By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
One key element in career advancement, according to Toni Mohammed, Client Manager at Marsh Inc., is being assertive about your goals. “I would advise young women to not be afraid to ask for what you want, work hard, keep pushing, and be patient.”
The other, she said, is building relationships. “This industry has a lot to offer. It’s also a very small world, so leveraging your networks early on will help you get to where you want to be.”
“I like to say I’m a child of insurance,” she said with a laugh, explaining that her mother worked in the industry for 25 years in Trinidad. “I kind of grew up in the industry.”
Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Mohammed came to the United States on a scholarship, and went on to study math and actuarial science at Howard University. After completing actuarial internships at CIGNA, Nationwide, and Deloitte, she realized she wanted more client interaction, and took a position as an insurance broker at Marsh in Washington DC. As part of the firm’s Risk Analyst program, she developed a keen interest in Multinational, and within months of attending training in Atlanta, Georgia, she started working for the Multinational Client Practice as an International Property and Casualty broker.
Now Mohammed is a team leader and Multinational Advisor at Marsh, and co-leader of Pride@Marsh (the company’s LGBT affinity group). Mohammed has also become a sort of Middle East insurance expert. She recounts one of her proudest achievements as her work in this area.
“One of my defense clients had an auto fleet in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and other Middle East countries where certain local coverages were contractually needed. You can imagine in this economy it was a great challenge getting insurers to even offer these coverages, much less consider the aggregation risk concerns and cost,” she explained. “Fortunately with the expansive Marsh network and partners in London and the Middle East, I was able to find a solution for our client.”
“But I really have two jobs,” she continued. “My day job and my ‘gay’ job.”
“My day job of advising clients on what’s going on with international insurance and trends that can affect them is very exciting. Sharing knowledge with my teams and being part of a dynamic environment means that I’m always on my toes to see what works, how to improve, and how to change,” she explained.
“Balancing compliance with international regulations and cost analysis for international insurance programs are of key interest to me. With increased global scrutiny and the poor economy, there is greater tax activity by local governments when there is non-compliance with the insurance regulations. In some instances there are also hefty fines and penalties, including imprisonment, that our clients may be exposed to, so helping to explain international insurance regulations is key.”
“In my ‘gay’ job,” she continued, “we are also on the verge of change. With my co-leader Cris Castillo-Brizard, we have re-energized the LGBT group at Marsh called Pride@Marsh. We are getting involved in community and education. We are creating ties to business in ways that have never been done before. I am very proud the Marsh leadership is behind us and continues to do the right thing.”
Nature or Nurture: Diversity in the Financial Services
Featured, Managing ChangeIn a New York Times opinion piece this weekend, Cambridge research fellow John Coates describes with compelling detail the way hormones influence the behavior of (male) traders. He writes, “[Testosterone] produced by men (and, in lesser quantities, by women) primes the trader for the challenge ahead, just as it does athletes preparing to compete and male animals to fight. Rising levels increase confidence and, crucially, appetite for risk.”
Considering the awe with which Coates narrates the effects of the chemical trio testosterone, adrenaline, and cortisol, you’d think he was channeling Sir David Attenborough. “Finally… the trader leans into his screen, pupils dilated, breathing rhythmic, muscles coiled, body and brain fused for impending action.”
Coates suggests that this biological interplay is so pronounced in younger men that it can drive markets to soar or crash.
His solution? More women. “Women and older men have a fraction of the testosterone of young men, so if more of them managed money, we could perhaps stabilize the markets,” he writes.
In Coates’ bleak description of the (male) trading mechanism, he envisions women as the brakes for a contraption spinning out of control. Calls for diversity are, of course, appreciated. But using women as a tool to gum up the works, rather than overhauling a system that overrewards risky behavior, seems more like a quick fix than a long-term solution. More seriously, it reduces individual humans to purposefully ill-fitting cogs in a corporate machine.
Would you want to work for a company that only hired you because it believes your biological construction is inherently ill-suited for the way its top performers make money?
