable now because I understand design so well that I can make the bridge between management and design and make it much more effective for our clients, my team, and everybody to navigate the complex design process. I’m super proud of it, and now encourage others to become great managers. It’s been a great ride, with the company growing fivefold during this period.”

Recently, at 66 years old, she’s been contemplating what’s next and yet, it also feels premature.

“In my company, we are working towards passing on more power to the younger generation. OBMI is my second baby and therefore, letting go and trusting is again difficult,” she admits. “So you give it away, and then you grab it back because a part of you does not want to give it away. It’s a process and it’s a bit painful because I have a lot of energy and ideas related to work process and management that I want to apply.”

With a 102 year old father, Rudi Haymann, who has reinvented himself in his 90s, as a published author and public speaker, Haymann trusts in longevity and decades of re-creating herself ahead.

“It can be frustrating to see that a lot of business mentality is still caught in the 20th century where it was learn-work-retire,” she admits, “but that’s not the story today. How can businesses capture our acquired experience, at a time we are still full of energy?”

Liora's Hand

Being a ‘Shepherd Leader’ with A Wide Worldview

When it comes to her leadership style, Haymann self-identifies as what she dubs a “shepherd leader.” She leads from behind with a team that is organically in motion with many moving parts. She keeps her eye on the North and ensures everyone is staying oriented and moving towards the goal while she prevents anyone from getting stuck or going too far astray.

“There are many different ways of leading. I am not a ‘storyteller leader’ who may create large ideas and inspire people through their words. That’s a different way of moving people,” she says. “I will lead by example. I’ll walk the talk and people will see me walk, and they will learn.”

All along, she stays focused on three main goals: Design great projects. Make sure the team is inspired and fulfilled. Make good business.

Haymann feels her wide worldview has been essential to her success in global hospitality and luxury destination design. As a Jewish woman who grew up in Chile, with German parents, and then chose to study in the US, she carries different cultures and a great deal of heritage within her, always informing her perspective. She speaks several languages and notes “languages have embedded within them a way of seeing the world.”

She also believes her results-focused, solution-oriented, and driven nature have supported her in building trust. She’s adept at structuring, planning and breaking down complex projects into the who/how/when process and tasks to ensure everything comes together, flows and moves forward.

One of her strengths is to combine bird’s-eye strategy view with down-to-earth actionable tasks. With this double-lens she analyzed the firm’s data to identify key challenges and implemented processes, solutions, and unit linkages to drive smooth operations, efficiency, and communication as a basis to keep the team leveling up.

“In a design studio that is full of intuitive creatives, that is really useful. Because I understand the creative design process and I can also bring this structural talent that I have to respecting that intuitive process. Otherwise, it goes counter-current,” says Haymann. “How do you build that insight within the creative process? I can partner with the most creative person and become a really strong team because we cover it all.”

Fostering Honest and Direct Communication

“It’s difficult to give bad news, and so people often avoid it. I’ve learned through time that the best way to build trust and understanding is just to communicate as honestly as possible,” she says.

As she’s risen in leadership, a big mental shift has been making a strong and conscious effort to be more relationship-focused beyond the content of the work. This includes more check-ins and empathetic listening. With a half-smile, she admits she’s uncertain if she’d be called “nice,” but she trusts her team knows she cares about them.

“If we’re having a discussion, my focus is on the topic. I’m assuming that we’re both focusing on the content. But, with time, I’ve learned that many people focus on the relationship, and may sacrifice items in the topic to protect the relationship,” Haymann observes. “For example, they may not contradict. They may not bring up their ideas because they may be different from what somebody else in a more powerful position may be saying. They may feel vulnerable in expressing something.”

To invite others to speak honestly, she has learned to make an introduction upfront about her own direct style and valuing the discussion of viewpoints and being contradicted, because it encourages better, more nuanced thinking on the topic.

Being A Woman Architect in Real Estate Development

While architecture tends to be perceived as a very woman-friendly field, they’re less prominent in architecture in real estate development.

“I’ve never had a woman client and I’ve worked for decades and decades,” says Haymann. “The industry is very male-dominated, likely because it involves both large money and big negotiations. In my company in Chile, URBE, I was the only woman partner. At OBMI, I was the first female managing director and board member. OBMI has been a great environment for growth, and I am grateful for the opportunities. I think the last fifteen years have been a big leap for women in design and hospitality, and I am happy to see that.”

She notes that the representation of women significantly diminishes as you escalate in the ranks. Architecture requires a lot of late nights and tense deadlines, and many women with family prefer to form their own smaller self-practice.

“I was super lucky. I had help that I trusted while raising a family, but I remember it as an extremely stressful time. I was forced to learn to be very efficient and focused to make decisions,” she recalls. “Maybe it’s just my personality, or that may have affected the relationship aspect of work for me. I would come in, do my work and go home, because I had stuff to do there and people waiting for me. Still today, it’s difficult for me to relax and go for a long lunch.”

At the same time, Haymann notes these days, she enjoys the ability to linger and work late: “I love to work. Why not work late if I can now? What a luxury.”

While things are changing visibly today around integrating family and work, it also brings up mixed feelings for the barriers women have faced.

“As a woman with a family, I, and the women I worked with, would never bring up family as an excuse for being late or not coming in. We would figure it out, because it could be counted against you,” she notes. “But today, I see young men who have families, very freely say, ‘I have a school meeting. My girl is sick. I have to stay home.’ I still don’t see the women saying that so freely. They’re still very careful. It’s nice to see the fathers being involved and taking this freedom, but I also lament that women never had it. It’s both good, and at the same time, it’s unfortunate guys have to say it for that to be acceptable.”

Haymann also notes being a woman has helped her to stand out and be memorable, and she leveraged it: “I made sure that people knew I was intelligent. That I would bring value. That what I would say was relevant. That I could speak up. That I was going to be absolutely responsive to my clients’ inquiries and needs and be available to them. I made sure that was clear, and that became an important platform,” she notes. Her expertise and confidence brought speaking opportunities at international forums and relationships that opened new business.

A female colleague recalled a moment when Haymann inspired her years ago. As attendees were coming into a boardroom, Haymann witnessed a young woman take a seat in the second row in a semi-full room.

“I immediately called her out and said, ‘You go sit at the table” she recalls. “I thought, why would a young woman decide to sit in the second row when there is space? The space at the table is for those who show up because they care. The second row is for those who come in late, no matter who they are.”

It took a while for Haymann to realize that she was a role model to other women, and she doubts young women today would default to the second row. Looking back, Haymann would tell her more junior self to be more playful and develop relationships more.

“With time and feedback, I became more aware other women were watching me, but I’ve never talked about it, because I think talking is cheap. Acting is important,” she notes. “For me, it’s always: Set the example. Show others what they can do.” She is adamant in supporting next gen at OBMI to expand their knowledge and leadership through their involvement in industry programs and events. She also led the creation of a hospitality design course at University of Miami, strengthening the firm’s position as a thought leader.

Carving a Path With Few Role Models

Haymann has a soft-spot for the Disney character, Maleficent: “The first time I met her was when my daughter was a little girl and we watched the original Disney film Sleeping Beauty from 1959. What struck me, were the female archetypes in this film. First, there is the queen who doesn’t speak a word in the whole movie. Then, the princess, who falls asleep; then the minuscule fairies, who do all the jobs for the prince, but they’re invisible. Like the secretaries and the wives and all these invisible people that, in those days, made things happen while the male hero shined. And then, there is Maleficent – who is independent, beautiful, lives in her own castle and has people that she reigns over. When she shows up, she is hated because she is powerful, she speaks and brings this curse, meaning she holds a power. Isn’t that interesting? This is how women were perceived in those days. Either powerful and bad. Or invisible and doing all the work, or mute.”

Across her career in architecture, Haymann had no particular real life female role models whom she wished to emulate, but rather was more inspired by her peers and colleagues. As she looks ahead to what’s next, she also finds few inspiring her for where she might go.

“I find myself again having to carve a path on my own. I’ve experienced enough transitions to know it’s going to be a good place, but I also expect there to be a rough time because you have to cross the rough sea before you can get to the other shore,” she reflects. “The rough times have always brought me good things later.”

Today, her 102 year old father is her inspiration. He’s living proof that you can always re-invent yourself, find enlivening purpose, and create relationships, again and again.

Translating old letters from German to Spanish (for the original edition) as she supported her father to write his own story, she also discovered more of herself. When she read that her grandfather wrote to her then 16-year old father, after being separated to escape Nazi persecution, that “Work is the holiest mission of man,” she saw herself in that perspective.

Referring to her “B side,” the life that is not as visible and happens outside of the realm of work, Haymann is looking for how to more deeply integrate all sides of who she is. Her “B side” passions include physical movement, nature, and writing.

