Voice of Experience: Sharmila Karve, Global Diversity Leader, PwC India

sharmila karveBy Nicki Gilmour

Sharmila Karve is a self proclaimed “lifer” at PwC having begun her career in the Mumbai office as an intern in 1985. Sharmila says she has always been people and client focused and she got her first foray into leadership when she was one of the first females admitted as a Partner in 1997. Sharmila cites her client focus as the reason she could stay the course and keep advancing in her career and the firm through good and bad times in the Indian market. In 2009, she became the Territory Assurance Leader, India. After a successful stint as the Assurance leader she was appointed as the Head of Risk in 2012.

What experience teaches

The expertise she has acquired over years of working with a diverse set of clients has helped her deal with complex situations. As part of this journey she has successfully interacted with stakeholders both internal and external including regulators. Her biggest piece of advice for readers managing their career is “Be truthful and direct when dealing with difficult situations”.

The excitement of a new challenge

Early this year, Sharmila Karve took on the Global Diversity Leader role and is now a part of the PwC Global Leadership Team. She is using this opportunity to share her experience and the experiences of various others to empower people across the PwC network of firms. She says: “This role is challenging and we need to have a broader outlook to welcome each day with an open mind. There is no book that you can refer to on the rules, it is about listening.”

She is no stranger to understanding how to change the DNA of a culture having accomplished this in other aspects and she knows that her next challenge is ultimately to help people succeed. She comments of her upcoming diversity and inclusion challenge: “I would like to see how fast we can move the needle. How can we create the right support to further help both men and women be great leaders. Specifically how we can have more men engaged to drive the change. I think this mission is about getting people to share their thoughts with an open mind.”

When asked about how to empower women at work, she firmly believes that it is very important that women ask for what they want. She talks about having the confidence ‘To say NO at work or at home and not feel guilty about it’. Also to truly address the matter, it is important for the men to not assume what a woman might want based on their own ideas and experiences. She gives a very good example that often male managers might presume that a female on their team might not want to travel due to having young kids. She is adamant on her message that men and anyone else who is picking a team should be asking what individuals want to do and to ask a diverse cross section of people to join their team for optimal success.

As Global Diversity Leader she recognizes that gender is just one part of diversity and she states that one of her goals is to ensure that other diversity issues are equally explored and that data sets can be built on her watch. One of the many priorities Sharmila will be driving to accelerate change, involves disrupting the diversity trends of PwC’s experienced hires. In this regard she is very excited to executive sponsor PwC’s gender inclusive research project, the findings of which were released in their Winning the fight for female talent report on International Women’s Day.

On Work and Life

When asked about the idiosyncrasies of local country culture as part of the diversity challenge, Sharmila immediately gets that working mothers have the most shared yet separate challenges depending on the country that they reside in. She acknowledges that the US for example has daycare support when the Asian market leans more on family structures. She comments: “I myself took time out from 1991- 1994 to have and raise my daughter. I truly think people should do what is right for them and what makes them happy. Get a support structure and ask for support when needed. You don’t need to be a superwoman. In India our support structure includes family so I often joke be friends with your mum and mum-in-law as you never know when you will need their help and support.”

Sharmila relays that speaking up is often the answer as most managers will understand the human factor. She comments, “Fair leaders will understand that especially in global roles that rotating the early morning phone calls for example through time zones should be an option. And of course, technology makes work flexibility easier than ever before. We need sustainable careers for everyone”.

When relocating to other countries, Sharmila also recommends knowing the local norms but retaining your ethnic identity so that the benefits of diverse thinking is not lost.

In her spare time

Sharmila travels extensively and enjoys interesting terrain, joking she wants to see the world while her knees still let her. She spends time with her husband who is a Naval officer, her daughter Sanjana who is training to be a veterinary surgeon and Cara and Scamp, her spoilt and pampered pets.

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Voice of Experience: Maude Lebois, Partner, International Arbitration Group, Paris, Shearman & Sterling

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By Cathie Ericson

Shearman & Sterling Partner Maude Lebois finds that younger associates have a tendency to postpone developing their private lives in favor of their professional lives — but she believes it’s absolutely possible to live both lives simultaneously at full speed. shearman

“If you focus on quality rather than quantity, you do not have to compromise,” she says. “By nature attorneys are typically perfectionists, but we need to be as ambitious in our private lives as our professional lives from the start.”

She believes part of this is timing: She has seen women having their first child right before or right after becoming partner, which can be the hardest years for both endeavors.

“It’s a misconception that leaders don’t want you to have a fulfilling private life; in fact, certainly in our group, it’s a key focus,” she says, noting that the two managing partners have aggressively promoted several women partners on the team, making it clear from the beginning that they supported a balanced life. In fact, she cites being named counsel while coming back from maternity leave as one of her proudest moments. “It sent a strong signal to younger associates.”

Finding the Female Advantage

Lebois completed her legal education in Belgium and Harvard Law School, and began her professional career with three years at Linklaters in Brussels, a Magic Circle firm. She joined Shearman in 2005 as part of the international arbitration team and was promoted to counsel in 2013 and then partner in 2016.

She is proud to be part of this ambitious and successful team, which routinely is involved in high-profile, complex cases. Currently working on a large construction case in Africa, Lebois notes that she sits in on daily meetings with engineers where it is not unusual to be the only woman in the group due to the powerful trifecta of Africa, the oil and gas industry and the field of engineering.

She has turned that into an advantage; when there are women in the room, she finds that men tend to be more cautious than they otherwise would. “They may be quite direct, but become more polite when there is a woman in their world.”

