Voice of Experience: Yvonne Schneider, Senior Vice President Global Commercial Services Technologies, American Express

yvonne

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Yvonne Schneider is a panelist at today’s Women in IT event, hosted by The Glass Hammer.

“I consider myself a global leader,” said Yvonne Schneider, SVP Global Commercial Services Technologies at American Express. “I align employees across five regions around the world and we’re a high performing team. My employees have a lot of responsibility and visibility.”

Schneider’s role at Amex is about managing – and creating – change. She works to create and deploy new solutions to the company’s global corporate client base, she explained. “The adoption of emerging technologies is something we’re paying a lot of attention to. But it’s a matter of putting the right technology at the right time in the right market – the same technology is not the right solution everywhere in the world.”

“What we do is work on automating the workforce,” she said, “and this is changing the face of the world and how it operates and its people.”

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Voice of Experience: Margo Cook, CFA, Executive Vice President, Nuveen Investments

NIHI100705By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

In talking to Margo Cook, CFA, Executive Vice President of Nuveen Investments, its clear that what she’s valued the most throughout her career is her ability to be a part of and to build effective teams.

While her career has taken her from The Bank of New York to Bear Stearns Asset Management, and now to Nuveen Investments, she continues to prize her role as a manager and team builder, investigating and working to improve the dynamic and effectiveness of the groups she’s led.

Cook said, “The most rewarding thing is to have a strong team that works together well. They know how to respond to challenges, and move ahead. It may be more time consuming – but a strong team can accomplish more than a group of people acting as individuals.”

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Voice of Experience: Avis Yates Rivers, CEO, Technology Concepts Group International

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Avis Yates RiversAvis Yates Rivers, CEO of Technology Concepts Group International, has spent her career in the technology sector – and after 25 years running successful companies, she says one of the most important things she’s learned is “put the right people in the right seats.”

Staying ahead of shifting technology, she said, means “hiring the right people with knowledge about the field. They stay on the cutting edge of new technology and know what it means for us and the customer. I wouldn’t be able to do that on my own,” she explained.

“I’m very heavily involved in civic engagement,” she said, pointing to work with the government and politics, as well as non-profit leadership, such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization and other organizations working to increase opportunities for small, minority and women-owned businesses. She sits on the board of the National Center for Women in Technology.

She continued, “If you’re entering the technology field, understand that your contribution is very much needed and commit to it.”

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Voice of Experience: Wendy Stops, Global Managing Director, Quality & Client Satisfaction – Technology, Accenture

Wendy Stops AccentureBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Wendy Stops is a panelist at our upcoming event “Women in IT: Staying Technical and Getting to the Top.” We still have a few tickets left – to register, click here: https://theglasshammer.com/events/

“I guess it’s the individual, smaller things that inspire me. When I see very confident, articulate people who are genuine, and know what they want to achieve and share their story with you,” began Wendy Stops, Global Managing Director of Quality and Client Satisfaction for Technology at Accenture.

Stops’ career has brought her around the world – from Australia, to several locations across Southeast Asia, back to Australia, and now to New York City. She said, “My area of current experience and focus – consulting and tech – is helping our business delivery quality solutions for the client. Delivering these quality solutions is very important, and we are always looking to make improvements and changes. My challenge is to innovate how we can continually deliver high quality solutions.” She explained, “I like change – I like dealing with things I know are going to make a difference.”

She continued, “I get inspired by people who are not afraid to make tough decisions – who aren’t hiding and [are willing to] admit when they make mistakes. That’s the sort of person I want to be.”

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Voice of Experience: Agnès Hussherr, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers

agnesBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

For the last five years, Agnès Hussherr, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has led the Women in PwC project in France. It’s part of a challenging and interesting role that has kept her at the company for over twenty years.

“I joined PwC twenty years ago just after graduation, aged 22, as an auditor, and was appointed partner at 33,” she says. “In the early days of my career, I worked on a variety of projects including non-audit work. Also, I had the opportunity to be on one job which widened my knowledge of the banking sector. This meant I didn’t become too specialised which might have limited my opportunities to become a partner.”