Her passion for movement has gone from trekking, dancing and competitive skiing as a child to becoming immersed in Martha Graham technique to being certified as an Iyengar Yoga teacher to finding a love for free flow movement in Five Rhythms. While Iyengar yoga is about alignment, structures, weights, precision and tensions that mirror architecture, she’s moved towards a purer emotional expression in movement.

“I started working at a time where most feminine aspects didn’t have a place. So I put them on the side, and kept developing them because they’re extremely important. I think that’s why I find myself drawn to movement,” she says. “Movement is medicine. It’s an amazing self-knowledge tool, a place to go when emotions are driving, and a way to understand myself. I pray to move until the day I die.”

Her other big love is nature, reminding us we are both so small and capable of so much. She calls crossing the Andes Mountains on horseback and camping in the open air her “most luxurious trip” – not for the facilities, but to hold witness to the immensity of nature and the human spirit that would dare to cross mountains.

With her father being one of few living veterans of World War II’s 100 million fighting soldiers, she realizes that some stories reveal their layers and gain significance only with time.

“When we’re in middle of it, we’re just living. We’re doing our thing,” muses Haymann. “It’s only when we take a long-distance view that we start seeing the lessons and the value in all we’ve done. Things take on a different perspective. Perhaps that will also inform my next phase.”

By Aimee Hansen

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Sherin Dawud: CEO at Nura Co. and Co-Founder at Power Pump Girls

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Sherin Dawud“For me, my mission is sowing into people. If I can impact a person and help open them up to who they really are, their strengths and what they’re capable of, and support them, this has ripple effects,” says Sherin Dawud. “Often companies and organizations are driven by the bottom line, and the bottom line is your people. Money is just a byproduct.”

Social Impact IS the Bottom Line

“As a child, my mom was huge on service to the community. And it was because we came from a low-income family in which we relied on donations for Christmas gifts and jackets and meals,” says Dawud, who grew up in Northern Louisiana. “As we became better-off, it was a repayment to serve the community. My parents instilled this deep in me, and I’ve always had a heart for serving people.”

Along with her co-founder and business partner Raina Vallot, Dawud has been carving her leadership path based on prioritizing social impact in both the non-profit and business world in Louisiana.

Power Pump Girls, Inc. is the duo’s non-profit 501 C3, a social impact club whose mission is to empower women to connect and serve. One of the key initiatives since 2018 focuses on menstrual equity to address the issue of period poverty. Those who do not have access to period care products – either through inability to access or afford – often resort to homemade solutions, resulting in damaging impacts on health and self-esteem. The team provides dignity, education and products (pads, cups, liners, tampons) to those who lack access – from women on the street, to girls missing school, to those who are incarcerated. Across several partnerships with organizations, Power Pump Girls has distributed many tens of thousands of products to the community. They’ve also advocated successfully to have the pink tax (the tax on feminine care products, diapers and other predominantly female purchases) removed statewide. Based in the hurricane, flood and tornado prone areas of southern Louisiana, Power Pump Girls also focuses on disaster relief and promotes civic engagement among women in the capital voting district of Baton Rouge.

But social impact is not only for non-profit work. As “social innovators” who are “fueled by servant leadership,” Dawud’s and Vallot’s marketing and impact consultancy Nura Co won’t accept projects from organizations unless they are focused on impact for people within the organization or the community because as Dawud puts it, “we will not be passionate about your work.”

Instead, they help organizations who are either seeking support for social impact initiatives or consultancy on creating more ways to serve or grow people.

Leaving to Lead On Her Terms

Going into agency life after graduating in 2012, Dawud was disillusioned, but not dissuaded, by her early experience in the workplace. Not only did she feel the culture lacked the inclusiveness she craved, which led her to begin an employee resource group (ERG), but she found her own leadership style rubbed up against the status quo.

“The environment wasn’t conducive to my leadership style. While I am a very firm woman, I am definitely compassionate and lenient in areas where I felt like my male counterparts were not, so my style of leadership was perceived as a little too soft,” reflects Dawud. “I felt there’s compassionate ways to handle people and things. Because I refuse to change who I am as a person in the way that I lead, I decided to leave.”

And that’s when she decided to start her own organizations: “I wanted to prove to myself that I didn’t have to change my leadership style in order to be successful at the things that I enjoy doing. So fast-forward and and we’re doing that and we’re doing it successfully.”

Defying the Narrow Boxes

With a mother from rural Georgia and father from Jordan, Dawud describes herself as half Jordanian, half Palestinian, half Black.

“I grew up in a bi-racial household that also celebrated two different religions. Outside of giving me a worldview of people, and understanding we really are all the same, it also gave me autonomy of choice early on,” reflects Dawud. “I started making big decisions while being offered multiple choices: You are Black and you are Arab. Are you Muslim or are you Christian? Nobody else was living like this. They were one race or one religion. Many times, I questioned if I had to choose one or the other. And then I decided: no, I can do or be all things.”

It’s not only that she didn’t want to be boxed in. Dawud remembers comparing her Arab cousins to her Black cousins, who all liked pizza, video games and going outside to play. “When you dive deeper and you’re looking at all the people in your life, everybody is the same. We all believe in the same big concepts of love and equality.”

This is what Dawud feels is her mission: “I have a heart for people, and have always felt the need to want to close the gaps in understanding between us. Lots of people feel two sides of a coin separate us when, in actuality, it doesn’t.”

Defying preset boxes has come into her professional life, too: “People have said to me, ‘you just need to focus on one thing, so what is the thing that you’re going to focus on?’ It’s just another box. My thinking is if you can only focus on one thing, let that be your limitation. It’s not mine.”

She continues, “I’ve been latching onto the concept of being multifaceted. I can be anything and everything I choose to be, as long as I have the mental and emotional capacity to do those things. When I don’t, I don’t do them anymore.”

Enjoying The Process and Embracing Failure

Dawud says her early confidence to launch on her own “goes to my mom, single-handedly.” While growing up, she watched her mother go for opportunities outside of her immediate reach, come up with new ideas and inspire everyone around her. But most of all, even through failure, she never traded in her energy, passion and excitement around exploring how to make new ideas happen.

“Witnessing her gave me the audacity and strength to jump in and make decisions, and to know that failure is okay, because you can always get re-energized again. I picked up that it didn’t matter whether it worked. The process is fun and inspiring,” says Dawud. “So I adopted enjoying the process, and then I’ve adapted that by also considering, how do I execute and make it sustainable so I do not have to fail? And if I do fail, how do I shift and pivot from those failures?”

Embracing failure was contrasted by her father’s immigrant frame of overachievement and success. That influence helped her know she could figure things out: “It goes back to that duality in my household and being able to draw from these two things that were starkly different. I can make them work together and do both.”

Patience, Communication and The Pivot

Inclined to throw herself into future-focused ideas, Dawud feels her business partner balances that out with structure and processes to actually make them happen, a necessary complement her mother did not have. Along with Vallot’s partnership, patience and communication have been key learning curves to ground her ideas towards success.

“I think so far ahead and I’m so inspired by the next thing, that often I haven’t given everybody else the opportunity to settle their footing in the current moment,” she says. “I feel like we’ve got it, and I can run up ahead and grab more. That’s always my mentality, so I’ve been learning the value of patience and moving slower.”

Dawud notes some of the compulsion to chase the next opportunity comes from imposter syndrome and the insecurity of comparison, and she’s had to outgrow that. She’s also had to learn to communicate better.

“Often I can see this great idea up ahead, but I’m not pausing to communicate in a way that people can understand,” reflects Dawud, “so they can also be inspired by it and add to the idea in ways I can’t see.”

But perhaps what has been most valuable so far is embracing ‘the pivot’ – turning towards, in whatever way it is, where you need to go.

“There’s power in the pivot. You can’t get stuck. You don’t want to plateau. You always want to stay fresh and connected. Pivoting is inevitable. You can’t not pivot, and if you feel like it’s not working, that’s your sign,” advises Dawud. “For every single problem, there is a solution. You just have to spend enough time to let it present itself. Sometimes, the solution is a tweak. But recognize where you are – and be willing to turn where you want to go, in whatever you are doing, whether it’s a 180 or a few degrees.”

The Value of Intuition

As a girl, Dawud’s mother spoke to her about the power of her intuition: that she could pause, listen to it and then stay with it long enough to get comfortable hearing the voice. As she’s grown older, Dawud has more deeply embraced the value of truly connecting with herself.

“I don’t think I would be as successful as I am, or where I am in my life, if I wasn’t directly connected to my intuition, because a lot of our business decisions are guided by that,” says Dawud. “And there are also the times when I realize I did hear it, but I didn’t listen. There’s a value in that, too. What part of what you heard made you decide not to go with it? If you can build the relationship with your intuition, you become more accurate.”