She enjoys these large-scale projects where counsel needs to not only understand how the law will be applied to the situation but also gain a full understanding of any technical issues, which requires practitioners to be curious about all types of technical skills.

 

“As you look at a large construction project, you have to fully understand the initial scope of work in order to determine how it evolved and whether additional work was required, so it can be a puzzle.”

 

This reality can be a surprise to younger associates who, in addition to the practice of law, find themselves engaged substantially on conducting delay analysis, technical research and other exciting  assignments.

A Strong Team Makes the Difference 

Echoing her advice to pursue a robust private and professional life, Lebois notes that it is imperative to have a strong team supporting you, both in the firm and your private life.

 

“You won’t succeed if you come home after a long day and have to apologize to your husband and kids,” she says. “You are setting a good example by working hard, and everyone should appreciate your efforts on both fronts.”

Lebois appreciated that this year Shearman invited spouses to the partner meeting which allowed them to better understand the work setting as they met colleagues and experienced the environment. In her case, she says it made her husband even more supportive and proud of her success.

That support extends to the bonds she has built at the firm, with a strong women partner team that meets regularly. She is also part of Shearman’s WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention) group and has found that having mentors who supported and protected her and women in general is integral to success.

In her off-hours she enjoys backpacking with her family, including her five-year-old daughter.

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Voice of Experience: Stephanie Ivy Sanford, Managing Director, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs

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stephanie ivy sanfordBy Cathie Ericson

“One of the most important things I realized when I began my career is how crucial it is to strike the right balance of being a team player and being accommodating, but also knowing how and when to push back,” says Goldman Sachs’ Stephanie Ivy Sanford.

“The firm values diversity of opinion, and you have to take calculated risks, whether it’s standing up for yourself or respectfully presenting a different strategy as you strive to make the work product better.”

Cultivating a 20-Year Career at Goldman Sachs

According to Stephanie, she “fell into finance” when her curiosity was piqued by classes she took while pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at Harvard University. She soon discovered that municipal banking might be an interesting path and began her career at what was then Fitch Investors Service through the support of a friend and mentor.

While a wonderful training ground, Stephanie was searching for a new opportunity to propel her career forward and reached out to a fellow Wesleyan alum working at Goldman Sachs. She joined the firm in 1997 and is looking forward to celebrating her 20th anniversary this year.

After two years in Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division, she became curious about other opportunities, and recognized that asset management was both a growing area and a good match for her skill sets and relationship-oriented personality. She joined Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) in 2000 and eventually assumed a role in a new group created for the middle market, covering west coast institutional clients. In 2006, she transferred from New York to Los Angeles, and currently manages a team of five covering GSAM’s west coast public fund client business, along with some strategic legacy corporate and endowment clients. She was promoted to Managing Director in 2012.

Lest anyone assume that the path is easy, Stephanie is quick to point out that everyone, even the most successful, have bumps along the way. “Starting out with no experience in finance, I couldn’t imagine being promoted to VP let alone MD. But by taking the risk to move out west and live in my client territory, and with the guidance of my mentors in new roles, I have been able to survive and thrive at Goldman Sachs for almost 20 years,” she said.

Currently, Stephanie is focused on signing a “goal” client — one they’ve been in discussions with for some time, and she is excited about the progress they are making. “It’s a very challenging situation we are determined to complete successfully, as it would be incredibly meaningful for GSAM to work with this client.”

Keeping Up in a Changing Industry

Stephanie finds that the industry today is very fee-focused, which ultimately affects her business. “It’s interesting to see where we compete with other managers who are looking at passively managed strategies versus our active management,” she says. “It’s important for us to have a voice and a view in the increasing conversations around alternative investments and equities, since they are affecting how we do business, and the increasing client demand for customization.”

Stephanie adds that she has the privilege of working on several industry boards, which allow her to gain additional insight into stakeholders’ views of trends shaping the sector. In turn, this helps her understand how Goldman Sachs can adapt to address industry changes, ensuring that the firm can best serve clients.

The Role of Advocacy in Women’s Careers

Stephanie has noticed that in general, women are less inclined to raise their hand and ask for an assignment if they don’t feel they are perfectly equipped for every aspect of it. In contrast, men often jump at taking on new responsibilities, even if they are not fully prepared for such a role. Stephanie stresses that women need to speak out in the same manner if they want to be considered for new positions.

She has also learned how important advocacy is in advancing your career; she acknowledges it can be more difficult in a male-dominated industry for women to establish the same type of relationships that men can develop with ease over dinner or on the golf course.

Stephanie recognizes therefore that it’s crucial to keep an open mind about who your mentors or sponsors might be and realize they don’t have to “look like you.” She references one mentor who became a close friend despite political and ethnic differences; their relationship provided insight into how she was perceived at the firm, which ultimately helped her career.

Finally, Stephanie shares one important lesson learned along the way – ask for help when you need it. She believes this is integral to the firm’s culture, and is behavior that is encouraged and rewarded. She recalls one instance where she was given so much responsibility and senior client interaction as an Associate, that she felt overwhelmed, When she finally asked for assistance, her manager said, “We were waiting for you to speak up – we only give you what we think you can handle,” a lesson that has stuck with her.

Seeking and Giving Feedback Are Both Crucial

An integral aspect of your career is requesting feedback and integrating that feedback into your daily processes, advises Stephanie. “This is a quality you find in the people who thrive and are given new opportunities,” she notes, adding that in the workplace, men and women approach feedback differently.

