“From the moment I joined Katten, the attorneys most keen to invest in me — both personally and professionally — quickly became my mentors,” says Katten’s Allison Yacker.
“Reflecting on that moment, not only were those mentors some of the smartest and hardest working attorneys at Katten, but more importantly they were the ones who realized this was a two-way street.” Years later, Yacker now co-chairs the firm’s Investment Management and Funds practice and is based in New York.
Yacker offered insights on her journey to becoming a firm leader, and being recognized as a great mother and a go-to legal counsel for some of the largest global financial institutions.
Pivoting to Make Her Own Path, and Rising to Leadership at Katten
Throughout her 18 years at Katten, Yacker continues to rise through the firm ranks: from being selected as a summer associate, to becoming one of the youngest capital partners in the firm, to acting as a co-chair of the New York Financial Markets and Funds practice group and serving as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors.
“I knew Katten was a great place to work, and by the time I was a third-year associate I had solidified a terrific roster of mentors who happened to be all men,” Yacker said. “As I thrived in my career, I was determined to make capital partner by the time I was 40 and to serve in a leadership position at the firm because I wanted to prove to myself that it was possible and to help create a similar path for other women in the firm.”
And she did just that.
Yacker began her career at Katten in the corporate group, handling general securities work and mergers and acquisitions. She credits this experience with providing her the skillset that would serve as the foundation for her current practice.
Soon Yacker was presented with the opportunity to be seconded to a major financial institution, where she gained practical legal experience in the derivatives and private funds market. Yacker relished the experience, and quickly found that the clients she enjoyed working with the most were traders and key decision-makers at hedge funds and private equity funds.
When she returned to the firm from her secondment, she quickly realized that she was one of only a few associates who could handle complex derivatives and structured products transactions for both the buy and sell sides. These types of transactions were regularly handled by the Financial Markets and Funds group, so when practice leaders invited her to join the group she knew it would provide her the platform needed to expand upon this niche. She jumped at the opportunity.
But in 2008, when the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted, she quickly realized that the complex derivatives transactions that she had spent a significant amount of time on were essentially regulated out of business. Good lawyers anticipate future risks; great lawyers identify it and pivot. It was at that moment Yacker decided to move away from derivatives and toward refocusing her practice on fund formation and investment management. There she found success faster than anticipated, and her clients quickly came and continue to rely on her to serve as their outsourced general counsel. Later on, she would pivot again – this time toward representing sophisticated investors looking to make investments in hedge funds, private equity funds, and other alternative financial products.
Today Yacker represents hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools and managed account platforms that engage in a wide variety of strategies, including quantitative trading, private credit, distressed debt, futures, litigation finance, securitized products, affordable housing, renewable energy and carbon credits, to name a few. She also advises clients with regards to seed and early stage investment opportunities and global regulatory issues that arise in connection with investments in funds and managed accounts.
“You need to be able to work dynamically within your industry to find a practice that makes sense for you — one in which you respect and like the client base, and, most importantly, one that you enjoy,” Yacker said. “Do not be reactionary when it comes to your career, be proactive, take the reins and make the tough decisions.”
Being Her Personal and Professional Self
In 2018, Yacker was named Katten’s Working Mother of the Year by Working Mother magazine. The article profiling her pointed out how integration of personal and professional self is only growing in importance.
“Personal and professional—the lines become blurred when you’re predominantly working from home in New York City and raising two children who are remote learning,” she said. “It’s definitely a challenge to shift back and forth between the mom hat, the teacher hat, and the lawyer hat,” says Yacker. “When it comes to my kids, I make every effort to do so with love and respect, and of course a sense of humor, which I know resonates with my children.”
All joking aside, she remarked that her career often dictates that she be deliberate and efficient with her time, and that she create boundaries for herself and her children so that no aspect of the services she provides to her clients is impacted. To that end, she noted that she periodically goes to Katten’s mostly empty midtown Manhattan office when she has an intense work day planned, and joked that she never thought she would enjoy going to an office as much as she does now.
Positive Vibes and Being the Difference
Yacker is most energized about her work when her clients commend her skillset, style and work ethic when it comes to servicing their needs.