As a young partner, for six years Hussherr split her work 50/50 as a client partner and as a technical partner specialised in IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), which gave her a strong technical background and the opportunity to work within a worldwide global and virtual team. However, while the technical background has given her a good grounding, it is not the most critical part of her road to success. “Working long hours and being a technical expert are not the most important things,” she says. “The most important are relationships, both with clients and internally.”

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Voice of Experience: Sandra Urie, President and CEO of Cambridge Associates

SandyUrie_Cropped_CMYK_hi_res[1]By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

“Figure out what you really like to do. Don’t do things because other people expect you to do them. If finance is your passion, then absolutely jump in fully. (Go ahead and get that CFA and MBA because they give you true credibility from the start.) But it is most important to do what you love,” advised Sandra Urie, the President and CEO of Cambridge Associates.

For her part, Urie said, “I love mission-driven, non-profit institutions. These institutions don’t exist to make money; they exist to achieve a mission, but they need money to do it. I strive to help these organizations have greater financial stability so they can focus on advancing their missions. I think there is a great psychic reward to doing that.”

Growing Up Feminist

Urie was born and raised in Massachusetts, where, she says, she “grew up in the company of women as one of four sisters.” She explained, “My parents were the first feminists I knew. They really inspired us to understand that the only limitations we had were the ones we put on ourselves and that we shouldn’t allow the world to tell us what we could be or do. In the 1950s, not many parents were communicating that message. My three sisters and I grew up thinking the world was our oyster.”

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Voice of Experience: Elisse B. Walter, Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission

Image Courtesy sec.gov

Image Courtesy sec.gov

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“We are still at a juncture in time where it’s very important for senior women to be a resource both for other women and men,” said Elisse B. Walter, Commissioner for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In describing her life and career, it’s clear that Commissioner Walter cherishes her position as a role model and a leader. She enthusiastically articulates the importance of guiding other women coming up the ranks.

And with over thirty years in public service, she has experience to share. Her advice for women working to advance in their careers: “Charge ahead.”

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Voice of Experience: Simela Karasavidis, Partner, White and Case

Karasavidis_Simela_c_siloBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

“Since I was twelve I wanted to live and work abroad,” said Simela Karasavidis in a softly-spoken Australian accent.

Karasavidis, a Partner in the Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance Practice at global law firm White & Case LLP, holds two Bachelor degrees in law and economics, as well as a Masters of Laws. She studied and did her articles in Melbourne but always wanted to live and work overseas. “Melbourne was too small, but I didn’t realise how much I would miss the beach,” she said.

She knew that if she was serious about taking a job overseas she would need to aim for a Commonwealth country, and a position came up with Linklaters, so she moved to the UK with them. “I love London now; it’s been home for twelve years,” she said.

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Voice of Experience: Anne Weisberg, Director, Talent, Deloitte

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weisberg photo (2)By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I have to say I love my job,” said Anne Weisberg, a Director in Talent at Deloitte. “It’s a big part of why I feel good about my work/life fit. You have to love what you do, or the sacrifices don’t feel worth it.”

Weisberg, having worked as a lawyer and a consultant, as well as having authored two books and several studies, is an expert on the issue of work/life fit. A frequent and passionate speaker on work/life issues, the importance of gender diversity in the workplace, and other talent issues, Weisberg is working to shift the structural norms that make it difficult for women and men to achieve their full potential in the workplace.

Her career and expertise is built around her own personal experiences. She explains, “I graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 – when I was five months pregnant. I’ve been a working mom for my entire professional life.”

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Voice of Experience: ML Krakauer, SVP, Technology Solutions and Services, EMC

ML_KrakauerBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“One of the things I would encourage is to move broadly. Get as many cross functional experiences as possible – gain multiple lenses to approach issues,” said ML Krakauer, SVP, Technology Solutions and Services at EMC.

Throughout her career, Krakauer has filled a variety of roles: positions in the field and in corporate, as a general manager, and as a functional leader. She says, “From an experience point of view it’s one of the things I count myself very lucky around.”

“One of the things I love about all of the experiences I have had is the very broad view of issues and operations,” which, Krakauer says, has allowed her to become adept at finding multiple ways to solve problems.

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