“Men are more prone to give feedback to other men, partially because they may be more worried that you might be offended to receive feedback as a woman or person of color,” said Stephanie. “You have to let them know you value their input. Say, ‘You can hit me on the chin; I want it. I can take it because it makes me better.’” She notes you should then circle back and identify the changes you instituted to reflect their input.

Additionally, Stephanie calls on seasoned professionals to provide feedback to junior people, whether related to their work product or conduct in the workplace. “It’s also not just feedback they directly receive, but junior employees should also realize how nonverbal cues can contribute to the opinions that people form of them.”

She notes that she learned many of these unspoken lessons through the Goldman Sachs Firmwide Women’s and Black Network, which also provided additional opportunities to work with senior women across the firm. Stephanie cites developing a close, personal mentorship relationship with a female partner who later became her boss and helped her strive for bigger roles. “She really helped me understand how the firm works and how each role leads to a new opportunity when you think about your career.”

Stephanie is eager to pay it forward; she was gratified when she was recently asked, as one of the most senior woman in her region, to host Q&A sessions in the firm’s Los Angeles office for junior people.

Family and Philanthropy Fill Her “Off” Hours

Active in a number of philanthropic organizations, Stephanie serves on the board of Kids in Sports, which provides sport activities for underprivileged children; she’s also mentored students from Crenshaw High School; and is a former trustee of her alma mater, Wesleyan University. In addition, Stephanie is a founding member of the National Association of Securities Professionals’ southern California chapter, which serves women and minorities in the industry by providing networking opportunities and ensuring that minority firms receive visibility across the sector. She has also been involved with her church, serving on the hospitality committee and participating in a girls mentoring program.

Finally, she is passionate about spending time, skiing and exploring new places with her husband and 18-month-old daughter.

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Voice of Experience: Yolanda Cash Jackson | Equity shareholder in the Government Law & Lobbying Practice Group & Member of the Management Committee of Becker & Poliakoff

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yolanda cash jacksonBy Cathie Ericson

“It’s important never to put limitations on yourself based on how others see you,” says Becker & Poliakoff’s Yolanda Cash Jackson. “While it can be challenging to be the first and break new ground, since there’s not a pattern, you have to learn to take directions from your gut and people you trust.”

These words have served Jackson well during her years in law, which she considers her second career, after seven years in retail. During law school she worked as a summer law clerk for the oldest law firm in Miami, where she was subsequently offered a position as an associate and stayed there until former colleagues opened another firm and hired her.

Within a year, the founding partners got a divorce, her husband passed away and she found herself at a personal cross roads. She went to a midsize firm where she was doing litigation, until she got an interesting offer from a friend with whom she had grown up in the community where her father was a pastor. He was running for Florida State Senate, and she helped oversee community outreach on his behalf. He then asked her to head up his state Senate campaign as his campaign manager and that was it — she was hooked on government law.

She developed a proposal to start a government services firm within her firm, but they rejected the proposal since the majority of their work was based on hourly payments, rather than retainers, and they didn’t see it as a financially sustainable model.

Soon after, a friend referred her to Becker & Poliakoff, where she started in January 1999 with the agreement she would do both litigation and government work. The campaign niche grew so rapidly that soon she was able to focus exclusively on government outreach.

“Unfortunately I’m still a rarity as an African-American lobbyist in a for-profit corporation,” she says, adding that she sometimes gets pigeon-holed based on race although she has been able to successfully work across both sides of the aisle. “I certainly often catch people by surprise,” she says.

Some of her most impactful clients have been historically black universities, where she can see she has made a true difference. In addition, although she has worked with numerous municipalities, she is most proud of Miami Gardens, a city with the largest concentration of middle-class minority citizens south of Atlanta. She began working for them 12 years ago when they had one employee; they since have grown to more than 500 employees with a multi-million dollar budget. One of her biggest achievements has been helping establish them as the third largest municipality in Dade County. Since that time, Miami Gardens has hosted Super Bowl 2013 and a nationally recognized jazz festival.

Making Strides within the Lobbying Industry

While Jackson says she can feel a change in the acceptance of women in visible roles on the lobbying floor, she says that there are still certain industries like insurance and banking that remain male dominated. However, she says a sea change is already underway and with more women coming into the legislature, she has seen the rally of support as women legislators ensure women have access.

As she works with younger women, she sees a continuing challenge in impressing upon them the importance of maintaining a certain decorum – from how they dress to how they interact with clients and legislators.

“Men might not be as concerned about going to dinner or drinks with a legislator after hours, but a woman needs to think about it,” she says, noting that women have to be more careful that their achievements are never called into question based on relationships. “Appearances and reputation are paramount, and often younger women don’t instinctively realize that,” Jackson says.

Regarding women she considers her peers, Jackson believes that they need to remember to support one another. She cites the movie Hidden Figures, where the women were focused on helping each other achieve the next milestone — discussing challenges and celebrating each other. Naturally this type of interaction is less common in a competitive environment like lobbying where you always have to win, but there’s a balance between being competitive and cutthroat, she notes.

Jackson sees a place for women’s groups, but mentions that sometimes there can be duplication between other networking groups. Careful never to want to be seen as “the diversity partner,” she balances the needs of gender-specific networking with overall industry involvement.

Seeking Balance

Another area she has seen great strides being made as millennials impact the workplace is in work/life balance. Jackson remembers bringing her daughter to work years ago and letting her fall asleep on the couch if a project needed completion. Now, women are more apt to go home and be with their families, which is important, and yet, the pendulum could be swinging back slightly. She says she sees a reoccurrence of comments such as “Oh they’re never in the office” regarding professionals who work from home. “You know who’s doing meaningful work, and yet face time still matters,” she says.