“My clients often remark that they see me as a true counselor — a person that they know will give them not only insightful legal advice and the answer under the law, but also an answer that will work for their businesses,” she says. “My clients know that I am not a scrivener, and that I don’t stop at ‘no you can’t’ when they have a difficult issue — I’m here to solve their problems, to be creative, and to use the resources of my firm to find the best possible solution to any problem they have and to get the deal done.”
Yacker primarily attributes her professional integrity and intense work ethic to her grandfather, whose first job after arriving in America after surviving the Holocaust was that of a janitor who made 65 cents an hour. Through incredibly hard work, her grandfather eventually built a successful business. Both of her grandfathers were incredibly hard workers but family came first to them. To Yacker, every day that she puts in a hard day at work is a testament to her grandparents and an attempt to honor their memory.
Learning Along the Way
Yacker gained valuable insight while ascending to become one of the firm’s youngest capital partners.
She recommends that young lawyers work with and learn from as many different lawyers as possible.
“You learn different ways of thinking, different ways of networking, different analytical abilities, and different techniques for maintaining relationships and running a practice,” she observes. “I think that’s been critical to my success.”
Yacker also says that she has always worked hardest for the people who were fully invested in her.
“Seek out mentors who are looking to invest in you personally and professionally,” says Yacker. “And take those relationships as seriously as possible. And then, give back to younger associates in the same regard.”
And most importantly, she encourages young lawyers to take ownership of their careers — not to wait for an opportunity to be handed to them, but rather to take the initiative in building a successful practice and to think proactively and deliberately about their goals.
Networking and Outreach
Yacker stays connected with her clients and colleagues — even in pandemic times. Whether it be a virtual group wine tasting, hosting socially-distanced cocktails and meals on her terrace, or virtual tea with clients in London, Yacker tries her best to proactively stay in touch with her clients both professionally and personally.
She has found it particularly fulfilling to work on pro bono matters, providing legal counsel through the Small Business Legal Relief Alliance to small businesses in New York that are struggling during the global pandemic.
Yacker also sits on the steering committee and national mentoring panel of the Katten Women’s Leadership Forum, which supports the growth of Katten’s women attorneys with professional development events, networking and practical advice.
She is also one of the founding members of Katten’s Women in Finance Initiative, which seeks to build a strong community of women within the firm with a view toward driving cross-selling opportunities and driving more business to this community.
She is an Angel Member of 100 Women in Finance, an organization dedicated to empowering women in the finance and alternative investment industries through meaningful connections, high-impact programming and initiatives that help build the pipeline of future leaders in the industry.
Also close to her heart is the new Parents Affinity Group at Katten—a virtual support group for attorneys and business professionals to connect with each other and discuss approaches to navigating work and family responsibilities.
Crowing Achievement
As committed as she is to her professional success, she views her crowning achievement as the balance she has struck between being a successful lawyer and being a successful mother.
“My children know that mommy’s business means I have to be available to my clients almost all the time, so I work a lot. I think they respect me for how hard I work at my job, but they 100 percent know that they come first and they always will,” Yacker said.
Yacker’s “work hard, play hard” attitude has always resonated with her sons Jackson and Ashton, ages 8 and 12 respectively. She revels daily in how resilient they are, how kind they are to each other, and how hard they work to do their best in school, even under these extraordinary circumstances. Yacker said she finds inspiration from her kids, who make her want to be the best at anything she is doing.
Her most cherished daily moment is the time when it’s just her and her boys — whether they are on the baseball field, cuddling in bed, or laughing together in hysterics on the couch. Those are the moments she is most grateful for.
By Aimee Hansen
How to Achieve What You Want Professionally in 2021
Career Tip of the Week!, NewsWorking with a coach is a great way to accurately goal set and get clarity and not just rely on hope as a strategy. Executive coaching helps you behaviorally align to achieve what you want, no matter what 2021 throws our way. Self- efficacy is a pretty interesting topic at a time when productivity hacks are definitely top of mind.
Promotion or Just a Better Version of Yourself?
Whether it is promotion, advancement, enjoyment, renewal, growth or balance and boundaries at work, most people have some thoughts about how they want 2021 to play out. Coaching is a process but it is also very much a relationship between coach and ‘coachee’. It can be very intimate in the sense that both the coach and the client has to show up with honesty and vulnerability. Curiosity is important , but not for curiosity’s sake but rather to truly evoke true insights that the client can experience to help them further their leadership or career journey. Sometimes people know the questions and answers consciously and just need help with options. Sometimes people may not know the questions or answers that they need to solve for their challenges or mindset.
