Christina Mohr describes herself as “solidly an M&A person,” a statement reflected by her 34-year career on the Street. One of the first analysts on Wall Street in 1978, she became the first female partner in Mergers and Acquisitions at Lazard Freres, prior to joining Salomon Brothers (which became part of Citi), where she has built her career ever since.
Though she has run different coverage groups – including retail, consumer and media – M&A is what she most enjoys and where she excels.
“The M&A business is focused squarely on our clients,” says Mohr. “I am proud of the fact that after 34 years, I still have clients who seek out my counsel. I consider it an honor and a privilege, and it’s what keeps the business interesting and fresh to me.”
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Voice of Experience: Kelly Driscoll, Senior Vice President, State Street Corporation
Voices of ExperienceKelly Driscoll knew she was in the right place to take on more responsibilities at State Street Global Advisors. She just didn’t know that her next step would involve moving to Asia; Hong Kong to be precise, to head up the broad Asset Management business for all of Asia ex Japan.
“I literally went there, sight unseen and I had never been to Asia before. It was such an exciting adventure to accept a great job and have the opportunity to experience the multiple cultures of the region.”
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Voice of Experience, Christina Mohr, Managing Director at Citi
Voices of ExperienceChristina Mohr describes herself as “solidly an M&A person,” a statement reflected by her 34-year career on the Street. One of the first analysts on Wall Street in 1978, she became the first female partner in Mergers and Acquisitions at Lazard Freres, prior to joining Salomon Brothers (which became part of Citi), where she has built her career ever since.
Though she has run different coverage groups – including retail, consumer and media – M&A is what she most enjoys and where she excels.
“The M&A business is focused squarely on our clients,” says Mohr. “I am proud of the fact that after 34 years, I still have clients who seek out my counsel. I consider it an honor and a privilege, and it’s what keeps the business interesting and fresh to me.”
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Mover & Shaker: Silvia Lucena Gosalvez, M&A Director, PwC Spain
Movers and Shakers“Being on the M&A team has given me the opportunity to work on complex international projects, exploring the full continuum of deals — from restructuring to execution to post-deal integration.”
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Mover & Shaker: Kristin Wells, Deputy Practice Group Leader, Corporate & Securities Group, Reed Smith LLP
Movers and ShakersWells has embodied the definition of a ‘mover and shaker’ since she began her career as a Corporate Securities Associate at Pepper Hamilton. She became a partner the first year that she was eligible and had a baby that same year.
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Voice of Experience: Priscilla Hughes, General Counsel Europe & Asia and Chief Counsel M&A in Financial & Risk, Thomson Reuters
Voices of Experience“Explore and learn about all the things you can achieve and then ask for what you want.” That’s the advice Priscilla Hughes of Thomson Reuters gives to women, whether they are novices or seasoned professionals—a lesson she had to learn the hard way.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Hughes didn’t know how many career opportunities were out there for women. “I thought that my dream job would be working for the telephone company,” she says. But thanks to hard work, good mentors, and a willingness to take risks and try new things, her dreams have been dwarfed by reality. Never did she imagine she would find herself as a leader in the legal field — as General Counsel Europe & Asia and Chief Counsel for M&A in Financial & Risk at Thomson Reuters.
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Voice of Experience: Alison Mass, Co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group in the Investment Banking Division, Goldman Sachs
Voices of ExperienceMass began her career in the fast-paced industry at Drexel Burnham after earning her MBA in 1981 from New York University. Then in 1990, Mass went to a competitor before joining Goldman Sachs in 2001 as a partner.
“I’ve been fortunate to have had the same client base for most of my career, and have seen the private equity industry grow almost from inception,” she says, recalling that when she started in the 1980s, there were few funds over $1 billion. “I’ve been able to grow with my clients and invest in relationships that span decades. It’s been a privilege to watch private equity firms evolve over that period of time. Most professionals don’t ever get that kind of an opportunity.”
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The Admin of Life: What Goes on Outside of the Office
Life HacksBy Hadley Catalano
Effective businesses require, at every level, administrative organization, the daily managerial maintenance of paperwork, schedules, clients, and finances. Outside the office, however, while reprieve is sought from such clerical obligations, professional women often feel little relief from the additional personal administrative chores of life. The appointment making, bill paying, family planning, and particulars of “life admin” can cause stress, take attention away from job-related responsibilities, and challenge personal or family time.
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Mover & Shaker: Belen Navarro, Financial Lines Regional Manager, Latin America & Caribbean at AIG
Movers and ShakersIn 1997 she joined AIG Europe, where she held various positions of increasing responsibility in the finance area in Spain and Portugal for 12 years. In 2009, she was offered what she calls a life-changing opportunity: to join the Regional Financial Lines team for Latin America and the Caribbean. Navarro currently heads the Latin America and Caribbean Professional Liability and Cyber team for AIG with the responsibility for establishing underwriting strategy and implementing best practices across the region.
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Success in Technology & Sales: 5 Tips for Breaking Down Belief Barriers
Guest ContributionGuest Contribution by Kelly Wright
People ask me all the time what it’s like being a woman in sales in the technology industry. The truth is that I did not think about the lack of the number of women in a field as part of my career consideration when entering the industry. I love helping and interacting with people. To me, this was sales. I am drawn to fast-paced environments where I could have an impact. To me, this was technology. Selling technology is what I wanted, so I went after it. And it’s worked for me. I started as the first salesperson at Tableau nearly a decade ago, and now I head up the entire sales team for one of the fastest growing software technology companies in the world.
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What It Takes to Successfully Transition from Returner to Full Timer
ReturnersBy Cathie Ericson
Returnship programs, which are typically hosted by top financial services firms eager to mine the talent pool of employees who took a career break and want to jump back in, have been the focus of several banks in the past few years. The programs, which heavily recruit women, represent a win-win for all participants: Returning employees gain an onramp back into the high-powered world of full-time work, while firms benefit from the experience and maturity they offer.
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