That said, one of her goals for 2017 is balance. In her line of work particularly, it’s hard to separate work from pleasure since she thrives in her role as rainmaker and opportunities are always around her. For example, she met one of her current clients at the hair salon.

One important outlet in addition to her family is work she does with philanthropic organizations, including Children of Inmates and the Florida Children’s Initiative, both of which have expanded throughout the state since she’s been involved. She also has put her heart into her position on the board of the Urban League as well as her church.

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Voice of Experience: Angela Harrell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Voya Financial; President of Voya Foundation

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LC_Harrell-Angela_full By Cathie Ericson

“Women sometimes feel like they must have all of the answers in a male-dominated industry,” says Voya’s Angela Harrell. Harrell believes that women tend to put pressure on themselves, and hang back, rather than apply for an assignment or position because they might not feel like they check every single box. Men alternatively may only have half the necessary skills, but apply because they plan to manage the uncertainties as they arise. “As women, we need to believe that we are capable and can achieve whatever we set our minds to do. Perfection can be the enemy of good,” she says.

This translates to the board room or in meetings. “Women sometimes risk coming off apologetic or even discount their own expertise with phrases like, ‘You may have already thought of this, but …’ or ‘This might not be a good idea, but ….’ If you have an idea, sell it,” says Angela. “If you are going to speak up, do so with conviction.”

A Varied Career, Focusing on What Really Matters

After earning degrees in foreign affairs, Harrell expected to move into international work. Instead, after grad school, she joined a consulting firm and subsequently an executive recruiting firm, which relocated her to Atlanta. As a Coca-Cola Scholar, she had ties to The Coca-Cola Company and soon joined them as a project manager in the chairman’s office, coincidentally replacing another Coca-Cola Scholar.

There she worked for the chairman and CEO, eventually moving into public affairs and communications, where she performed a wide variety of functions, including executive speech writing, media relations, internal communications, overseeing the annual report, the sustainability report and global photography. During her tenure she travelled extensively, including spending two years as an expat in South Africa.

Two years ago, she joined Voya Financial, where she heads up the corporate responsibility function and serves as president of Voya Foundation. “It is truly a culture that embraces corporate responsibility and all its facets, from ethics and integrity to sustainability and serving clients in a way that reflects our mission and values.”

A Service Ethic

This ethos is evident throughout the company. While Voya employees donate to charities at what Harrell calls “an extraordinary level,” employees are equally as generous with their time. Harrell oversees Voya’s National Day of Service (NDOS), where 60 percent of the company’s 7,000 employees (and 100 percent of its senior leaders) logged 13,500 volunteer hours this year.

For the event, employee-led committees across the country selected community projects for volunteerism efforts. Employees embraced the opportunity to interact with a diverse network of project participants, all in the name of serving the community. Harrell sees this effort as one that encourages ongoing volunteer behavior, since many people desire to help but are daunted at the prospect of diving in on their own. “Volunteering with colleagues to make a difference in a community infuses a different kind of dynamic into relationships and really reinforces the power of working together. In 2016, family members were invited to participate in the event.”

Harrell has acquired a more holistic understanding of how corporate responsibility manifests in financial services, affecting everything from environmental, social and governance (ESG) influences on investment decisions to the importance of transparency and disclosures. “It’s exciting to see businesses and individuals increasingly take ESG into financial investment considerations and think about the long-term impact on people and the planet,” she says.

Imparting Lessons to the Next Generation

When looking over her career, Harrell notes that her achievements of real significance have involved empowering others. “I am proud of how my team members have stretched themselves, either to transform an existing program or to develop a new, groundbreaking one,” she says. “When I stand back to consider my achievements, they center around enabling others to flourish by providing guidance and coaching as a partner, rather than being prescriptive,” says Harrell. “If you give guidance and help clear the runway, people can really soar.”

She adds that the best feedback she can get is positive input about a member of her team. “That is how you multiply and scale your effect,” she says.

Part of this focus stems from her early years when she was self-reliant to a fault, determined to accomplish everything by herself. But that attitude can preclude opportunities to understand other people’s perspectives and how they might approach things, which can influence you to think creatively. She soon realized that asking for help or input would allow her to grow, rather than reflect weakness.

“The kind of leader I want to be is the one who says, ‘How can I help you?’ but lets people succeed on their own,” she says.

She also encourages young women to think about their own personal brand and how they want to be perceived by others. “It’s not about being someone you are not. It’s about making sure you are yourself in all facets of your life,” she says. “If there is too much dissonance between who you are at work and who you are in your personal life, it can be exhausting. You can be your own true self and be successful.”

She mentions one woman who said she was always feeling pressure to “not be too nice” and be less emotional, which was contrary to her personality. Harrell urged her to choose the path where she could be herself, while ensuring that she wasn’t so nice that people would walk all over her.
She reminds senior women to pause and make sure they are continuing to build relationships with those around them, with a special recognition of more junior women.

“Part of our responsibility is to reach our hands down and bring others up with us,” she says, adding that it can be informal and doesn’t need to be overly time consuming, like connecting during lunch or for coffee. “We have to transfer some of the strength we have to those who are less experienced.” As such, Harrell often mentors other women and is active with many of Voya’s employee-led committees.

