By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
Graduating from law school at the University of California, Davis in 2001, Dana Kromm found herself at the “tail end of the tech boom.” But the rising M&A star at global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP in San Francisco has more than made up for her late arrival.
Recently named one of California’s Top Women Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal, Kromm, a partner in the firm’s M&A group, has established a solid reputation in Bay Area transactions and within the private equity community, advising the likes of Twitter, Visa and Sybase, as well as Francisco Partners and a number of other major technology-focused private equity firms.
“The great part about M&A is that it’s a field where you’re constantly learning new things – there’s always something in a deal that’s new, a new problem or a new issue,” she explained. “Your job as an M&A lawyer is to be a master of all the issues – which means you have the opportunity to be constantly learning.”
The same goes for working in the technology space, she continued. “Technology issues keep you on your toes in the same way, whether you’re working with IP issues, regulatory issues, or something else. It makes for a vibrant and ever-changing practice.”
Kromm says she established her reputation in the technology M&A field by getting a keen understanding of the business objectives of her clients. “Particularly on the private equity side, it’s understanding the investment motives, why they’re interested in the particular business, where they see the growth coming from. And second to that, particularly with the technology companies themselves, it’s making an effort to understand their business as well and why they’re doing the transaction.”
She added, “Technology has its own set of individual issues and I make it a priority to understand what those are.”
Recently Kromm has worked on several deals in the healthcare information technology field, and she said she is interested in how pending changes to healthcare law, including the US Supreme Court’s expected decision this summer on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will impact her clients.
“I’m interested in seeing how those changes impact the business model of the healthcare IT companies I’m working with,” she says.
How Telling Your Story Can Make You A Better Leader
Ask A Career CoachOne of my clients is taking on a new CEO role. The company has gone through some tough challenges and changes and she wants to find a way to connect with the people that she will be leading in a way that is authentic. She wants to lower the collective high blood pressure in the room that typically results when new Management comes in. Most new CEO introductions are about the challenges the company faces, the new CEO’s strategy for success (i.e. let me save you from the mess you’ve created) and what the new CEO needs from the employees (your jobs may be safe if you all just do what I say). When people are anxious or wondering whether they will have a job on Monday, how well do you think that goes over?
My client decided to take a different tact. Her goal is to really connect with the employees in the company, to learn from them what works and doesn’t and to enroll them in helping her find the solutions. And there is no better way to connect with people than by telling your leadership story. Here are five steps you can take today to articulate that story and start sharing it to more powerfully connect and engage with others.
Those of us who experienced story telling in our families, or around a camp-fire as children, understand the impact stories have on our experiences and the very formation of who we are and our values. There is new research from neuroscience about the power of story-telling to shape our brains as reported in this New York Times article.
So, here are the five steps.
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Women of Vision Share Successes – and Failures – with Tech’s Up-and-Comers
Industry Leaders, Leadership“By the end of the speeches, you’re going to feel like you haven’t done anything in your career!” This was a statement overheard several times in passing from attendees earlier this month at the seventh annual Women of Vision Awards Banquet in Santa Clara, California, held by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI). The sentiment referred to the continuously high caliber of award winners who have the distinction of receiving an ABI award for leadership, innovation, or social impact.
Yet by the time the speeches were through, the packed ballroom of 800 attendees— which included more than 100 students with attendance sponsored by tech companies and local universities—was clearly inspired, not discouraged. This was due not only to the impressive video bios that recounted the winning women’s achievements, but to the “anti-bios” that each winner bravely shared, directing their advice in particular to the younger women in the audience.
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Movers and Shakers: Susan Bulkeley Butler, Founder and CEO of SBB Institute for the Development of Women Leaders
Movers and Shakers“Be responsible for who you are and what you want to be and make it happen,” advised Susan Bulkeley Butler, founder and CEO of the SSB institute for the Development of Women Leaders.
This is advice Butler herself has lived – after being the first woman professional hired at Arthur Anderson (now Accenture) in 1965, she found herself passed over for promotion time and time again – until she realized she needed to take control of her career, that is. Butler turned her professional path around, eventually being named the first female partner at the firm. Now retired from the company, Butler is also a published author and leadership speaker, enthusiastically working toward the goal of getting more women into top jobs.
“We have one life and I’m not sure we all make things happen for us, rather than let things happen to us. If we’re not taking responsibility for who we are and where we want to be, then who are we outsourcing this to? Who is making this happen?”
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Intrepid Woman: Theresa Payton, President and CEO, Fortalice
Intrepid Women SeriesAccording to Theresa Payton, President and CEO of Fortalice and co-author of Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online, one of the most important things she has learned throughout her career sounds simple, but it’s something many women find challenging. “Saying no sometimes is actually okay. It’s not a sign of not being a team player. “
Payton, who spent 16 years in technology in the banking industry before becoming the first female Chief Information Officer at the White House, continued, “Early in my career, I felt I needed to rush in, grab the ball, and do it all. I quickly became overloaded. There’s a difference between not letting a ball drop and feeling as if I needed to take on everything myself.”
“Fortunately, I had mentors say to me that it’s okay to say no and recommend someone else,” she added.
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Voice of Experience: Dana Kromm, Partner, Mergers & Acquisitions Group, Shearman & Sterling
Voices of ExperienceGraduating from law school at the University of California, Davis in 2001, Dana Kromm found herself at the “tail end of the tech boom.” But the rising M&A star at global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP in San Francisco has more than made up for her late arrival.