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Voice of Experience: Lois Herzeca, Partner, Gibson Dunn
Voices of Experience“When I was in law school I fully intended to become a litigator,” began Lois Herzeca, Partner at Gibson Dunn.
After graduating cum laude from Boston University School of Law, Herzeca joined the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. through its Honors Program. Based on her experience working in the Antitrust Division, she decided to move into the private sector as a litigator, and took a position at Fried Frank in New York in antitrust litigation.
“Then I realized I was much more interested in corporate practice,” she explained. “I enjoyed the creativity in structuring deals and the strategic thinking involved in executing deals. I felt I could become a real advisor to clients.”
Eventually, Herzeca became a partner at Fried Frank, spending over twenty years with the firm. Then, three years ago, she moved to Gibson Dunn. “I felt a larger global practice created a better platform for my client base,” she explained. She is now a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Capital Markets Practice Groups, and she is co-chair of its Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Products Practice Group.
She says one of her proudest recent achievements was being named a Dealmaker of the Year for 2012 by The American Lawyer. “I’m honored to be among that group. There are relatively few women partners in law firms who work on contested M&A transactions,” she explained. Additionally, she continued, she is extremely proud to have been honored with her alma mater’s Alumni Pro Bono award in 2009 for her many pro bono activities.
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Movers and Shakers: Jean Balfour, Director, Bailey Balfour Consulting, Ltd.
Movers and Shakers“Dare to dream,” advised Jean Balfour, Director of Bailey Balfour Consulting. As an organizational development consultant and coach for executive women, Balfour has extensive experience working with women across many industries, and she said one of the key things she has learned from them is the importance of developing your aspirations.
“Dare to think big and dream big,” she continued. “And along with that, find a mentor and sponsor right from day one, who can help you achieve your dreams.”
She advised senior women to “really, really proactively support younger women, and encourage your male peers to mentor or sponsor young women as well, so they have as much support as they can get to move along in their careers.”
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Pride Month Primer: Being an Effective Ally and Champion for Gender Diversity
Featured, Men Who "Get It"“I’ve been involved with LGBT groups since 2002, and I first noticed the term ‘straight allies’ around 2004,” recalled John Henry Watson, Vice President at Citi. “I saw an ‘A’ at the end of LGBT and wondered what it meant, and when I found out, it seemed like a no-brainer.”
Now co-head of Citi’s LGBT network chapter in New York, Watson said one of the areas he focuses on is sustaining Citi’s ally program and keeping allies involved in the long term. “Straight allies are definitely a crucial component of a diversity strategy and they help to demonstrate and sustain a supportive, inclusive culture.”
In its report on straight allies [PDF], the UK group Stonewall explains how support from straight employees is critical in achieving inclusiveness in the workplace.
Watson believes, “If a straight ally goes through the effort to understand the issues that LGBT coworkers face, it’s not only energizing, but it can have a positive business impact.”
What can straight allies do to provide this critical support? Here are three ways straight allies can make a difference in workplace inclusiveness.
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Voice of Experience: Julia Hoggett, Head of Covered Bonds and FIG Flow Financing EMEA and Head of Short Term Fixed Income Origination EMEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Voices of ExperienceOne of the most important lessons Julia Hoggett learned early in her career was the importance of being herself. Now Head of Covered Bonds and FIG (Financial Institutions) Flow Financing EMEA and Head of Short Term Fixed Income Origination EMEA at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Hoggett explained, “Bringing your whole self to work can only help you advance.”
Early in her career, she hadn’t quite learned this lesson. “There was a sense that I needed to assume a professional face, both as a woman and as an investment banker. Luckily I learned that bringing the real me to the office made me better at my job.”
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Lale Topcuoglu, Portfolio Manager, Managing Director, Co-head of Global Investment Grade Portfolio Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
People, Voices of Experience“When I look back at my career, Goldman Sachs has been a land of opportunity for me,” she added.
How did she rise so quickly? Topcuoglu said one of the skills she’s glad to have learned in her career is the ability to negotiate. “Nobody really teaches you this,” she explained. Getting a sense of how your company really works is also important for career growth, she continued. “I learned pretty quick on the job, if you can understand how organizations work, the administration, it will help you.”