The What, The Why, The How and The When
Everyone who comes to coaching knows they want to change something. Or at the very least, the know they want to be a better version of their current selves at work, as a leader or an aspiring leader. Figuring out what you want to achieve, defining it and making sure it is really want you want is cemented by checking in on the ‘why’ you want it. This way we tap into understanding your motivation so we can leverage that to make it actually happen. Are you committed? If not, let’s find out why! And, find out what you really want.
The best way to succeed in 2021 is to clear the life long mental debris, and surface any lingering competing agendas that hunker down in your subconscious and tell you things like you don’t have time or you aren’t good enough which stops you from going after your goals.
More often than not, the subconscious sometimes heard in self-talk, drives the bus, so goal setting is futile if behaviors are not aligning with achieving those goals and your brain tricks you into rationalizing it all that everything is as it should be. Literally, coaching work we do here at theglasshammer is based on a methodology developed at Columbia university and further developed by our head coach. It encompasses adult learning theory, developmental psychology and our immunity to change, neuroscience, behavioral science, social or individual/organizational psychology known as I/O psychology and psycho-dynamic theory around groups and how they operate. In plain english? It boils down to two things:
In coaching, the co-creation of the “how to” begins with a serious look at context, where do you work and what are the organizational norms as these do vary depending on the team and workplace. How does work get done? What is rewarded and what gets tolerated that should be?
Coaching Leaders in Real Life
If you are a leader who struggles with followership after a very successful career built on getting things done, then it is a matter of looking at how work gets done around you.
EQ is about adapting. So, if despite your technical competence and generally mastery of skills, you just cannot get people onboard with the plan the way you want to see it executed, you may be left scratching your head.
Chances are you are not hearing people around you when they explicitly or infer things to you about the project and how they see their role in it. Not listening to feedback, everyday conversations, observations on how people act and react is probably part of what is going on there.
When talking about feedback, I am not referring to the once per year performance formal feedback review. The answers are always in front of you, even in passive aggressive “covert process” type teams and organizations where people seem to say yes but do what they want anyway.
Maybe, you are a manager whose peers and managers do not think you are ready for the next step. Again, what are you missing here? Is it a behavior of yours? Is it something you are or are not doing? What should you do more of, less of and maybe stop or start doing?
If you are a leader who needs to internalize that leadership identity, chances are you have “imposter syndrome” and you might be working very hard in the same way as you always have. Often people who have these tendencies of being “insecure overachievers” do not realize that the behaviors of large amounts of quality work output that got them so far, is not what is going to take them to the higher echelons of company management. Authenticity comes into play here as they struggle to shift identities as fear dictates so much around losing the identity of being the expert.
Cognitive understanding of what you need to do is one thing, behavioral change is another and it is very hard to do. That is where a good coach can come in to help you look at your options. Caveat emptor, buyer beware, there are millions of coaches out there as the industry is under-regulated, feel out the fit with a chemistry meet and ask for their methods and see if they are certified by the ICF at PCC level.
What should you expect? After a time, some people can start to reflect not just on action but in action and make behavioral choices in the meeting live time no longer beholden to the old ways that were not longer working for them. Real strategic insights and executive muscle can be built.
You get to be in the movie and watch the movie at the same time. Who wouldn’t want that?
To book an exploratory call with Nicki our founder and Head Coach select a time below
Ronni G. Davidowitz: Partner, Head of New York Private Wealth, Katten
People, Voices of ExperiencePhoto provided by Gittings Photography
“When someone asks me about job longevity at one firm—as it is not often you see that nowadays—I say, ‘either I must love it or I cannot get another job,’” jokes Katten partner Ronni Davidowitz. “So I would like to think I love it.”
One look at her resume reveals Davidowitz is a lawyer who finds helping her clients with their estate and wealth plans both stimulating and rewarding. She shares her wisdom and lessons learned over decades of experience.
Finding a Home in Law
Davidowitz is ultimately a career one-firm woman who has utterly devoted her professional life to trusts and estates (T&E) law.