Recently named one of California’s Top Women Lawyers by the legal publication The Daily Journal, Kromm, a partner in the firm’s M&A group, has established a solid reputation in Bay Area transactions and within the private equity community, advising the likes of Twitter, Visa and Sybase, as well as Francisco Partners and a number of other major technology-focused private equity firms.
“The great part about M&A is that it’s a field where you’re constantly learning new things – there’s always something in a deal that’s new, a new problem or a new issue,” she explained. “Your job as an M&A lawyer is to be a master of all the issues – which means you have the opportunity to be constantly learning.”
The same goes for working in the technology space, she continued. “Technology issues keep you on your toes in the same way, whether you’re working with IP issues, regulatory issues, or something else. It makes for a vibrant and ever-changing practice.”
Kromm says she established her reputation in the technology M&A field by getting a keen understanding of the business objectives of her clients. “Particularly on the private equity side, it’s understanding the investment motives, why they’re interested in the particular business, where they see the growth coming from. And second to that, particularly with the technology companies themselves, it’s making an effort to understand their business as well and why they’re doing the transaction.”
She added, “Technology has its own set of individual issues and I make it a priority to understand what those are.”
Recently Kromm has worked on several deals in the healthcare information technology field, and she said she is interested in how pending changes to healthcare law, including the US Supreme Court’s expected decision this summer on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will impact her clients.
“I’m interested in seeing how those changes impact the business model of the healthcare IT companies I’m working with,” she says.
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Voice of Experience: Minerva Tantoco, Executive Director, Client Facing Technology, UBS
Voices of Experience“My path could not have been predicted early in my career,” said Minerva Tantoco, Executive Director of Client Facing Technology at UBS. “If I’d known it was just following your interests and passions and just doing them well, I think I’d have had a lot less stress.”
“Just be yourself, and have a sense of humor. Your path is you and what you find interesting.”
Through a career spanning three decades and covering multiple industries, Tantoco has worked on the cutting edge of online advertising, e-commerce, mobile technology, and shifting workflows.
“To be part of generating change and really revolutionizing how we do business every two years, and to be part of the changes that have occurred over the past 30 years – I feel like I’m a part of the history of computing,” she said.
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Your Next Tech Career: Big Data
Next Level“There are a couple of big trends that happen every ten years or so in technology,” said Nancy Cooper, member of the Board of Trustees of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and retired Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CA Technologies.
“It was the internet, then the cloud, and now it’s big data,” she said. “Career paths are going to change because of big data.”
In fact, the push for technologists in big data roles is not years away. Job growth in this field is not even right around the corner – it’s right now. In fact, according to Deloitte’s 2012 Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Predictions report, by the end of this year, 90% of the Fortune 500 will have initiatives aimed at the big data field – and revenues will “likely be in the range of $1-1.5 billion,” the firm projects.
Dr. Francine Berman, Vice President for Research and Professor of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, also member of the Board of Trustees for ABI, pointed out the scale of information that’s available right now. She referred to an IDC report indicating that there are currently 1.8 zettabytes of data – put another way, she explained, “that’s 1.8 trillion trillion – sextillion – bytes of data out there in the world, and people are using this data in dramatic ways.”
She added, “Data-focused careers are hot now and becoming more important all the time.”
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Movers and Shakers: Beth Devin, Chief Technology Officer, Manilla
Voices of ExperienceBeth Devin is conscious of the challenges that women face in Silicon Valley. As Chief Technology Officer of Manilla, she works for men and with a majority of men, and said that there are times when she has wished for more gender diversity. But she also believes that technology is a terrific field to work in – and by discussing the industry’s challenges and benefits, the good and the bad, senior women can provide encouragement for younger women coming up the ranks.
“Successful women in technology leadership roles are few and far between – we should not underestimate the positive impact we can have on women considering a technology career or just starting out,” she said.
“Speak up as women in technology, talk about the amazing opportunities and what the challenges are. Your wisdom and experience are valuable. The more information that’s out there, the more storytelling you can do, the more it will benefit others.”
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Voice of Experience: Meredith Prange, CAO, Citi Technology Infrastructure, Citi
Voices of Experience“Make sure that you jump at an opportunity to move outside your comfort zone or area of expertise,” said Meredith Prange, Chief Administrative Officer for Citi’s Technology Infrastructure Group at Citigroup.
Prange, who has risen through the ranks to leadership as an IT engineer, explained how seeking out and accepting new challenges is the way to develop critical leadership skills.
“If you look at very successful men and women, you will see that their experience includes roles that are aligned to the business lines as well as technology leadership roles, in addition movement to different companies is also not uncommon,” she explained.
“Look for those opportunities that will challenge you and broaden your experience.”
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Voice of Experience: Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation
Voices of Experience“I think you have to take risks,” said Joyce St. Clair, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, Northern Trust Corporation. “Be willing to stretch yourself. We get comfortable in the job that we do. We have to be willing to embrace change and take calculated risks – it doesn’t mean being reckless.”
“You’ll have stumbles, but you need to take stretch opportunities – otherwise you’ll never show your worth.”
One big risk she took – a two and a half year long assignment in London – really paid off, St. Clair said. “It was the hardest thing I did – moving my children mid-year and putting my career ahead of my husband’s at that time. We are supportive of each other, looking at opportunities as they arise.”
“Finding a flat, and even finding a doctor was challenging. But I think it brings you together as a family,” she recalled. “It was a great experience. Especially when my oldest daughter said she wanted to know how I had arranged it, and that she hoped to provide that experience for her kids someday.”
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