Outside of her multi-cultural home, Dawud is most inspired by women who are overcoming the societal odds to chart new paths – such as Sevetri Wilson, the first black female tech founder in New Orleans to close a 7-figure round of funding. Dawud has noted she’s inspired by the stories of women’s journeys and insights as they’ve risen into impact.

And so it goes, Dawud lives up to what she’s inspired by.

By Aimee Hansen

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Sylvana Quader Sinha, Founder and CEO of Praava Health

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Sylvana Quader Sinha“The problem just seemed so big, and I somehow had the naive courage to think that I could do something about it,” says Sylvana Q. Sinha, the Bangladeshi-American founder and CEO of Praava Health, Bangladesh’s fastest-growing healthcare company.

In 2014, Sinha left a promising career in international law to focus on the creation of a new disruptive, innovative healthcare company. The decision was prompted by a health scare her mother faced during a family visit to Bangladesh for a wedding; the challenges associated with the emergency appendectomy put Sylvana up close with the shortcomings of the healthcare system in that country.

Prior to founding Praava Health, Sinha led diverse, interdisciplinary teams in international law, business, development, and government relations at major international law firms (Gotshal, & Manges, LLP and Lovells LLP), management consulting firms (Boston Consulting Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers), the World Bank in Kabul and Afghanistan and New York, and think tanks in the Middle East and South Asia.

She conducted research on business and human rights issues for the Special Representative to the UN Secretary General, held the position of social protection specialist at the International Labour Organization, and served as a foreign policy advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-Senator Barack Obama. Today, Sinha is also a PATH board member and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Currently serving more than half a million patients, Praava Health’s tech-forward model is designed to be efficient, accessible, and scalable across emerging markets, where 85% of the world lives. Praava’s work has been featured by Forbes Magazine and Financial Times and was recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea in 2020. In 2021, the World Economic Forum named Praava Health a Technology Pioneer, and in 2023, they were named a Global Innovator.

Sinha shared with The Glass Hammer her experience as an emerging market entrepreneur and CEO in a male-dominated field and why she’s using her voice to speak out about the challenges women-led businesses face in emerging markets, particularly when it comes to raising capital.

On taking the wheel to improve healthcare in Bangladesh:

“I spent about a year at the beginning of this journey learning all the pain points of the healthcare system in Bangladesh and talking to patients and those involved in the delivery of healthcare, both in Bangladesh and all over the world. It was like a year long global listening tour.

“The more I dug in, the more I saw how deeply-rooted the problem was, and the more obsessed I became with trying to solve it. Candidly, I didn’t find anyone who both cared about solving this problem as much as I did, and had the global networks and local resources to be able to affect change.

“I came across a lot of people who complained about different parts of the system with no plans to do anything about it. Then, there were those who wanted to solve the problem but didn’t have the right skill sets to contribute. I felt that with my experience as a leader and as a global professional, I had the skills, tools, and access to make a difference. I had access to global leaders and innovators in healthcare that we were able to learn from, adapt the global best practice lessons and bring them back to Bangladesh.

“I’d been looking for ways to make more of a direct impact through my work, and I just felt like this was the opportunity I’d been seeking. This was the thing that was the culmination of all of my skills – managing international risk, managing political and economic risk in an emerging market, and having a direct impact, changing lives on the ground. All of those things together inspired me.

“The problem just seemed so big, and I somehow had the naive courage to think that I could do something about it. I became obsessed with solving this problem.”

On what drove her desire for more direct impact:

“I was on the ground in Afghanistan, but I was working in these large organizations and there was so much bureaucracy that was crippling us, as close as we were, from being able to have an impact. These large organizations are so challenged by their own size and by their own systems that it becomes hard to create change. I thought, maybe you have to just build it from scratch.

“Also, from the early stages of my career as a 22-year-old management consultant and junior lawyer – and throughout my career – I worked for men. In particular, when I worked in the services industry, the men were always pitching business to clients, and I remember they would always claim they could do things that we had never done before. I knew, because I was part of their team, that these were things they’d never done before. But then I realized we could do it. We would sell the business; then, we would go learn, and we would do it. And as a woman, just like many other women I know, I feel like we don’t like to claim we can do things until we’ve already done them.

“This experience taught me that, with the help of a skilled and motivated team, I can learn, and I can make things happen. With the right people, we can build the airplane while we’re flying it.”

On how Praava is disrupting the standard of healthcare in Bangladesh:

“The big challenge in Bangladesh is that in addition to the huge gap in terms of the quality of healthcare, there’s also a changing demographic. We now have a very quickly growing and urbanizing middle-income population.

“We have a country that was traditionally more dependent on foreign aid and charity to provide healthcare for our citizens, and just a generation ago, Bangladesh was considered one of the least developed countries in the world. But now, it’s one of the fastest growing economies. This means more people are accessing the private sector for healthcare. But the private sector is largely unregulated and offers very dramatic variations in terms of the quality of healthcare.

“I think the public system does a really good job in terms of prioritizing primary care. But for anything beyond basic vaccinations and deliveries, the masses are accessing the private system. In Bangladesh, 72% of health spending is coming from the private sector. And this is true across South Asia. In most countries, the opposite is true – the health funding is mostly coming from the government, but in South Asia, the private sector is driving the growth.

“The very specific pain point is providing quality healthcare at an affordable price point. When Praava entered the market, the average amount of time doctors spent with patients was 48 seconds. There were only four international standard labs for a country of 170 million people. And 20%+ of drugs in the market were counterfeit.

“What Praava offers, at an affordable price point, is a one-stop shop for all of your outpatient healthcare needs that’s truly at a world-class level: The doctors are practicing protocolized medicine and spending at least 15 minutes with each patient. Our lab meets international standards. Our pharmacy guarantees that there are no counterfeits because we source directly from manufacturers. We’re the only player that owns the outpatient healthcare experience and the only player that does so with both in-clinic physical services, as well as remote and virtual care. While there is still work to be done, we’re contributing to positive change.

“One of the greatest rewards has been hearing stories from our patients about how we’ve been able to change their lives. A lot of people say they never thought they could have healthcare like this in Bangladesh. They thought they would have to travel abroad. To hear that feedback is extremely rewarding and gratifying.”

On how her experience has prepared her to be an emerging market entrepreneur:

“This role is the confluence of all of the different things that I’ve done, particularly when I’ve been forced to manage uncertainty. I think my legal training gave me a framework for how to think in general and how to think about solving problems in a really methodical and logical way. My experience as a management consultant, and working in war-torn regions such as Afghanistan, helped me to learn how to navigate uncertainty methodically, how to problem-solve, and how to be constructive.

“Also, as a lawyer, advising clients on managing risk in investing in new countries and legal disputes in those markets helped prepare me. And my experience working in U.S. foreign policy allowed me to consider how different people think about the world and how Americans, in particular, see the rest of the world.

“The resilience of continuing to fight against daily, or even hourly, ups and downs is what I feel came from all of my various experiences.

“There’s an obsession with very young entrepreneurs, like Mark Zuckerberg, who quit college and go off to start their companies. “But I think building a new scalable business is really, really hard. I don’t think I could have done it when I was in my 20s. There’s a lot of evidence that the most successful entrepreneurs are people who start their companies in their late 30s and early 40s. I started when I was 37. I think that coming to entrepreneurship a bit later, after I had done a lot of different things, made me much more prepared for the resilience and patience that was required and is still required for what we’re building.”

On why we need to (sincerely) fund women entrepreneurs in emerging markets:

“My biggest surprise of this journey is how hard it has been to get funding. I really thought that if we proved the economics of our business, investors would want to invest. Once we prove our value proposition, investing should be a no-brainer. Well, our unit was profitable in ten months, as of November 2018, and I quickly discovered that it’s entirely untrue that proving the economics of your business alone is enough to get investors to invest.

“It’s been eye-opening for me to learn that 80% of venture dollars go to companies headquartered in New York, Massachusetts, and California – still sees the rest of the world as a charity case, not a place to make money.

“So that has pushed me to use my voice and platform to educate people on the opportunities that exist for emerging market entrepreneurs – and the overlooked opportunities financially, particularly for women. The amazing thing about emerging market businesses is you have an opportunity to make money and to have a big impact. Telling that story in a truly compelling and impactful way has been a challenge.

“As an American woman who moved to Bangladesh for the first time in my life to start this company, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for women entrepreneurs to access capital. There’s a lot of micro-money for women in emerging markets and outside the United States. But there’s not a lot of money for women to scale their businesses. There’s barely any, actually.

“When we hear about funding for women’s entrepreneurship and women-focused venture capital firms, unfortunately, it’s primarily U.S. and Europe-focused. Even Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda Gates, only invests in the United States.