She began her legal career in 1979 at a small boutique firm with a heavy concentration in the trusts and estates field and then moved in 1985 to the New York City-based Rosenman & Colin LLP, which then merged in 2002 with a Chicago firm to become Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, creating a 35-year tenure for Davidowitz at one firm.
“Given the amount of time, it feels like that has been my only home,” says Davidowitz.
After finishing law school at St. John’s University, Davidowitz, as noted earlier, worked briefly at a small firm where she gained experience handling trusts and estates matters, but eventually grew “fidgety.” While lunching with a fellow lawyer and sharing her plans to move on, serendipity struck—a perfect vacancy in his firm, which ultimately became known as Katten.
“I did not even have a resume together because I was really mulling over what I wanted to do,” recalls Davidowitz. “Next thing you know, I was in there, had an interview, did not interview anywhere else, they made me an offer and the rest—as they say—is history.”
“What has kept me at the same firm honestly is the people,” she muses. “It is a terrific group of people that I admire and respect, and I think it is mutual. I am just very fortunate to work with smart, capable, good and truly nice people. It makes a big difference.”
Practicing in Trusts & Estates Law
“I love the balance of the personal interactions and the intellectual challenges in advising clients on estate planning and wealth management needs and helping them avoid litigation,” says Davidowitz.
In her work, Davidowitz often develops relationships with generations of the same family, who are looking for assistance with succession planning and come with all the facets that family dynamics bring.
“The challenge in my area is that although money is what it translates to in terms of property and assets,” she says, “the undercurrent is the emotional charge.”
Working with wealthy families and individuals, each case is as unique as her clients and their personal needs. With such diversified work, she is grateful to call on her colleagues in different disciplines, such as real estate, corporate and tax attorneys who can offer more services to clients, like handling the transactional capabilities most frequently needed by ultra-high-net-worth individuals and the privately held businesses they run.
“I tend to think of us as the closest you might come to a generalist in the legal profession, much like a general practitioner in the medical field, versus all the various sub-specialties,” she says.
“Intellectually, it is stimulating,” states Davidowitz, who enjoys devising cutting-edge tax strategies so clients can save on income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. “You really need to be mindful of what’s important to the individual—that is why there is no off-the-shelf answer.”
Witnessing the Influx of Women
Davidowitz is a daughter of Holocaust survivors, and as a first-generation U.S.-born citizen was the first in her family to attend college and graduate from law school.
She remembers a time when there were as few as ten women in her own law school class, whereas now women make up more than 50 percent of student enrollment. So she has witnessed the increase in women entering the profession, even close to home. Her own daughter is a “second generation” T&E lawyer.
At Katten, the firm has fostered an inclusive culture, focused on attracting, developing and retaining diverse talent.
“I know the firm’s leadership management has openly and often articulated its policy of diversity, inclusion and sensitivity to it,” she says of Katten.
Years ago, she became involved at an executive level in Katten’s Women’s Leadership Forum, when it was first formed to support the growth and retention of women attorneys through various initiatives, mentoring and professional development programs, and social and networking events.
Making Contacts and Creating Opportunities
One of her important lessons has been to invest in relationships that are mutually agreeable—and then be willing to leverage those connections.
“I have learned that contacts are really important. When you have identified people that you genuinely like, that you respect, then do not be shy about reaching out to them,” advises Davidowitz.
Unique in her practice area is that lawyers from different firms often get together in discussion groups and cultivate ties to one another.
“One of those women, who is a personal friend of mine now, was with-the-hand-at-the-small-of-your-back sort of guiding me,” Davidowitz says.
Not only did Davidowitz succeed her friend in becoming the chair of New York City Bar’s Estate and Gift Taxation Committee, but she was also recommended by her as state chair for Downstate New York for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a 5-year term she is now completing.
“These are positions of prestige, so I have had the benefit of having someone who took that extra interest and looked out for me,” says Davidowitz. “And I try to pay that back. I try to make opportunities for my associates, male or female, though I personally have a large female group.”
Being True to Yourself
Another way Davidowitz supports young attorneys is how she approaches performance evaluations.
She prides herself on being a good judge of character, and considers that part of any evaluation process is to guide lawyers to achieve their goals—she iterates that it is very personal, for example not everybody wants to be partner, but those who do have steps to take.
