Voice of Experience: Linda Descano, COO of Citi’s Women & Co

For our Voices of Experience series, The Glass Hammer interviewed Linda Descano and asked her about her experience in financial services and her advice for young women in finance.

Linda Descano, CFA, is President and Chief Operating Officer of Women & Co., a division of Citi that provides women with educational resources for navigating life transitions and planning their financial future. Prior to joining Women & Co. in 2003, Linda was a Director and Portfolio Manager in Citi’s Private Portfolio Group, where she co-managed customized investment portfolios for individuals and institutions and oversaw the firm’s socially responsible investment program. Before that, she served as Senior Vice President and Director of Environmental Affairs for Salomon Inc., which she joined in 1994 Linda holds a B.A. from Temple University in geology.

Linda is also a sought-after public speaker. She has spoken on personal finance and investment topics at major conferences for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United Nations Development Program, Environmental Bankers Association, and Cambridge University, among others. For two years, Linda chaired the steering committee of the United Nations Financial Institutions Initiative on the Environment. She has received a Human Rights Leadership Award from Church Women United and an Environmental Leadership Award from the United Nations Environment Program, North America. She is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, Financial Communications Society, Corporate Advisory Council of the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, and the Financial Literacy Committee of Dress for Success in New York.

In honor of her grandmothers, Nina Gaspari Pennachietti and Anna Fortunato Descano, Linda recently endowed the National Organization of Italian American Women with the Nina Anna Scholarship, a needs-based scholarship for an Italian-American woman pursuing higher education.

How did you get started in financial services?

I worked for an environmental consultancy, and led a litigation and expert witnesses practice providing environmental due diligence on real estate transactions for banks, which gave me first-hand experience in understanding how environmental issues affect credit risk. Subsequently, a former colleague of mine – then at Salomon – hired my team as advisors, which led to a broader advisory role and the opportunity to join Salomon’s legal team and set up an internal environmental risk management practice.

Please tell us how a past success – or failure – has helped you learn and grow.

My first management job was with a company in Texas, and I had two people directly reporting to me and supervised multi-discipline teams. I grew up on the East Coast in a very extroverted Italian family and was used to saying what was on my mind and saying it directly, in what I thought was a constructive way. I had been well-liked in previous jobs, considered myself a real “people person” and felt confident about managing. This job went well – the president told me he was thrilled – but I noticed my colleagues never asked me to go for coffee or lunch with them. I figured it was simply because I was the boss. After three months, the operations director and HR director asked to see me, and told me several team members had complained about my management style: too blunt, too “bossy,” and too “much” because I was always first in and last to leave. The company had only 100 people and they couldn’t afford to have this dissatisfaction continue. We talked about my style and it became apparent that the conflict stemmed from different cultural frameworks. My style was influenced by where I grew up and my work in large companies, whereas they had a very different approach: it was a low-key, low-stress, easy-going, 9-to-5, and consensus-driven environment, with everyone talking things through and making group decisions. With this in mind, I worked on adjusting my delivery and used the operations director as a sounding board to help me get more in tune with the culture. Within six months, I was promoted to co-operations director and became a sought-after mentor to junior staff. Since then, I devote a lot of attention to understanding the culture and communications preferences of a group when preparing to deliver a message, whether it’s a senior management business review, a status update for colleagues, or clients at a seminar where I’m speaking.

You have worked for Citigroup in several varied roles, each distinct and different. For a woman seeking to enter a new area of business, what advice would you give?

First and foremost, ask yourself why you want to make a change – be sure it’s for the right reasons. Then,

• • Make a list of your likes and dislikes and your transferable skills.
  • Brainstorm with your “go-to network” about potential next steps. Arrange to meet a few individuals who have the type(s) of jobs to which you aspire and learn about “day in their life.” Try to go beyond the “glitter” and get into the grit of their work. Ask what specific qualifications, experience, certifications/licenses are required.
  • Compare what you’ve learned against your resume, and consider revising it to emphasize the skills and experiences most relevant to the type of position you seek.
  • If skills you need to learn are ones you could use in your current job, speak to your current manager about opportunities to develop those skills. (Do the same if you require a license or certification).
  • Find a mentor in your target business area and work on expanding your network within that area.
  • Don’t give up, and always believe in yourself. It may take time, so keep networking and building knowledge.

What one piece of advice has been most valuable to you in your career?

A former manager used to ask me at my annual review, “Are you happy?” At first, I thought it was an odd question. After all, was he paying me to be happy? However, as time went on, I understood what he meant. Life is too short to work at something simply for money, a title or prestige. Given the time we spend at work, we should all do something we’re truly passionate about, that fulfills us personally and emotionally and yields our best performance.

What tips do you have for young women who would like to work in financial services?

• • Be willing to own your career and make your own opportunities for development.
  • Sharpen your communications and interpersonal skills; your ability to communicate concepts (verbal and written) and listen (not just hear) are as important as your ability to crunch numbers.
  • Recognize that your ability to control your schedule is likely to be limited. If you want to work on the trading floor, as a portfolio/fund manager, equity research analyst, or financial advisor, your hours will be tied to those of the market. If you are part of a regional or global team, supporting clients in different time zones, the hours may be more flexible but that could mean anytime of day or night.
  • Get to know your customers/clients and never stop listening to them or asking for feedback.
  • Build strong relationships with people of influence within your immediate business unit and across your company – create your own cheerleading squad.
  • Make time to network across the industry through professional associations and volunteer opportunities.

What is the next step in your career?

That’s a tough one! I don’t think about my career in terms of the next title or a certain size business to run. I think of my career as a continuous learning experience, so it’s more about expanding my skills and gaining new experiences. I really enjoy working in the wealth management arena and hope to continue working in this space, but in a regional or global capacity. Because of economic development in emerging economies such as India and China, the mass affluent market is growing globally and I’d like to leverage my U.S. experience to bring clients in those markets integrated solutions for managing and protecting their wealth. Someday, though, I hope to return to my non-profit roots and work on preserving and advancing our understanding of cultural heritage sites, both in the U.S. and globally, which won’t surprise anyone who knows my passion for geology, archaeology, and anthropology.

What steps do you take to help balance your demanding job and your private life?

I focus more on navigation and ways of keeping my job and private life both moving forward as smoothly as possible. My husband shares my work ethic, so if I need to work over the weekend at home, he works too. We sit at the dining-room table and listen to our favorite music while we work, and it winds up not feeling like work. We also religiously schedule “do nothing” weekends every few months, where we make no social or work commitments. So far, these weekends have included back-to-back Broadway shows, museum lectures, weekend getaways, and relaxing at home and watching the entire first season of a TV show. We do, however, check our BlackBerrys once each morning, and then it’s open season on Sunday evenings!

What is your favorite business book? Why?

One I’m reading right now: The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa. It’s an enjoyable read and a good reminder that, just like life, business is fundamentally about relationships and that being able to communicate your ideas effectively is critical to success. I especially like the book’s examples of persuasion tactics and its sound, tactical steps for taking your message to the next level.

What is your personal motto?

A proverb from the Dakota people: “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” Professionally, this reminds me that every action has consequences, positive and negative, so I should tread thoughtfully and that I can and should always do better with my next step. Personally, it reminds me that the opportunities I’ve had – and will have in the future – are because of the previous generations of my family who sacrificed so much in coming to America, so that the future generations would have a better life.