Noting that many women lead the community-oriented groups at each of Voya’s sites, she says those roles allow women to hone leadership skills they might not otherwise obtain. She recommends women take advantage of leadership opportunities within employee resource groups or through the mentoring programs their companies may offer. They help women flex their leadership muscles and meet colleagues they wouldn’t normally interact with often.

A Global Citizen

An avid traveler who has lived in eight countries and traveled to more than 50, Harrell is serious about her globe-trotting. She is an adventurer who immerses herself in different cultures. “I love learning about culture through the way people greet each other, their dress, food and all other nuances you experience when you get off the beaten path. It really fuels me,” she says.

Equally intrinsic are the many experiences she can obtain right in New York. “The entire world is here, no matter what I want to see or eat or the language I want to hear,” she says. “It’s amazing to literally be surrounded by the world.”

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Voice of Experience: Mar Gallardo, Partner, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, PwC Spain

mar gallardoBy Cathie Ericson

Everything takes its own time, says PwC’s Mar Gallardo. “Our career is not a crazy competition for short-term successes, and everyone should drive their career with a medium- or long-term perspective. As you make decisions, you may even learn that some of them were wrong, but learning from mistakes allows you to become stronger and more resilient,” she says.

A Life-Long Career At PwC

Gallardo has honed her long-term career at PwC, joining in 1987 as an auditor. Initially she focused on Telefonica, the major telecom company in Spain, and clients in the automotive sector. Since 1996, her activity has been focused on CIP clients (industrial, automotive, retail and consumer and pharma), including auditing and advising clients on the IPO process, U.S. GAAP and IFRS conversions and in accounting and compliance approaches. She was promoted to partner in 2003, the first ever female partner in PwC Spain.

In 2006 Gallardo assumed responsibility for the assurance practice for industrial products and automotive, as part of the assurance executive committee. She has since added responsibility for business development and is currently the CIP leader and the Diversity & Inclusion leader since 2012. In addition, Gallardo is a patron of the PwC Foundation in Spain and a member of the advisory board of Expansion, a financial newspaper in Spain.

Gallardo says she can’t point to one specific achievement she is most proud of, because after 28 years at PwC, she sees that her success has been a combination of many factors. “When I look back to the start of my career, I see all the experiences acquired, all the projects I have participated in, all the people I have met, and all that I have achieved, and I feel very proud of the sum. I feel very privileged to be able to continue enjoying and learning at work every day.”

The Importance of Retention

Right now, Gallardo is immersed in the many changes and transformation that the CIP industries are facing, as she works with her team to build solutions — adding value to clients while differentiating themselves from competitors in the services they provide. And that demands that they continue to attract, retain and develop the most diverse talent to allow for different points of view.

“As diversity leader in PwC Spain, I know it’s imperative to have diversity as a strategic priority embedded in our organization,” she says, noting it is even more important, due to new EU legislation, which among other requirements, has defined a Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation (MFR) that is impacting the audit market in many ways.

“We are dealing with a significant transformation of our firm and it is more crucial than ever to attract and retain the best talent. With women representing half of the new joiners each year, we cannot afford to lose female talent later in the pipeline.”

However, it is a fact in Spain that industrywide, more women than men leave before they reach leadership levels.

“Lost female talent at upper levels is a complex problem with many contributing factors both structural and corporate,” Gallardo says.

Since women still shoulder the bulk of home and child-related responsibilities, they often choose not to pay the price of long hours at the office. In addition she notes that as result, women have less time to dedicate to developing professional relationships and therefore can have less visibility inside the organization. Finally, some women demonstrate less self-confidence and therefore find it difficult to ask for promotions; although she sees this changing as millennials enter the workforce with increased confidence.

Finally, she sees that the culture of companies can present a barrier, due to unconscious bias, which affects leadership styles and how decisions are made and relationships formed.

“This is not a social question, but one of financial impact,” Gallardo stresses. “We have to be focused on retaining that talent as a business issue.”

That’s why she urges women entering the industry to drive their own career and exude confidence, unafraid to be ambitious and participate in open discussions regarding professional development and their objectives.

And she urges her peers to make the effort to support other women to grow and overcome the barriers they encounter in professional development, by dedicating time to be role models.

“I am convinced that if we dedicate time to know, understand and support female professionals along their careers, as their formal and informal mentors, and let them work in a flexible manner focused on objectives, we will be able to retain and advance women at all levels.”

Gallardo says she is focused on establishing objectives and implementing measures in light of the information obtained from the firm’s diversity balance scorecard. Built in 2010, it is a detailed analytical process which contains data on all key process of human capital affecting the professional development of women in PwC.

“What can´t be measured does not exist and it is crucial to have quality information to analyze and subsequently establish measures of accountability,” she says. Their work on the scorecard was reinforced with the adoption of the Global Inclusion Index, the PwC network D&I accountability framework.

In addition, Gallardo emphasizes that care is a key value, as they seek to understand each individual and what matters to them. “We have to make the effort to recognize the value each person contributes, while supporting others to grow and work in the way that brings out their best.”

A Full Life, Inside and Outside of Work

While Gallardo acknowledges that it would appear difficult to balance a demanding work schedule with family life and hobbies, she says that careful planning can allow you to accomplish all your goals.

Gallado couldn’t be prouder of her children, ages 17 and 20, and makes time for annual skiing and beach trips with her family. “Vacation is important to allow you not only to explore new places but share quality time with your loved ones,” she notes.

Since she was young, she has enjoyed snow and water skiing, tennis and paddle ball. In addition, she loves listening to music and is just one year away from a degree in music theory.