“Evaluations are more than saying ‘people think you write well,’ or ‘you are a thoughtful attorney,’” she says. “An important part of the process is guidance—career development, advice on how to proceed, or maybe a suggestion to take a step back if there is too much pressure with the family balance and workload.”
She advises being really true to yourself, and figuring out the pace that will work for you. She sets achievable goals of five-year increments to get where she wants to go—a reasonable time period to get set up for success.
For example, she focused on completing the necessary requirements, like public speaking and involvement in bar associations, to be elected as a Fellow to ACTEC.
One way she creates opportunities for associates is having them co-author articles or chapters with her, from which they receive byline credit, or helping to place other lawyers on bar association committees aligned to their interests.
Proud Lawyer, Prouder Grandmother
Davidowitz is proud of her leadership involvement in many organizations like ACTEC, being surrounded with the top minds in the field with the opportunity to give back.
She had been honored for her work and her civic contributions by 400 of her peers at the United Jewish Appeal (UJA)-Federation of New York, a philanthropic organization in which she also had served as chair of its T&E committee.
What she is most devoted to, however, is her family and her six grandchildren. “I have told anyone that the best club to be in is the grandparent’s club,” she says.
As a self-confessed “voracious reader,” Davidowitz seeks to pass on her own passion by building a little book club among her grandkids.
By Aimee Hansen
Equal Pay: Mending The Broken Rung
NewsEnvision the climb to senior leadership at your company as a ladder. That very first rung is the most unreliable for women. According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace, women are significantly outnumbered in entry-level management positions. They hold just 38% of manager-level positions as opposed to men who hold 62%. In other terms, for every 100 men promoted only 72 women are.
This step, known as the “broken rung”, is a woman’s biggest obstacle to senior leadership. While a lot of ink has been given to the glass ceiling and the poor representation of women in the C-Suite, the breakdown in that trajectory turns out to be not the last promotion from Vice President to President, but instead the first step in your journey: the promotion from entry-level to a managerial position.
Entry-level positions are also notoriously difficult for young people just starting out. Adjusting to the workplace, figuring out passions and career paths, and finding your professional voice comes with experience. And in an entry-level position, you might not have that experience to bolster your confidence.
This brief work record leads to what Sheryl Sandberg explains to be a bias against women and favoring men. She says, “These are all workers at the entry-level– they haven’t built long track records, they all have similar work experience, and they were all good enough to be hired in the first place. There’s no good reason why so many more men than women are being tapped for promotions, only a bad one– bias.”
Courtesy of GreatBusinessSchools.org
This bias is costly for women as once you miss that first promotion it’s an incredibly hard fight to catch up on. This broken rung leads to a domino effect resulting in fewer women in leadership positions. Additionally, the cycle continues circularly as studies have shown that men are more likely to promote another man, and women are more likely to promote a woman.
While it’s nice to dream that the corporate world will right the “broken rung”, history has proven that corporations move glacially slow when implementing social change. As women, we have to empower ourselves in entry-level positions to ensure the promotion and get past this first hurdle early in our careers.
Here are some ways to clear the rickety, old “broken rung”:
Usually, when discussions are had about women in the workplace, the emphasis is on the poor representation of women at the leadership level. That spotlight creates a blind spot in the actual cause of this discrepancy. Tracing the disparity back to entry-level promotions and understanding the “broken rung” is important to inform processes that company need to develop to ensure equal pay from day one. Women can support each other and how we can advocate for ourselves early on but it is the systemic elements that ultimately matter.
Progress must be made by corporations to abolish this misstep and while that is happening, men and women can empower each other to propel past the first hurdle and go on to have a successful career.
This is a contributed article and therefore the views expressed here are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com
Allison Yacker: Partner and Co-Chair, Investment Management and Funds, Katten
People, Voices of Experience“Reflecting on that moment, not only were those mentors some of the smartest and hardest working attorneys at Katten, but more importantly they were the ones who realized this was a two-way street.” Years later, Yacker now co-chairs the firm’s Investment Management and Funds practice and is based in New York.
Yacker offered insights on her journey to becoming a firm leader, and being recognized as a great mother and a go-to legal counsel for some of the largest global financial institutions.
Pivoting to Make Her Own Path, and Rising to Leadership at Katten
Throughout her 18 years at Katten, Yacker continues to rise through the firm ranks: from being selected as a summer associate, to becoming one of the youngest capital partners in the firm, to acting as a co-chair of the New York Financial Markets and Funds practice group and serving as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors.
