By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

This week, in honor of Ada Lovelace Day, The Glass Hammer is highlighting women who have achieved high levels of success working in technology. Making role models visible is one important way we can encourage girls and young women to pursue a career in tech – and stay there!

Speaking with Augusta Sanfilippo, Managing Director of Cash Securities Operations IT at Citi, you get the feeling that she is one of those people who really loves her work. In fact, Sanfilippo says she has loved IT and investment banking since she was in college. Having grown up in Queens, she was studying business at St. John’s University. Then, she said, “I fell in love with the computer room in about 1983.”

Sanfilippo went on to major in computer science and minor in business. Since then, she’s spent her career in managing data, designing systems and processes, and implementing new ideas on Wall Street. “I just had this passion for computers,” she explained with a laugh.

Sanfilippo is also passionate about solving problems. Now leading Citi’s efforts to streamline its various cash securities operations systems after several years of mergers, she has also become enthusiastic about improving the IT space for women.

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Joan Steinberg, Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Philanthropy, was recently named a Managing Director at the firm. Steinberg says that it’s important to project professionalism and leadership when seeking advancement.

“You have to be at the next level,” advised the woman who led Morgan Stanley’s charitable efforts following 9/11. She explained that at a recent event for new Managing Directors within the firm, she saw many people she already assumed were MDs.

“Be the role you want to be, so that it’s easy for others to see you that way,” she said.

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Vanessa Lau, Group CFO for Global Rolled Products at Alcoa has never shied away from a challenge. Named on Crain’s New York’s 40 Under 40 list last year, Lau has had the drive to fuel an exciting and esteemed career from the very beginning.

Her advice? Don’t be shy about your goals.

She said, “I find that my male colleagues are more willing to show their ambitions and my female colleagues are less willing to show their ambitions. They feel like they are being pushy.”

“But management really values transparent discussion. Be ambitious.”

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I definitely think work/life balance exists,” said Denise Diallo, Partner in White & Case‘s Banking and Capital Markets Practice at its Paris office. “It can be difficult at times, and you have to be willing to adapt –“ At this point in our conversation, Diallo started laughing.

“I’m laughing because my daughter is actually here in my office today,” she said. “My nanny wasn’t able to pick her up from school, so I did. It just illustrates that not everything goes the way you plan. But it doesn’t mean you don’t have work/life balance.”

“You just have to be adaptable,” she explained.

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Kathy Nieland, PwC‘s U.S. Sustainability and Climate Change Leader and Managing Partner of the firm’s New Orleans Office, has had a lot of experience seizing opportunity. Throughout her career, when the unexpected has occurred, she hasn’t shied away.

From having leadership thrust upon her at a young age, to leading the rebuilding of PwC’s New Orleans practice after Hurricane Katrina, she’s been up to the challenge. “Often, the perception of what you are capable of is a bigger barrier than the challenge itself,” she said. “A lack of confidence can keep people from being successful.”

She continued, “Don’t limit yourself. Seek higher positions in the company. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be shooting for the stars.”

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