“While I have many hobbies, I have to say that I also really have fun working. It cannot be any other way.”

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Voice of Experience: Paget MacColl, Partner, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs

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By Cathie EricsonVoice of Experience

“Develop great friendships at work, across the industry and at every level,” recommends Paget MacColl, Partner at Goldman Sachs. “If you’re working with people you have a strong relationship with every day, work is more rewarding and certainly more enjoyable,” she says.
Through both formal and informal networking, MacColl says she has developed deep, lasting relationships, which she notes are critical to advancing one’s career. She stresses that networking outside the firm can be more challenging but is equally important.

Achieving Success and Sparking Other Young Women’s Ambition

MacColl began her career in Goldman Sachs’ Securities Division Debt Capital Markets Group, which offered broad exposure to various types of investments and clients. In her third year at the firm in 2001, she moved into the Investment Management Division and joined the Alternative Capital Markets Group. Growing on that team, she came to co-lead the group and oversaw fundraising for private equity funds and other alternative investments, a space that experienced tremendous growth from 2001 until 2007. “It was an exciting time to be in this group because of the huge growth in the alternative investment industry. I got to see the height of the market, and then after the financial crisis, I saw the depths that the industry reached. Both provided great learning opportunities.”
In 2012, MacColl took a brief hiatus from the firm to work for a client, a former Goldman Sachs colleague, where she quickly realized that life outside of Goldman Sachs is very different. “The grass is not always greener,” she said. “I call it my five-month dose of perspective.” Due to strong relationships with mentors and sponsors, she returned to Goldman Sachs. Upon her return, MacColl was asked to build out an institutional capital markets team within the Investment Management Division. In this role, she works with investment teams and institutional sales, leading fundraising campaigns for various investing strategies.
In addition, she now oversees the middle-market sales team in GSAM as well as the firm’s relationships with global investment consultants, which she says is an exciting challenge given their high level of sophistication and intricate relationships. “It’s an interesting dynamic; we need to work with consultants collaboratively, yet sometimes we compete with one another.”
MacColl says being named partner is the professional achievement she is most proud of since beginning her career as an analyst. An active mentor and sponsor to other women, she has also been involved in recruiting. “I love seeing the spark in young women’s eyes as they think, ‘I can do that too.’”

Be Master of Your Career

MacColl says it’s important for younger professionals not to assume that managers and decision makers are aware of their career aspirations. “Communication is imperative. You need to communicate what you want and obtain the feedback you need to move forward,” she reminds women. “Finding great mentors, sponsors and friends you trust at work is critical to this, but it’s also important that you’re prepared for and make yourself open to receiving the toughest feedback.”

She also advises women not to be afraid to ask questions. “I learned so much about my career and potential career trajectory, as well as about the firm and how my colleagues viewed me while I was leaving the firm. When I returned, I realized there were so many questions I hadn’t asked the first time around. This is your career and your future and the onus is on you to ask those questions.”

Creating a Village Inside and Outside of Work

MacColl currently heads the Firmwide Women’s Network, which is comprised of 6,000 people in the Americas, 25 percent of whom are men. She is also a member of the Governance Board of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance, a group of senior women leaders at financial firms that come together to foster commercial outcomes, but also provide mentorship and best practices to one another. “It is a network of women I truly value,” she notes.

She also believes that women can be their own toughest critics and they have to remember that it’s impossible to do everything perfectly as they take on more responsibility and become more senior, often while simultaneously raising a family.

“I frequently see women put pressure on themselves to achieve ‘perfection’ in every aspect of their lives, which can be isolating and destructive. When you share your challenges with others, you realize everyone is facing similar issues and it makes you more accessible and helps you reframe your own reality. You can’t possibly do it all, and you have to remind yourself it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Her strong family life is bolstered by longevity: she met her husband, who works at Credit Suisse, in college. In addition to two daughters, aged ten and five years old, they have an eight-year-old son.

In an engaging example of the adage, “It takes a village,” they live near their tight-knit families, including her two sisters who live on her same street. “My husband’s siblings and my sisters have kids that are all of similar ages. As you can imagine, we spend a ton of time together,” she says. “We’ve created our own village and are fortunate that ours is family, but I’ve come to realize that anyone who wants a long and successful career needs to find a community of people who can support them.”

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Voice of Experience: Nicola Morris, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, WEX

nicola morrisBy Cathie Ericson

People truly do want to help, says Nicola Morris, reflecting on a lesson she’s learned over the years. “When I received offers for guidance or building out networks and relationships, I wish I had understood the value and not been as shy and reluctant to take people up on their outreach,” she says, when looking back on her career. “It’s a hard thing for many people to do, especially when you’ve not yet proven yourself, but once you progress in your career, and see how much you want to help others, you look back and realize the offers you received were equally genuine. Where I spent time working into the wee hours, I know that some of that effort should have been redirected to having lunch with colleagues or mentors along the way.”

Change Dynamic As a Career Constant

“Winding.” That’s the word Morris uses to describe a varied career covering sectors such as government, startups and financial services, and functionalities that have entailed IT strategies, product marketing and M&A.

When she looks at the diverse journey, however, she sees one unifying theme: helping companies maintain the leading edge for how they grow and expand, whether it’s through new products, acquisitions or an expanded marketplace. “I’ve had a patchwork of experiences that have come together to create an exciting, interesting career,” she says.
At WEX, she focuses on shaping the direction of the company through the decisions she makes now that will influence tomorrow. “We have to understand how to meet the customer’s needs today and then realize what our reality will be tomorrow to map out the journey that will get us there.” Doing so involves deciding on the steps and executing, whether success will be achieved through new product sets, business ventures, investments or expansion into new global environments.