“I knew Katten was a great place to work, and by the time I was a third-year associate I had solidified a terrific roster of mentors who happened to be all men,” Yacker said. “As I thrived in my career, I was determined to make capital partner by the time I was 40 and to serve in a leadership position at the firm because I wanted to prove to myself that it was possible and to help create a similar path for other women in the firm.”
And she did just that.
Yacker began her career at Katten in the corporate group, handling general securities work and mergers and acquisitions. She credits this experience with providing her the skillset that would serve as the foundation for her current practice.
Soon Yacker was presented with the opportunity to be seconded to a major financial institution, where she gained practical legal experience in the derivatives and private funds market. Yacker relished the experience, and quickly found that the clients she enjoyed working with the most were traders and key decision-makers at hedge funds and private equity funds.
When she returned to the firm from her secondment, she quickly realized that she was one of only a few associates who could handle complex derivatives and structured products transactions for both the buy and sell sides. These types of transactions were regularly handled by the Financial Markets and Funds group, so when practice leaders invited her to join the group she knew it would provide her the platform needed to expand upon this niche. She jumped at the opportunity.
But in 2008, when the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted, she quickly realized that the complex derivatives transactions that she had spent a significant amount of time on were essentially regulated out of business. Good lawyers anticipate future risks; great lawyers identify it and pivot. It was at that moment Yacker decided to move away from derivatives and toward refocusing her practice on fund formation and investment management. There she found success faster than anticipated, and her clients quickly came and continue to rely on her to serve as their outsourced general counsel. Later on, she would pivot again – this time toward representing sophisticated investors looking to make investments in hedge funds, private equity funds, and other alternative financial products.
Today Yacker represents hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools and managed account platforms that engage in a wide variety of strategies, including quantitative trading, private credit, distressed debt, futures, litigation finance, securitized products, affordable housing, renewable energy and carbon credits, to name a few. She also advises clients with regards to seed and early stage investment opportunities and global regulatory issues that arise in connection with investments in funds and managed accounts.
“You need to be able to work dynamically within your industry to find a practice that makes sense for you — one in which you respect and like the client base, and, most importantly, one that you enjoy,” Yacker said. “Do not be reactionary when it comes to your career, be proactive, take the reins and make the tough decisions.”
Being Her Personal and Professional Self
In 2018, Yacker was named Katten’s Working Mother of the Year by Working Mother magazine. The article profiling her pointed out how integration of personal and professional self is only growing in importance.
“Personal and professional—the lines become blurred when you’re predominantly working from home in New York City and raising two children who are remote learning,” she said. “It’s definitely a challenge to shift back and forth between the mom hat, the teacher hat, and the lawyer hat,” says Yacker. “When it comes to my kids, I make every effort to do so with love and respect, and of course a sense of humor, which I know resonates with my children.”
All joking aside, she remarked that her career often dictates that she be deliberate and efficient with her time, and that she create boundaries for herself and her children so that no aspect of the services she provides to her clients is impacted. To that end, she noted that she periodically goes to Katten’s mostly empty midtown Manhattan office when she has an intense work day planned, and joked that she never thought she would enjoy going to an office as much as she does now.
Positive Vibes and Being the Difference
Yacker is most energized about her work when her clients commend her skillset, style and work ethic when it comes to servicing their needs.
“My clients often remark that they see me as a true counselor — a person that they know will give them not only insightful legal advice and the answer under the law, but also an answer that will work for their businesses,” she says. “My clients know that I am not a scrivener, and that I don’t stop at ‘no you can’t’ when they have a difficult issue — I’m here to solve their problems, to be creative, and to use the resources of my firm to find the best possible solution to any problem they have and to get the deal done.”
Yacker primarily attributes her professional integrity and intense work ethic to her grandfather, whose first job after arriving in America after surviving the Holocaust was that of a janitor who made 65 cents an hour. Through incredibly hard work, her grandfather eventually built a successful business. Both of her grandfathers were incredibly hard workers but family came first to them. To Yacker, every day that she puts in a hard day at work is a testament to her grandparents and an attempt to honor their memory.
Learning Along the Way
Yacker gained valuable insight while ascending to become one of the firm’s youngest capital partners.