“So the only way to help these countries stand up on their own and be less aid-dependent is to develop the private sector, which requires investment. And the only way to empower women in these countries is to help them build wealth. And the only way to build wealth is to have more access to capital.

“Women are not going to access power and be able to build their wealth if you only give them $10 a month to fund their micro-enterprises. That’s great. But once those micro-enterprises are ready to scale, at this moment, there’s no one to fund them.

“I’m still learning how to tell the story of how these problems are intertwined. Being a public figure and the public face of the organization is outside my comfort zone, so this role is really pushing me. But I realized these lessons are unique and need to be told.

I was at the Forbes 30/50 Summit on International Women’s Day in Abu Dhabi, which was supposedly one of the largest global gatherings of women leaders and innovators. Every single entrepreneur speaker was from America. The only speakers from outside the U.S. were focused on themes like human rights and charity.

“I found this offensive, and I gave that feedback. There are women leaders in other countries. There are female-founded unicorns in India. Canva was founded by a woman in Australia. We have to stop thinking that America is the center of the world. There are huge opportunities outside the U.S. Even BlackRock pointed out that in 2023, when you’re going through global recession, the only parts of the economy still growing are emerging markets.

“We must break out of thinking that the rest of the world needs charity, and America is where people make money.”

On leading in an industry where less than 15% of CEOS are women:

“Eighty-five percent of healthcare decisions for households all over the world are made by women. Sixty-five percent of health workers are women. I’ve always felt that being a woman ultimately makes me a better leader. It makes me better at building healthcare products for consumers and bringing the voice of women to the table. For that reason and so many more, we need more women leaders at the table.

“As a female leader, I think I have been both challenged and underestimated. I’ve been told directly by men who’ve been in the room when I pitch that I’ve been asked questions that investors wouldn’t think to ask men, and that investors challenge me and push back in ways they just don’t with men.

“But what I say about that, ultimately, is that it makes me a better founder. Because I have to have the answers to those questions. Knowing my business better is always a good thing. So yes, I’m sure it’s challenged me in ways that are not equal or fair. But ultimately, it makes me better and it makes my company better.”

On leveraging her voice and platform to challenge the status quo:

“I was at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that happens in January each year in San Francisco. It’s the largest healthcare investing conference in the world, though it’s mostly U.S. focused, and there was a panel of eight white men. How is this happening in 2023? This was 2023, and it was a panel talking about healthcare with eight white men.

“I think leadership is a double-edged sword for women. Because it’s harder for women, women don’t necessarily want to go after it. So you have fewer women going into leadership roles in this sector. Also, America likes seeing women-founded companies that are wellness-focused or fashion-focused. Those are important companies, and no disrespect to those founders, but I just think America is more comfortable with female founders for those types of businesses. We need to see more women leading financial services organizations and building companies that are providing basic services for consumers who are more than 50% women. We all have these needs in our life, so we need women’s voices to create the solutions.

“The lack of women in leadership in my field has pushed me to recognize that because there are so few women in these roles, I have to push myself to be out there more and to use my voice.”

On ‘walking the walk’ of valuing women in the workplace:

“An unexpected outcome of this journey has been recognizing the importance of valuing women’s work in business.

“During my first year as a founder, every single woman who worked for me – aged 22 to 40+ – on my team of 25 people got pregnant. This accounted for about half the team. It was a challenging year, to say the least. When one of my management team members came to me and told me she was also pregnant, she cried. I’m committed to being a founder who supports women, and while it was hard to manage, we did it.

“My team was able to rise to the occasion and create a workplace that truly supports women – even at a small startup with only 25 employees, we were able to succeed even with half the team out for three to six months in one year. And we are stronger for it. Providing the support women need to thrive in their careers IS possible.

“As an employer, I have now seen firsthand that women ask for less money and undervalue themselves. In our first year, a member of my management team asked for a certain salary, and we gave her what she asked for. Then, we did a market study, and I learned she was earning 30 to 40 percent less than the market, even though she had foreign experience at multinationals in the U.S. So I bumped her up – she didn’t ask for it, and she wasn’t going to. But it was the right thing to do.

“It’s so powerful to see the impact of the choices that create a supportive workplace for women. For example, during the pandemic, we did a lot of COVID testing through part-time consultants. When we discontinued some of their contracts, one of the women lab technicians begged us to find a job for her, explaining that she’d never worked in an organization that valued women the way ours does.

“This experience was so humbling. Frankly, I don’t know that I’ve been as intentional as I could have been about creating that workplace. But when the senior leadership of an organization has women at several points (at times, more than 50% of the management team), it trickles down.”

On why the world is waiting for women to step up:

“Our world has a lot of really big problems that need solving. I’m focused on one of them, but there are so many more that affect our day-to-day lives and our futures. We need people who are willing to take on these issues. We don’t get it right every day – I know I don’t – but what’s important is that we continue to have a positive impact. That’s what makes everything worth it.

“During a period in 2021, we were facing some regulatory challenges. It was a really dark time for me as a leader. I personally didn’t know how we were going to get out of this situation. As a resilient leader, I had faith we would but I didn’t know how.

“I do a lot of one-on-ones with people in the organization at all different levels, and I was doing more at this time to make sure the team felt supported, that we were being transparent, and that they had an opportunity to ask questions.

“In that time, I learned that they totally have faith in us as a management team. They know what we’re doing is the right thing and that we’re going to get through this. That was so inspiring to me to hear that and to see that in them. They were at risk of not even getting paid next month, but they were sure we’d figure this out. They were all so blasé about it and were just focusing on their regular day-to-day work. They put so much faith in me, and in us as a management team, that it was a great reminder that they believe in what we’re doing. What we’ve built is so much bigger than me or them, and it needs to be.”

On how she defines her own integrity as a leader:

“I think we’re always driven by treating each other well. I listen to this podcast series, Wiser Than Me, by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She herself is 62, and she interviews all women older than her. Yesterday, I was listening to the episode with Diane Von Furstenberg, and she said the only thing we can control in life is our character.

“This really resonated with me. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the markets. We cannot control whether investors are going to invest or not. But what we can control is the way we treat each other — from giving the security guard at the entrance of a building a friendly hello to the empathy and kindness we give our patients, it’s all about treating each other well. That’s always my guiding force – to be able to feel proud of how I interact with other people.

“There have been some hard moments where someone on my team has let me down, and I’m upset and disappointed. And these are the moments when we show who we really are. No matter what, leading in a respectful and dignified way is always important.”

Interviewed by Aimee Hansen 

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Wanda Woo: Partner, Capital Markets, Shearman & Sterling LLC (Hong Kong)

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Wanda Woo(Spotlight on Asia) “If you have the right skills and are prepared, don’t be afraid when the opportunity comes to you. No one can tell you it’s not possible,” says Wanda Woo on being both a Shearman & Sterling partner and mother of three children.

Defining Her Own Growth Curve

Woo entered capital markets as a paralegal in 2004 after attaining a double degree in English literature and economics from the University of British Columbia. She planned to go the U.S. for her JD, but her trajectory was redirected after her father’s heart attack compelled a return to Hong Kong. Working as a paralegal with Linklaters in Hong Kong while studying undergraduate law via the University of London was not easy but her mentor at that time taught her to never underestimate herself.

“I made it, and it was painful, but I feel very proud of that process in the end,” says Woo. “I saw early on what I was capable of.”

Woo went onto join Shearman & Sterling for eight years as an associate, during which she had three children, and then after leaving for four years, she decided to rejoin the firm.

“It was destiny to have the opportunity to rejoin Shearman & Sterling as a capital markets partner. The timing couldn’t be better. The firm has really been the only place that has truly been very important for me throughout my career path. It’s like coming back home.”

Being a Mom of Three And a Partner

Woo confesses that she thought of resigning from Big Law after her first child, worried she would not be able to meet the travel and work demands, but instead the partner she worked for at the time encouraged her to instead take flexible arrangements.

“I’ve always found Shearman & Sterling to be very gender-equal, where male partners are working well with female partners, and very supportive. I couldn’t imagine another place that would have supported me so much when I was working in such an intensive field with three children.”

“It can be challenging, but I wouldn’t personally be a better mom if I was around 24/7,” says Woo of the multiple roles she balances.

She adds the importance of loving what you do, especially if you are carving your own possibilities: “If you have the passion for the work, there’s always a way. Pick the right field, pick the right industry, pick the right job that you have passion for.”

Doing The Work that Fulfills


“I always have felt like I belong to this industry,” says Woo. “You are always meeting new people or working on new deals or learning different business models. I really like transaction work because it’s a people business at the same time. That ability to contribute is what keeps me going – the work of helping corporate entities get listed and then being able to continue that relationship onwards.”