Technology will be the driving force in her company as the business model coalesces around blockchain, AI, mobile and IoT – developments that will have a meaningful impact on most businesses but particularly ours, she says, as they focus on how they can imbed payments seamlessly through various technologies. She says it will be particularly interesting to see how the sharing economy’s inevitability will drive evolution in many industries, and the changes that will be wrought by this pivot from a consumption economy.
Another heavy influence comes from a macro-demographic perspective and the effects it will have on customers’ needs, as well as what it means for her company’s internal employee base and generational shift to consider how millennials work differently than Gen Xers.

The Value of Relationships To Bolster Your Career

Morris thinks of her professional life in terms of the people she leads, and how they contribute to the future of the company, which is why she names her teams and the professional accomplishments of the people she’s worked with and for as the achievement she’s most proud of.

Being better and working harder is a key component to the success puzzle, she stresses, but you have to balance that with relaxing and going with the flow. “You have to be the one they want in the boat because you’re good, sure, but because you have those other pieces to your personality as well,” she points out.

She finds that as a general rule women still tend to underplay their achievements and be more self-deprecating, where they should focus on accentuating these success.
“We need to recognize our own unconscious bias, and the lens through which we are viewing the world and work environment. Then we can determine how we can address it to be better leaders, employees and colleagues.”

Morris found that early in her career, it was challenging to be one of few women in a male-dominated environment, because of how they form relationships by socializing. “The connections you make during casual conversations and events do shape the way people work — who they will think of for a new assignment, for example,” she says. And while she points out that it’s rarely intentional, recognizing the dynamic of unconscious bias at work and figuring out how to put yourself in situations where you can reap positive benefits will help you move ahead.

Balance in the Workplace and Beyond

One of WEX’ core values is ensuring there are policies that are balanced for all employees. For example, the company just launched a new parental leave policy, very intentionally focused on both parents, not just maternity leave.

“I look at my own situation with three children and two careers, and I know it would have been great for each of us to have had the flexibility. It wouldn’t have made sense for only me to take leave, because of where our careers were at the time we had children. It’s about giving family the flexibility rather than just the mom,” she says.

With three kids, ages 15, 17 and 13, Morris laughingly notes that her family and their hobbies are her hobbies too, whether it’s sports or music. She notes that proximity to big cities has helped nurture both those interests for the whole family.

Morris says WEX encourages the team to give back through philanthropy so she enjoys her work on the boards off two local nonprofits, Center for Grieving Children, which provides peer support for families who have gone through loss, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. “These two organizations represent a nice balance, and I really appreciate that my involvement is so positively supported by my company.”

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Voice of Experience: Lia Turri, Partner, PwC Italy

lia turriBy Cathie Ericson

With a 20-year track record of success at PwC, including 10 years as partner, Lia Turri has always specialized in the financial services sector, developing a strong client services background. She has focused on engagements with leaders of Italian companies and helped oversee IPOs and a variety of special projects. This longevity has helped her guide clients as the industry ushers in changes brought by the effect of new technologies. “It will be a completely different environment in five to 10 years and my goal is to help my clients adapt,” she says.

Heading Up Diversity Efforts Region Wide

In addition to her client services roles, Turri was asked in 2016 to coordinate diversity strategy across PwC offices in the Middle East, Europe and Africa after a successful stint as the diversity leader for Italy.

She has embarked on a listening tour, as she works with the diversity leaders across the region to hear their key priorities and understand the successful actions they are already implementing, thus enabling teams to share best practices with one another.

The first step in any change management process, she says, is to determine current priorities and then adopt a scale of measurement so you can track progress and make sure the actions you’re putting in place achieve the desired results.

Diversity can be measured in many ways, such as gender, culture and age, but the team has found that gender is something that can be most effectively monitored. Currently, 18% of partners across the footprint are female, so that is an easy metric to focus on for improving. “We are losing competencies if we don’t keep women at higher levels,” Turri points out, so it’s vital to share successful best practices.

Turri has found that initiatives across Italy have already brought positive results, as the team has received feedback from clients that the increased diversity has been noticed. She appreciates the opportunity she has been given to head this initiative and is eager to get everyone on board.

“It’s gratifying to be able to work across the boundaries and be in touch with people from other offices and areas. It has truly helped me recognize how many amazing people are working within PwC,” she says.

Growing the Pipeline

Turri has been active in a mentoring program called Sharing the Future, which is designed to help increase the pipeline for the partners of tomorrow by pairing senior managers with mentor partners. The pilot was such a success that they decided to continue the program with a new group of mentees, and all the partners who participated the first time elected to continue with the program — a success from both sides.

One of the messages that Turri shares with younger associates she works with is that you have to make sure that you are in the driver’s seat of your career, rather than letting others decide for you. For example, she says it is a common occurrence that a young woman will have a baby and others will start counting her out. “They might decide that her family has taken precedence, so they don’t invite her to participate in interesting projects because they think she won’t have the capacity, yet they haven’t even asked her what she wants.” Turri cautions against letting other project on you and your career.

“Blind spots are the the measure of the other person, not you,” she says, and yet they can affect the opportunities you are offered. In that way they can influence whether you can achieve a goal and will allow others to impact your career trajectory if you let them.

She also finds that in a male-dominated industry, many women assume they need to act like a man to progress in their career, but eventually they realize they are submerging the qualities that set them apart.