Finally, she said, learning self awareness was important for her advancement. “Be aware of your little professional quirks,” she said. “Sometimes I make knee jerk responses, and I’m learning to start with a yes, instead of a no.”
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35 Under 35: Angela Best, EMEA Group Tax Controller, Nomura
35 Under 35According to Angela Best, EMEA Group Tax Controller at Nomura, one of the lessons she wishes she had learned earlier in her career is to be more open to new experiences. “It’s to be less serious and enjoy life – not to be frightened to make mistakes,” she explained.
After graduating from the University of Kent, Best began her career at an accountancy practice, and when she received her chartered accountancy certificate, she moved to the investment banking industry, working in tax. “It was a smooth move,” she said. “I haven’t encountered any stumbling blocks.”
“When Lehman happened in 2008, I saw an opportunity that I was unlikely to encounter again.” Nomura acquired parts of Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European investment banking, fixed income and equities division, she explained. “It was the opportunity to marry two very different cultures together, however, it wasn’t just the people factor, but also the new working practices. It was a very challenging and unusual time.”
In fact, Best says her most interesting roles have involved working through technical projects in the context of change. In her last role, she led a team designing how a unit of previously outsourced work would be brought in house. “As part of it, we had to recommend the software we’d be using – which meant presenting to senior management, performing due diligence, and selling how it would work in house.”
Participating in the team brought her significant visibility with senior management, she explained. “I had to prepare and present our cost benefit analysis – it was very exciting.”
Currently she is working to coordinate with Nomura’s Indian service center, and enjoying the unique opportunity to learn about a new culture. “Within my department I look after European taxes. There’s a lot of reconciliation work that we’re looking to offshore to India,” she explained.
Best said she is paying keen attention to the challenges the banking industry faces. “There are reputation issues currently. It’s something everyone in our industry should be following, just to see where the industry is going.”
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35 Under 35: Toni Mohammed, Client Manager, Marsh USA
35 Under 35One key element in career advancement, according to Toni Mohammed, Client Manager at Marsh Inc., is being assertive about your goals. “I would advise young women to not be afraid to ask for what you want, work hard, keep pushing, and be patient.”
The other, she said, is building relationships. “This industry has a lot to offer. It’s also a very small world, so leveraging your networks early on will help you get to where you want to be.”
“I like to say I’m a child of insurance,” she said with a laugh, explaining that her mother worked in the industry for 25 years in Trinidad. “I kind of grew up in the industry.”
Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Mohammed came to the United States on a scholarship, and went on to study math and actuarial science at Howard University. After completing actuarial internships at CIGNA, Nationwide, and Deloitte, she realized she wanted more client interaction, and took a position as an insurance broker at Marsh in Washington DC. As part of the firm’s Risk Analyst program, she developed a keen interest in Multinational, and within months of attending training in Atlanta, Georgia, she started working for the Multinational Client Practice as an International Property and Casualty broker.
Now Mohammed is a team leader and Multinational Advisor at Marsh, and co-leader of Pride@Marsh (the company’s LGBT affinity group). Mohammed has also become a sort of Middle East insurance expert. She recounts one of her proudest achievements as her work in this area.
“One of my defense clients had an auto fleet in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and other Middle East countries where certain local coverages were contractually needed. You can imagine in this economy it was a great challenge getting insurers to even offer these coverages, much less consider the aggregation risk concerns and cost,” she explained. “Fortunately with the expansive Marsh network and partners in London and the Middle East, I was able to find a solution for our client.”
“But I really have two jobs,” she continued. “My day job and my ‘gay’ job.”
“My day job of advising clients on what’s going on with international insurance and trends that can affect them is very exciting. Sharing knowledge with my teams and being part of a dynamic environment means that I’m always on my toes to see what works, how to improve, and how to change,” she explained.
“Balancing compliance with international regulations and cost analysis for international insurance programs are of key interest to me. With increased global scrutiny and the poor economy, there is greater tax activity by local governments when there is non-compliance with the insurance regulations. In some instances there are also hefty fines and penalties, including imprisonment, that our clients may be exposed to, so helping to explain international insurance regulations is key.”