Woo feels most fulfilled by the companies she has helped bring to IPO status, to become publicly traded companies, and the amazing colleagues and clients she’s had a chance to work with over the past 17 years.

“For better or worse, I always say I am a bit obsessive-compulsive. I’m very motivated to finish the work, be on top of it, and respond quickly to inquiries or client requests,” says Woo. “Partially, I want to be able to return home to my kids. So, this obsessive quality has also helped me be efficient as a partner while also being a mother.”

Woo is especially good at handling conflict between stakeholders while also advising her clients through transactions legally – a skill of calmness that she picked up from watching partners that inspired her.

With three kids growing up to inherit this world, making a positive impact through ESG is important to her. “How to make an impact, give back to the environment and contribute to society is something I’m learning more about and sharing more about, beyond the notions of making money or having year-on-year growth.”

“In transactional capital markets law, the issuers may not know that ESG is something that will help them in the long run. But when we bring the ESG frame, along with the regulators, to these companies, they start to realize the impact they can make to society through these measures and policies,” notes Woo. “This is something to start earlier rather than later, so it becomes a part of your corporate culture, and is inviting to other stakeholders.”

Networking, Authentically

Since becoming a partner, Woo has moved from being more execution-focused to developing and stewarding client relationships. Having once pushed herself out of her comfort zone to seek partnership has helped her to push herself yet again.

“As a partner, people will ask you questions 24/7 and you have to be responsive. But the bigger growth area is to compel people to come back to you for more work and to assure them that you have them in your mind and heart as a client so you build that long-term relationship.”

“Now that I’ve been a partner for several years, I’ve realized networking is not really about wining and dining,” observes Woo. “It’s really about being authentic, reliable and trustworthy. I’ve always had these qualities I feel, but I had to learn to show people.”

Being Inspired and Inspiring Yourself

Woo has been most inspired by the lawyers before her that demonstrated integrity: “Being a good lawyer is never enough. They showed me what it means to be truly respectable and professional in all acts. They were doing the marketing work and actively engaging in the real work. It was never just about getting deals. The common quality in the figures I’ve aspired to is that they are still immersed and involved.”

Woo urges junior lawyers to not get too caught up on monetary rewards for early career efforts but to frame it as an investment in yourself as a lawyer.

“You’re not just getting paid for the job that you are doing. You are also getting paid for the experience that you’re earning,” says Woo. “The more you earn the better. You’ll be prepared for the next step. When I was a paralegal, I treated myself as an associate. When I was working as an associate, I treated myself as a senior. I went the extra mile, put in two hundred percent, so the partners could see what I could really do, and then they would give me more opportunities. Not everything you’re doing can be measured in monetary value.”

Recently back from a 2.5 month trip to China to check in with the clients and teams in Shanghai and Beijing offices, Woo values time with her parents, her partner and her children, who are now 9, 7 and 6 years old.

Woo prides herself on taking challenging situations and turning them towards her favor – and ranks being both a mother of three and Shearman capital markets partner high among those accomplishments.

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LaShonda Fuselier: Head of Multi-National Corporations Subsidiary Coverage, Corporate and Investment Banking, Wells Fargo

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LaShonda Fuselier“For me, it all comes down to a genuine intellectual curiosity about people and places and cultures and things,” says LaShonda Fuselier. “As a banker, you’re building bridges and relationships, trying to understand people and their business, and being inquisitive enough to ask the right questions. In an international context, we’re taking that to a totally different level.”

An Innate Passion for International Perspectives

That unique international aspect is what magnetized Fuselier to banking and what has kept her at Wells Fargo for over 18 years. Despite growing up in a small and rural town in Louisiana, her fascination with gaining international perspective started early. She took her first flight at 20 years old to Belgium. After graduating Dillard University with degrees in accounting and French, she interned in Paris and went on further to obtain her MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School – with an international exchange at HEC Paris.

“I love the need for a global perspective for us to be able to serve our clients. My clients are headquartered outside of the US in my current role, and I love working across borders and across cultures,” says Fuselier. “I love thinking about not just how these factors [cross-borders and cross-cultures] impact the business but also the individuals in the businesses.”

As a leader, Fuselier encourages new hires to not only execute on the “what” they are responsible for, but to also go beyond and consider the “why” (“why is it important?”) and “how” (“how can I add value/make it better?”). Embracing this herself, two years ago, while discussing the next potential stage of her career development, she pitched a new role to the Head of Corporate Banking – the one she presently finds herself in. This coming fall, she’ll host an inaugural Multi-National Corporations Conference as a means to be more consultative to Wells Fargo’s international client base.

Finance Is a Relationship Business

Growing up in a small town with hardworking parents, Fuselier was raised with a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility.

“Your word is your bond, my dad always said,” she shares. “I grew up in a family where if you say you’re going to do something, you’re going to do it. And if you want something, you’re going to have to put a little sweat into it.”

On top of trust-building, she’s recognized she possesses the important relational skill of making people feel comfortable: “You might think we’re talking finance. It’s numbers. But those are table stakes,” she says. “It’s a relationship business. People do business with people they’re comfortable with and they trust.”

Learning What Is In Your Control

Sometimes, it takes a difficult experience to learn how to be a leader.

While Fuselier has had many great managers, that has not always been the case. At times, she has even found herself offended by some past managers’ lack of leadership skills. Always committed to engaging professionally, she does surmise, she may not have engaged productively in one situation where she felt a past manager was not a great leader: “I have a tendency sometimes to stand on principle,” she says, “and so I focused on what I saw as the injustice about how this person was leading.”

But a colleague of hers with the same manager just focused on the work and ultimately had a better experience. As a result, she endeavored to engage more productively and constructively moving forward and it improved her experience.

“From that tough experience, I learned that you can’t control others. You can’t make someone a great manager,” she said, noting there will always be individual high-performers that are not as suited to be managers. “What you can control is everything that you do. You can control how you respond to the environment and use that response to make it better.”

Engaging and Empowering Others As a Leader

Today, Fuselier’s leadership is in part catalyzed by that experience. Fuselier has a clear view of what it takes to be a great leader and manager, which is a lot about encouraging and empowering her teams – in the same way some managers have done that for her. She advises mentees to “approach every assignment as an opportunity to develop and demonstrate your capabilities.” And as a leader, she prioritizes finding chances for others to do just that.

“It’s a practice I’ve developed to engage and empower others. One of the most rewarding aspects of being in leadership is when I have the opportunity to facilitate leadership opportunities for others and pull them out of their shell,” she says. “It feels really good when I get a chance to support somebody from behind and see them in the spotlight developing their skills, accomplishing things and being recognized.”

Fuselier likes to let her team take front and center where possible and be there in support. If someone mentions they don’t like public speaking, then they can expect to be invited to the next opportunity to push their comfort zone – and later on, they often express their gratitude for it.

“I subscribe to the theory that the best leaders – not only with words but through their actions – encourage and inspire others to achieve their best,” she says. “That is how some of the most influential leaders have impacted me in my career, and I aspire to have the same impact on others.”

Building Connection and Credibility

Many times, Fuselier has been the only woman in the room, person of color in the room, and certainly the only woman of color in the business room. Being culturally raised to believe that she had to be twice as good to earn half as much translated early on into over-preparation and focus. But it’s also gone further at times. Knowing that banking is a relationship business, LaShonda would try to find ways to connect with clients beyond the work. For example, with some clients she would research the highlights of the weekend’s local sport match – even if she had never been to that city.

“We talk within the community sometimes about assimilation and if it’s appropriate or inappropriate,” she says. “Even though I’m not a huge sports fan, this wasn’t an example of me losing my identify. Just like anyone who is new, you’re looking to connect and establish credibility, especially when you’re not like everyone else,” she says. “Once I could establish that connectivity and credibility, I felt like I could combine that with my unique perspectives to drive more meaningful dialogue and impact around the business.”

Once she gained credibility, it became easier to truly connect on a personal level.

“As I talked about things that mattered to them, they started to open up and we started to talk about things that reveal how much we have in common,” she says.

Fuselier has also learned to leverage being a unique voice in the room – whether on a transaction or an organizational decision. For example, she has been an advocate for diversity in recruiting. She also notes that being the only woman of color in the room at times means people will not forget LaShonda, and she’s willing to let that work for her, too.

Impacting Upon Diversity and Inclusion

Fuselier co-chairs the DEI counsel, is an advisor for the Black Connections Employee Resource Network (ERN) in EMEA, and is part of the steering committee of the WomenGoFar ERN.

This year, catalyzed with the idea from Judith Barry, Head of WomenGoFar, Fuselier created an initiative called Double Dimensions that tailors content and opportunities towards women of color within CIB.