Finally, women need to support each other, she says. “Women have a great power, and if they are working together, they can great results.”

Along the way she has learned the importance of getting that support, even at home, through her two kids, ages 20 and 16. “They keep me energized in whatever I’m doing at work or at home,” she says. “They are very supportive of me in my passions and interest. Because I put a lot of time into my work, they encourage me to remember to always seek balance.”

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Voice of Experience: Carey Kolaja, Global Chief Product Officer, Citi FinTech

carey-kolajaBy Cathie Ericson

“Earlier in my career, I thought I always had to be right, but I learned that’s just not the case,” says Carey Kolaja of Citi FinTech. “Life is more enjoyable when you remove that pressure you’re putting on yourself and turn to others for input. The collective wisdom can yield a greater return,” she says.

Kolaja has had 21 years in financial services, but a series of diverse experiences – which has run the gamut from start-ups to big banks to consulting firms — has taught her to trust the input of others as she learned new strategies with different companies.

She worked in the information technology department of eBay and most recently came from PayPal, where she experienced incredible growth, seeing the company mature from 1,000 employees when she started to 14,000 when she left. It was an environment where every couple of years the company would reinvent itself, and she oversaw a host of different challenges over 13 years as she rose through the ranks to become Vice President of Global Consumer Products, helping establish the brand to hundreds of millions of customers globally.

Building Programs That Endure

“I am fortunate to have risen to a role that allows me to be at the epicenter of the collision between finance and technology, during a time of great growth and change,” she says. “I am proud of the global products I’ve placed in the market over the years and the impact they’ve had in transforming consumer buying behaviors,” Kolaja adds.

Not only has she made her mark on products, but programs as well. At eBay she was asked to establish a women in tech program that started with 50 and ended with 1,800 by the time she passed the baton. “It continues to live on, and it’s exciting when you can build things that endure. I have always defined successful leadership as making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence,” she says, noting that the programs that have been most meaningful are those that were organic, rather than mandated from the top down.

Managing Industry Disruption

The team Kolaja now works with, Citi FinTech, has been set up within the past 12 months — a unit charged with “designing and delivering the bank of tomorrow,” as the industry moves forward to stay relevant in this fast-moving space. “There’s been some disbelief that what we were trying to do would happen,” she says, given that there are such stringent policy restraints, and the huge leap involved in its aim to meet customers in their day-to-day lives and access their money whenever they need to in today’s digital and mobile world. “The odds are against us but if you look at what we’ve accomplished so far and what we have in the works for the months ahead, it shows that you can’t discount the banks,” she says.

The disruption has happened throughout the industry, as people’s identities have moved from the physical to the digital realm, and every company from established firms to startups are trying to figure out how to enable people to safely and confidently make financial transactions. As the physical bank’s role continues to change, the industry will continue to reimagine the personalities that financial instructions have, by learning from fintech and other industries.

“The expectations have changed and it’s all about enabling transactions for our customers when and where they want, and often while they’re doing something else,” she says.

“While a customer is eating dinner she remembers she needs to check her savings account for an upcoming family vacation. How do we help in that moment? We will continue to transcend traditional touchpoints as we engage customers on their terms and meet their goals and aspirations.”

Part of the change in the industry is being wrought by a general change in the trust dynamic in society at large, she believes. Whereas people used to trust institutions, now they trust brands. We used to trust hotels, and now we stay at people’s homes in the Air BnB society.

But embracing this transformation is part of who Kolaja is and how she has always led. “I have always coached my team by leading with the fact that you have to be able to imagine that the possibilities of change are endless, and that those who change the world are those who believe they can.”

She has learned the value of empowering others, and her global role has allowed her to see what she can learn in different cultures that was relevant across the board. That notion helped her to understand the value of diverse thoughts, experiences and points of view. “Most boundaries – whether they are cultural or organizational — are usually artificial, and exist in your own mind,” she says, noting that you can’t let others impose their boundaries on you.

Although she hasn’t felt subject to gender differences in the workplace, she understands that others look up to her for the strides she has made in fintech. When someone pointed out that she had found a way to break the glass ceiling and therefore had the responsibility to be a role model and speak out, she accepted that charge. Now, she is proud to say that 50 percent of leaders in Citi FinTech are women.

Speaking Out to Achieve Success

One piece of advice she offers women is to give themselves permission to speak, rather than always waiting for an invitation or a safe environment. It was during a week-long leadership program that her coach noted that people would listen when Kolaja spoke, despite her always waiting to be asked to speak. The coach advised her to make a habit of speaking up in the first three minutes of any interaction, which Kolaja says helped her believe that what she had to say added value. “That’s such an important coaching element for women in general,” she says. “I am the only one who can give myself permission to speak. That leadership program happened more than 10 years ago but I’m reminded of that lesson every day. If we limit ourselves, then ultimately we’re the ones who lose out.”

Kolaja says she tried and failed to separate her work and personal lives, so she incorporates them as much as she can. “Sometimes I need to be a mother in the middle of the afternoon and sometimes I need to be an employee at 10 p.m. Technology is helping me with both, and now the physical-digital balance is what I contend with.”

As a family of self-described “risk takers,” she and her husband and two boys, ages 14 and 10, love to travel as a family and golf and scuba dive. Recently they spent five days in Costa Rica with no devices. “Scuba diving allows us to spend time together, and it also allows us to be truly present. Now that we’re connected even while we’re in the air, the sea is the one remaining place we can have solitude.”

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