“In my ‘gay’ job,” she continued, “we are also on the verge of change. With my co-leader Cris Castillo-Brizard, we have re-energized the LGBT group at Marsh called Pride@Marsh. We are getting involved in community and education. We are creating ties to business in ways that have never been done before. I am very proud the Marsh leadership is behind us and continues to do the right thing.”
Read more
Voice of Experience: Sarah Walker, Executive Director, Enterprise Data & Services, Global Head IT & Data Operations; Securities Reference Data, Morgan Stanley
Voices of ExperienceThroughout her life, Australia-born Sarah Walker, Executive Director of the Enterprise Data & Services Group at Morgan Stanley, has demonstrated a devotion to solving problems and efficiency. Energetic and direct, she described how she entered the world of IT after becoming frustrated with the indirect pace of her university education.
She entered university intending to study journalism. “I wanted to be a writer,” she explained. “But I quickly decided I hated university! I thought I could pick up a book and learn anything they were going to teach me on my own. So I convinced my parents to say yes to me dropping out if I could find a job.”
“I think they only said yes because they thought I would never find one!” she said with a laugh. But, she continued, she did find work. “It was the early ‘90s and I got a job doing operations reconciliation work at Citigroup in Sydney. I had a big computer sitting on my desk, yet everything was still being done manually. I thought, ‘why are we doing this with a calculator and pencil and paper?’”
Walker turned her computer on, and worked out a way to turn the 8-hour ordeal into a 1-hour process. “From then on, I’ve been hooked. My career has been about making processes more efficient and solving problems.”
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Why LGBT Inclusiveness is a Business Matter for Everyone
NewsI am delighted to introduce our 2012 Pride month coverage on theglasshammer.com, starting with this week’s profiles of LGBT women.
Our profiled women this week are also the panelists at our event in London on the 26th June called “Managing Multiple Identities at Work.” The event is part of our career management series exploring social identity and how it relates to building your network and advancing in the industry.
I am sure at this very moment, there are readers who are shaking their heads and saying, “If you work hard enough, it doesn’t matter who you are.” I would beg to differ. Our very existence on the web would suggest that competence alone does not get women to senior management.
Most of the research around gender issues at work is done around straight white women, and in fact, adding degrees of difference from the so-called “norm” (such as being LGBT [PDF] and/or being multicultural) to the mix often creates additional barriers to advancement, due to harmful stereotypes that, incredibly, are still alive and well in 2012.
This is where a supportive company culture motivated by good leadership, along with the right sponsors and a powerful network, can play a huge role in ensuring the success of talented people of all stripes. It’s only when everyone accepts that we aren’t all the same and are able to “own” their social identity that they can begin to understand that privilege is usually greatest for those who find themselves in the dominant group – the group which gets to set the societal, and consequently, the workplace norms.
Diversity should not simply be relegated to the diversity department to “sort out,” nor is diversity a matter of taking a Noah’s Ark approach so commonly seen in the form of box ticking and compliance. We all play a part of what makes up a company’s culture, as culture is really how work gets done beyond the organizational chart. That is why we welcome men as gender champions to our upcoming event, as well as straight allies to come and be active in their support. It’s also why I’m delighted to announce that we will be offering leadership development courses around diversity and inclusion through our consulting and research arm Evolved Employer.
LGBT issues, as with gender and ethnicity issues, are business issues, and we must stop asking these groups to prove their legitimacy. The business and talent benefits will come if relationships are built in an inclusive way. However, that is not to say that we want everyone to “suck it up and fit in.” Otherwise we are encouraging assimilation and ultimately group think. All that energy around fitting in could be used to innovate products and invigorate business relationships.
Let’s not apply the golden rule of treating others the way that you wish to be treated, and instead, treat others how they themselves want to be treated. The competitive advantage will go to leaders who can spot who gets silenced at work, and who will prevent unconscious biases from being rewarded.
I hope we can be the role models that the next generation wants and needs us to be.