“I’ve never been a ‘diversity person’ or someone who is solely responsible for diversity initiatives, but these are important, so I’m always eager to invest the time. However, what’s most important to me is that I’m not viewed as someone who is in my primary role solely because I am diverse,” says Fuselier. “I have always worked to demonstrate that I am a highly talented, hard-working, effective, successful banker who happens to be diverse.”

But with her and Wells Fargo’s passion for DEI, she has found the opportunity to develop and demonstrate her leadership, communication, collaboration and strategic planning skills beyond her client work while also building relationships with colleagues and leaders internally and on a global scale.

“It creates a real connection to the organization that keeps me going even on a day when you don’t get the transaction that you want or it’s not the best opportunity day,” she says. “It makes me feel like this is where I want to be.”

Fuselier’s gift of making people feel comfortable comes into its own in creating a permissive space for brave conversations.

“I think I give people the sentiment they can be themselves and say what they’re thinking. I’m not going to be offended,” she says. “I think people are often taken aback by just how open I am. So when I say ‘candor,’ which is an important value at Wells Fargo, I mean it – I’m going to be really open and so can you. That facilitates the type of environment where we can be collaborative and successful together.”

“Leadership is About Behaviors”

Some years ago, a mentor advised Fuselier to “own your position.”

“My younger mentality and work ethic was I’m going to execute to the best of my ability based on what they tell me to do and I’m not going to ask questions,” she reflects. “But that advice is about feeling empowered to do what you need to do to be successful and also to identify new opportunities and raise your hand to run with them.”

Tying back to creating the role she’s in now, Fuselier is a big advocate of catalyzing agency and ownership. It’s that notion that spurred her to create the Corporate Banking EmpowerHer women’s conference to foster professional development and greater engagement of women across the business. Now in its second year, the conference will be led by mid-level vice presidents and associates. More women will have the chance to step into leadership, develop their skills and be recognized for new contributions.

“You don’t have to be at a certain level or in a certain role to be a leader. Leadership is about behaviors,” she says. “It’s not about titles.”

Speaking of International Perspectives…

As at work, so it is at home: Fuselier’s entire family loves travel, culture and languages. In addition to her French, her whole family practices Spanish and her youngest daughter is studying Mandarin. They visit a few countries each year and like to seek out the cultural culinary delights – most recently they have been Egypt, UAE, Spain, France, Jamaica, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and Ecuador!

By Aimee Hansen

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Tiffany Fleming: Vice President, Client Onboarding & Trading Documentation, PGIM Fixed Income

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Tiffany Fleming“As leaders, we have to be willing to hear some difficult things and have better self-awareness, which isn’t always easy,” says Tiffany Fleming. “If we do, we can become better leaders by being open-minded to making changes based on what people are telling us. This has enabled me to take pride in the leader that I’ve become.”

Following in Her Mother’s Footsteps

Prudential runs in Fleming’s family. Growing up, Fleming’s mother worked for Prudential while raising three children as a single mom. Fleming dreamed to follow in her mother’s footsteps but wanted to pave her own way by earning a job based on her own merit.

At a career fair at 16-years old, Fleming omitted her mother’s name from her Prudential application and accepted a position in Human Resources as part of a co-op program where she worked after school. Looking back, Fleming smiles when remembering her mother’s excitement, which turned to frustration, when she found out she would not be receiving the employee referral benefits.

After graduating from college and holding various positions within Human Resources, Fleming accepted a full-time position with the Prudential Mutual Fund Investment Management department (now PGIM Fixed Income), after she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.

From Self-Criticism to Self-Encouragement

“Throughout my 33-year tenure at Prudential, I’ve held different roles that have helped me identify my strengths and areas of improvement,” she says. “We all have areas that we feel comfortable and confident in – where we’re on our A game – as well as those areas where we’re not.”

Stepping into those areas has been tricky. Especially once Fleming was asked to take on a new role, with a new manager, after working for the same one for most of her career. In this role, she was given the opportunity to take on a stretch assignment, working with the COO of Fixed Income, doing management fee work, which she thought was totally outside of her wheelhouse.

She went in feeling worried about failing. Months later, when asked if she thought she did a good job, Fleming responded that the assignment didn’t represent her best work. She was asked who told her this, and it was then she realized that the expectations that she placed on herself weren’t always what others expected.

“Even when he told me I did a really good job, I still didn’t feel like I did. However, I must have done a good job because I ended up getting promoted shortly thereafter,” she reflects. “I’ve learned that sometimes the expectations I have for myself are not the expectations others have for me, and I need to embrace that more.”

Fleming admits that sometimes she still puts too much pressure on herself and used to turn to her mom for reassurance and guidance before losing her to breast cancer when she was just 30-years old.

“My mother played a really big role in my life, giving me positive reassurance and building up my confidence. She always acknowledged when I did a good job and that she was proud of me,” she recalls.

Since her mother’s passing, Fleming has worked on reprograming herself to find that voice of self-confidence from within. “When I do find it, it tells me that I can do anything I put my mind to, which is exactly what I always tell my four daughters.”

From Productivity-Focused to People-Focused

As a leader, Fleming is empathetic and encourages the people around her – but it wasn’t always that way. In her early years of leadership, she was so tough that she found out her team nicknamed her, “the warden.”

“When I first started at PGIM, I was very demanding. I was all about getting the work done by all means necessary, and I didn’t think much about the people aspect,” she says. “I had blinders on. I was tunnel-focused on the results I could generate and how much I could do.” It was not until one of her direct reports gave her feedback that they did not feel seen or appreciated that she took the time to reflect, becoming more aware, which ultimately contributed to a change in her management style.

“This feedback made me realize that I was not the type of leader that I wanted to be. It made me realize that you’re only as good as the people that you work with and for,” she says. “I didn’t put the same focus on people as I placed on getting the work done. I wasn’t very aware of how I made other people – the ones I interacted with daily – feel. It takes teamwork, collaboration and partnership – without those things, you can’t get much done.”

The other catalyst in softening her leadership approach was becoming a mother. She notes that even her Myers Briggs personality test results, before and after motherhood, are like night and day.

“Becoming a mom was a life-changing event that required me to step back and really look at myself. It changed how I viewed work, the world and life in general,” she says. “Today, I ask how I can be a better manager, provide opportunities, coach and develop my team. People first. Work, second. When people feel supported by their managers, it tends to increase how fulfilled they are by the work they’re doing.”

Looking back, Fleming’s biggest regret is that she did not realize sooner how important it is to support people – but now it is her passion. When she moved into a new role in 2020, she didn’t realize how much her team enjoyed working with her. In fact, many members of her team mourned her departure – a testament to her growth as a leader.

Champion of Inclusivity

Fleming never appreciated how much being a Black woman in a senior leadership role inspires others. To her, it was where she was always headed.

“Although My mom would encourage me to do a good job and work hard, she didn’t stress that I had to work harder or differently than others to be recognized, rewarded and valued. She taught me to be a good, caring and kind person to get ahead, so, I didn’t have the awareness that I think others did.” Fleming added, “It was much later that I started to realize the subtleties of being a woman – and being a Black woman – and how, in some cases, I would feel excluded, not considered or given the same opportunities as my peers.”

With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) continuing to increase in importance and visibility, Fleming has made it her mission to lead with a “people-first” mindset that is inclusive of all backgrounds when growing talent. “There are so many areas of diversity that I’m continuing to learn about. My children are teaching me things about diversity that I had not been exposed to,” she says. “I’m so motivated by feeling like I am a part of something bigger than myself, and it’s important that others have the opportunity to share that same feeling – the feeling of being part of the team.”

Currently, Fleming is a member of the Culture Council, in which she was a founder and co-head, a sponsor of PGIM Fixed Income’s Black Professional Alliance affinity group and a member of the Black Executive Leadership team at PGIM Fixed Income. In addition, she is proud to serve as an ally to other affinity groups. “I’m an ally of every walk of life. I enjoy meeting new people, learning about different cultures and forming connections about how much we have in common.”

Stretching Her Comfort Zone – Again

In January 2020, Fleming decided to step out of her comfort zone again. She accepted a role in Client Onboarding after having spent more than 25 years in Operations.

“I kept saying, ‘Why would I do this to myself? I have another eight to ten years before I retire. Why would I take on a new role, possibly not do well and risk my reputation that has taken so long to build?’” she says. “My husband said to me, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’”

It was then she realized that this role, although challenging and outside of her wheelhouse, would enable her to learn and grow. “I can’t be someone who preaches to my kids about how you can do anything if you put your mind to it, work hard and take chances, and that the worst that can happen is it doesn’t work out. How could I not take my own advice?” she says.

So, Fleming took the plunge, taking on a new role right before the pandemic hit. More than three years later, she is still judging herself for being out of her comfort zone: feeling like she always has more to learn and is not performing at her true best. Yet, she is getting the same feedback that she is doing great. She has a supportive manager and is encouraged that her team members admire how easy she makes it look to excel in her role while juggling her husband, three younger children (who are highly involved in high school athletics), grandchildren and her 80-pound super doodle, Oreo, who is the love of her life.

“I’ve realized that others look to me as an inspiration, and I have that influence,” she says. “If they see that they too can be successful as a mom, a wife and a grandmother, it makes me feel good. I am learning not to downplay my capabilities or others.”

Not Counting Herself – Or Others – Out

One of Fleming’s daughters taught her a lesson in not underestimating yourself or others. Recently, at a track meet, Fleming assumed her daughter wouldn’t make it to the finals, although she did not share this with her. After all, she was up against a lot of girls who were much older than her and had faster times –they were stiff competition. However, her daughter defied Fleming’s expectations, and not only made it to the finals, but took home bronze and won a school grant. This taught Fleming that all things are possible with hard work and when you believe in yourself.

“I tell my children not to count themselves out, so how could I?” she reflects. “I need to remember how strong that voice that I dig deep inside of me is – that voice that empowers me to accomplish my goals is the same one I am teaching my daughters to use to accomplish theirs.”

By Aimee Hansen

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Nadiya Kreynin: Chief Executive Officer, Forte DGTL and Chief Operations Office, Forte Group

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Nadiya Kreynin“Some people believe that passion will help you find what you want to do. I don’t really believe in that,” says Nadiya Kreynin. “I believe that you have to know what you want. Knowing what you want and doing something actionable towards it will bring the passion.”

Leading on New Business Development

Moving to the U.S. when she was 20, Kreynin neither anticipated to end up staying in the country nor to end up running multiple businesses in technology. Having completed her undergraduate study in Ukraine, she came to the U.S and by chance started working in the IT industry. By immersing herself in the IT industry and interacting with professionals, she became fascinated with technology and soon found herself at Northwestern University studying for a master’s degree.

For years, Kreynin has run operations for Forte Group, having previously headed up recruitment and talent. Forte Group is a privately owned and globally operated custom software development company with 900 people. Kreynin and her husband are founders and majority shareholders. In the fourth quarter of 2022, they hired an executive team to run and scale it up further. This transition has allowed Kreynin to nurture and grow another new venture that initially rapidly blossomed during the pandemic.

Forte DGTL, formally launched in 2022, is a female-owned and 120-person strong Salesforce Commerce implementations company for global clients and partners. As the CEO, Kreynin is leading the charge, accelerating its growth to new heights. In fact, Forte DGTL was the first to help clients take B2B commerce to live status on the new Salesforce Lightning Platform. Forte DGTL holds the most B2B Salesforce Commerce implementations- ahead of giants such as Accenture.

This year, Kreynin will also be launching a Salesforce based Applicant Tracking product company, providing a shared platform for managers and recruiters.

To say that Kreynin is a force of nature is an understatement.

Finding People Who Make A Difference

Kreynin is always meeting fascinating people. In her twenties, she thought that she could conquer the world. In her thirties, she really began asking, what really makes a difference in creating impact? And when she looked around, she found that in the technology industry, as with most, it was about the people.

“I realized that my goal is to make sure that I’m in touch with the people who make a real difference in this industry,” she says. “Through my life, I’ve encountered people who wanted to achieve something and they stayed steady in that. They were able to change industries and change professions and succeed.”

Kreynin looks for people who are grounded in a strong values system and looking out for others. It’s a touchstone of integrity that one can return to, no matter what is going on. When faced with challenges, such as the war in Ukraine, having core individual and collective resilience and perseverance matters and makes a difference.

“It’s about how many times you stand up and make things happen for the better. It’s not about how many times you’re being pushed or how many times something challenging is happening,” she says. “This world for the past three years has my husband and I asking, ‘what next?’ We went through Covid in the services industry and we actually grew in the process. We are going through the war in Ukraine, and we are helping hundreds of people to find a new profession and support multiple charities.

Kreynin emphasizes, “No matter what comes, resilience, perseverance, and grit are the most important. No matter what is thrown at me, I will deal with this challenge and see what’s next. A lot of people find excuses not to be present and do what’s needed. These three qualities are what made me successful and are ones that I also look for.”

Growing up in Ukraine helped cement these qualities in Kreynin early on in her life. For example, at seventeen years old, she was faced with difficult tasks and had to raise NGO funds. She turned these into learning opportunities and along the way, they reinforced her grit.

“Going through those mission impossible challenges early on helps quite a bit,” says Kreynin. “I often encourage people and tell them ‘don’t find the reason to say no. Find the reason why it’s a yes; why it’s possible.’ At the end of the day, if you want this goal, how do you make it happen throughout all of the challenges you will have? Because challenges are inevitable.”

Know What You Want and Let Passion Follow

Kreynin hated learning English as a child in the Ukraine, but she came to realize that learning it was not about liking to learn English. She needed to learn English to be successful, so knowing what she wanted brought the passion to devote herself. She even wrote prize-winning work for the National Science Academy.

“Some people believe that you have to be passionate about what you do. I don’t believe in that,” says Kreynin. “I believe that you have to know what you want. Knowing what you want and doing something actionable towards it will bring the passion.”

Recently, Kreynin wanted to hire a marketing team but realized she did not have the context against which to gauge candidates’ responses. She took a data analytics and marketing course at the University of Chicago so she could be more enabled to find the right candidate and skills that match her company’s needs. She recommends that expanding the knowledge base and diversifying the ability to work across broad teams are two important traits of leaders. While she may not have planned going to school to help her build her marketing team, she did it because she needs to grow her knowledge base and gain other perspectives.

“It’s a must to keep growing if you’re a leader, or otherwise you will always have blind spots,” she says.

Kreynin also encourages women not to be afraid to start things. We can spend too much time overthinking and over-consulting others. Create the plan and find a way to move a step forward towards what you want and then let that momentum bring the passion with it.

“I don’t have all good days. Sometimes, I have bad ideas where I think that I want to quit all of this,” she admits. “But it’s the desire to achieve something bigger, and knowing it is something that I want and where I can make a big impact on people. Going through the bad days with that thought in mind helps me moving forward.”

Standing Her Ground In Every Room

“I can be one woman in a room of investment bankers. It may even be a half hour before I notice there’s not many other women,” she says. “It’s never been an issue for me to hold myself within the room. I suspect dealing with software engineers for most of my career supports that.”

Kreynin advises that having the perspective that you are going to meet many amazing people in the world is important. Some will be fascinated with you and what you can do. Some will be less interested and underestimate you. What matters most is being okay with yourself as you go through each of those kinds of experiences and learning from them.

“Going through that experience of being the only woman in the room — just walking in and doing it multiple times; having the experience is going to help,” encourages Kreynin. “The fact that you don’t do that or don’t have the opportunity to do that – that you don’t walk in that room and own your place – is what will hinder you.”

In her early days, she recalls holding her tongue in meetings where she didn’t agree with senior leaders. She rationalized that they probably knew better, but several times it turned out that that was not the case. Her perspective would have served the discussion and decision-making well. She recommends not censoring yourself when you have a dissenting opinion. Don’t be afraid to speak up.

“When you question yourself too much, you hold yourself back,” she says. “If you have a thought on how to approach something, you should speak up, because you may end up as the senior person or the person with the most helpful perspective in the room, no matter your age.”

Kreynin notes that being a woman in tech brings its own challenges and benefits: “People tend to make assumptions, and I think those assumptions usually work to my advantage,” she smiles. “Because when they begin to work for me, they are quickly surprised and realize they have to be much better.”

She has found that regardless of her position, some people do tend to underestimate how much she knows, only to be called to attention when the opposite proves true – but that also encourages people to play at the top of their game and to check their own biases.

The Value of Honesty and Directness

Kreynin would consider herself a good judge of character with a sharp ability to read the dynamics of a room. Being in the industry has given her unique insights into the challenges and pitfalls, as well as the qualities that are required to thrive in different roles in technology. In a meeting room, you can expect directness. She manages her teams by providing clear and transparent expectations and support. She feels that it’s critical to surround yourself with people who are open, humble, and can truly support one another through transparent discussions. So when it comes to manager relationships, the ability to be frank, honest, and transparent is important to her.

“If you are not able to talk openly to someone who is your subordinate, and they are not able to tell you what they truly think, because there is fear or intimidation in the manager-employee relationship, then there are a lot of things that you cannot solve at the table,” she says. “That block will create a lot of challenges.”

Selling and Recruiting and Selling Yourself

“I think everyone always sells and everyone always recruits – ensuring our clients are successful each and every day. Those are two jobs in services industries, no matter what your title is,” quips Kreynin. “Our new CEO is selling and recruiting. Our new CFO is selling and recruiting. Everyone in the service industry should be doing that job aside from everything else. Because every time you talk to someone in the industry or not, you’re talking about your company and what you’re doing in the service of the client success.”

When interviewing people for senior positions in her company, she has developed a keen ability to observe how people sell themselves and listen between the lines.

“I like to hear stories from people. So when I hear a story once, I look for consistency. Can they tell the story consistently? I am also listening for holes and areas where I need to dig deeper. I also listen for if they talk badly about employers, as I strongly suspect that if they talk badly about someone else, they will talk the same way about this organization if we were to part ways,” says Kreynin. “I listen for if they talk about themselves from the standpoint of ‘I built it’ or are they talking about being the one to drive a team of people who, together, built it. We know it takes a village to create something better and bigger.”

Making Real Impact in Ukraine

Kreynin is proud to have built different businesses and to be working as a support system for others. She also is highly motivated towards supporting causes in Ukraine, where she has family in Kyiv and the Western Ukraine regions.

One such cause is Friends of Ukraine, a charity that funds the training of Ukrainian men and women to undertake vital de-mining work within Ukraine while also giving them paid work so they can live through the uphill battle that the nation currently faces. Another cause has been helping people in and displaced from Ukraine to reskill in Information Technology so they can earn remote income and continue building their lives. Through the Forte Group educational platform, Kreynin decided they could teach ‘quality assurance’ as a viable skillset. Within two days, they received 2,000 applicants to the program. The company even hired some of the trainees.

“If you’re helping people to change professions or gain new marketable skills, you can make a long-term impact.”

Kreynin and her husband also support LeoDoc Foundation for Doctors Online in Ukraine. Before the war started, they invested in an online telehealth platform (Doctors Online) for people in Eastern Europe. Since the war began, they have supported a fund that helps this platform providing free medical consultations to the Ukrainian people who otherwise have no access to medical help. Talking about impact, Kreynin and her family are certainly making a difference.

Kreynin cherishes spending time with her two children, aged six and ten. Additionally, she finds solace and peace in nurturing living things and has established a serene morning ritual of tending to her garden while savoring a cup of coffee.

By Aimee Hansen

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Alexandra Tyler: Managing Director, Digital Transformation Leader, Accenture Song

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Alexandra TylerRemoving my protective wall around my identity has enabled me to create deeper connections in my work and in building more meaningful relationships with my family and with my colleagues and clients,” says Alexandra Tyler. “The protective wall goes down, and it impacts everything, including being a better leader.”

Curiosity and Customer-Focused Growth

Curiosity has driven Tyler’s career. She’s come across specific job positions by asking questions. “I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been able to pave my way in making my own adventure, essentially through conversations with people about open positions they had that weren’t quite right,” she reflects, “and in which we often crafted a new position that matched the needs of the business with my expertise and interests.”

Having studied psychology, she began her career in advertising, where she learned to appreciate the power of understanding what customers want and need.

“If you understand what customers want and need at every stage of their journey and are able to fulfill those needs and desired successes, you can enable growth,” she says. “What do those customers want to achieve and how do you develop the roadmap and path to get there? That is the opportunity. That’s why I’m excited about Gen AI and other innovative capabilities to unlock and enable more insights to meet customer needs.”

Being Focused on People’s Motivations

Growing up as a daughter of first-generation immigrants and raised by a father with a disability, Tyler understood the importance of two important lessons that he imparted: in order to succeed, one must persevere and exhibit true grit. In addition, one must celebrate differences in others.

“I feel strongly about focusing on doing right by others. Ambition goes awry if you don’t have respect for individuals, and if you don’t think about what motivates them,” she notes. “I want to understand what’s important to the people with whom I work. I focus on treating individuals how I would want to be treated – including respecting their differences, talents and expertise.”

In addition to treating her colleagues and team members with mutual respect, Tyler learned the importance of inspiring them to pair their great ideas with great follow-through: “I often see people who are incredible ‘ideators’ – who come up with innovative and breakthrough ideas – but they struggle with execution,” she observes. “The devil is in the details when it comes to lighting up an idea. It takes focus, management and collaboration.”

Freeing Herself To Show Up Fully

“It took me a long time to feel comfortable as an authentic leader. Growing up in the world I grew up in, as an LGBTQ+ individual, was challenging,” she notes. Recently at a bank branch, she saw a sticker related to the LGBTQ+ community about celebrating differences. It struck her to imagine the impact that seeing that message would have made early on in her career.

“When I first started my career, I was lying by omission, often doing what LGBTQ+ people do…not using pronouns for your partner. It’s only in the last ten years that I have been comfortable enough to be honest about who I am and to bring my full self to the equation.”

What you feel you cannot say begins to grow heavy and become a burden. Tyler imagines carrying a sixty-pound barbell all those years. “When I put that burden down visually in my head, it was exceptionally freeing,” she says. “When I freed myself of that burden, opportunities in my career opened up.”

For example, at a work town hall, Tyler recently shared her personal journey and the value of bringing her full self to work. She was commended by the head of her division for showing up as her true self and was applauded for doing so, exhibiting the traits of leadership that Accenture values.

“I cannot tell you how much positive feedback I received just for being true to who I am and being vocal about it,” says Tyler. “Leaders at Accenture have been phenomenal in recognizing the power in whatever differences you bring to work and the ability to bring your full self.” And sharing her experiences of exclusion has built bridges of empathy with others who have faced challenges. LGBTQIA+ peers have approached her inspired by her authenticity and, in turn, let down their own protective walls.

Advocating and Inspiring Others

“Freeing myself up to be myself empowered me to be an advocate for others. It is important for me to pay it forward by being an advocate in my community.”

Tyler is on the Board of Be The Rainbow, an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit organization in her Long Island hometown. On their third Pride March, Tyler is excited to be opening minds and hearts to create a greater platform of equity in which all can have a voice.

In her training and at work, Tyler’s approach is comprised of experimentation and optimization. She often tests the waters, dips her toe in, tries out different messages and approaches. What she found when she ‘came out’ is that the response was much more positive than she had anticipated. She encourages others to consider who they can safely share with – a person, a group – in order to build that positivity. Tyler acknowledges that the experience of speaking one’s truth, no matter the reaction, is alone invigorating and empowering.

The Intersection of Identity and Innovation

Tyler admires that her daughter’s generation wields identity and labels quite differently. “Labels are fluid and I know that my daughter and her friends are comfortable at the same time with no labels or multiple ones: Imagine what you could do if you were not carrying the burden of the sixty-pound barbell, or invisible burden, every day?”

At Accenture, Tyler is fascinated by the intersection of innovation and identity – particularly how removing obstacles around identity frees you up to create and innovate. She considers cryptanalyst Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the film The Imitation Game) who developed the ability to decode messages and the predecessor to the computer, and who was also tortured for being homosexual.

“I think about what more amazing things he could have done. He was such an innovator, even with the constraints of conversion therapy and being tortured,” she notes. “What aperture could have opened if individuals like Turing could have been safe to express their identity freely? I’m interested in that tension for any minority who is held back because of societal constraints or one they put on themselves. I’m fascinated by the intersection of how innovative you are as a thinker and the ability to free yourself up to feel comfortable to think differently.”

Why Failure Is Growth

Early on in her career, Tyler worked on developing and launching a new product that consolidated all utility bills into one billing statement. For various reasons, after two years of pretests and pilots, the project failed to launch. But her functional leader was an innovator who believed in failing often and failing fast. Instead of berating the team, he applauded the risks and innovation and threw the team a “failure party” and handed out awards. The team received their best performance reviews that year.

“I learned the importance of reinforcing that failure can actually spur innovation,” says Tyler. “I was very lucky to find leaders that encouraged failing. I know that it may sound trite but, to me, the age-old notion that failure begets growth is very true.”

As a result, Tyler encourages her teams to take calculated risks and experiment: “It’s okay to fail because you learn and those learnings bring you closer to success. Because you WILL eventually succeed. Perfection at the sake of innovation is failure in itself. You must try and also not be afraid to be curious, and that effort and curiosity are successes in themselves. ”

Tyler has two daughters, 15 and 18, a freshman in high school and college, respectively. Her wife, Beth, is a special education teacher in Queens. Recently, her oldest daughter “failed” to get into her first college choice. After the initial disappointment, she applied to an array of different schools that she would otherwise not have considered. She now feels “at home” at UNC Chapel Hill where she is thriving – an example of how failure can lead to the growth you didn’t see coming.

To be surrounded by her family and watch them grow are her greatest successes, and Tyler now embraces sharing those successes with others.

By Aimee Hansen

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