She recommends that young lawyers work with and learn from as many different lawyers as possible.
“You learn different ways of thinking, different ways of networking, different analytical abilities, and different techniques for maintaining relationships and running a practice,” she observes. “I think that’s been critical to my success.”
Yacker also says that she has always worked hardest for the people who were fully invested in her.
“Seek out mentors who are looking to invest in you personally and professionally,” says Yacker. “And take those relationships as seriously as possible. And then, give back to younger associates in the same regard.”
And most importantly, she encourages young lawyers to take ownership of their careers — not to wait for an opportunity to be handed to them, but rather to take the initiative in building a successful practice and to think proactively and deliberately about their goals.
Networking and Outreach
Yacker stays connected with her clients and colleagues — even in pandemic times. Whether it be a virtual group wine tasting, hosting socially-distanced cocktails and meals on her terrace, or virtual tea with clients in London, Yacker tries her best to proactively stay in touch with her clients both professionally and personally.
She has found it particularly fulfilling to work on pro bono matters, providing legal counsel through the Small Business Legal Relief Alliance to small businesses in New York that are struggling during the global pandemic.
Yacker also sits on the steering committee and national mentoring panel of the Katten Women’s Leadership Forum, which supports the growth of Katten’s women attorneys with professional development events, networking and practical advice.
She is also one of the founding members of Katten’s Women in Finance Initiative, which seeks to build a strong community of women within the firm with a view toward driving cross-selling opportunities and driving more business to this community.
She is an Angel Member of 100 Women in Finance, an organization dedicated to empowering women in the finance and alternative investment industries through meaningful connections, high-impact programming and initiatives that help build the pipeline of future leaders in the industry.
Also close to her heart is the new Parents Affinity Group at Katten—a virtual support group for attorneys and business professionals to connect with each other and discuss approaches to navigating work and family responsibilities.
Crowing Achievement
As committed as she is to her professional success, she views her crowning achievement as the balance she has struck between being a successful lawyer and being a successful mother.
“My children know that mommy’s business means I have to be available to my clients almost all the time, so I work a lot. I think they respect me for how hard I work at my job, but they 100 percent know that they come first and they always will,” Yacker said.
Yacker’s “work hard, play hard” attitude has always resonated with her sons Jackson and Ashton, ages 8 and 12 respectively. She revels daily in how resilient they are, how kind they are to each other, and how hard they work to do their best in school, even under these extraordinary circumstances. Yacker said she finds inspiration from her kids, who make her want to be the best at anything she is doing.
Her most cherished daily moment is the time when it’s just her and her boys — whether they are on the baseball field, cuddling in bed, or laughing together in hysterics on the couch. Those are the moments she is most grateful for.
By Aimee Hansen
Intrepid Women: Beverly Robinson, Client Service Consultant Abbot Downing
Intrepid Women Series, People“I’ve learned to “code-switch” conversationally, in order to convey diverse philosophies and concepts. This tactic allows me to circumvent being profiled and misinterpreted as “angry or aggressive”, and in that way, my voice for diversity and inclusion, and ideas for advocacy are heard more clearly. As an African American woman in Corporate America, I’ve learned that I cannot afford to be thin-skinned when my ideas are usurped, re-mixed or claimed by others. There’s an art to being a woman of diversity, inclusion and advocacy.
My banking career is a means to my economic well-being. However, support of the disenfranchised and marginalized is where I have the greatest impact, and receive heartfelt, profound fulfillment.
As a survivor of childhood molestation, it’s imperative that I fight for those whose voices are often stifled by domestic violence, fear, stigma and even death. I spend priceless time at our local Family Services and Rape Crisis Centers, talking with mothers, hearing their stories of survival, and offering my time and resources. Organizing programs for the national “Domestic Abuse Awareness Month”, to assist the families in moving to the next level, empowers these families and creates hope for a brighter future. In addition, I spend time on college campuses, speaking for the National “Take Back the Night” campaign, and have met and formed friendships with students who have opened up and come forward with their own stories of abuse. Many of these students have graduated to become powerful advocates. Pushing my corporation to provide professional opportunities for students of color who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) is an ongoing passion, resulting in graduates achieving internships and careers and even becoming entrepreneurs. Several of my colleagues have volunteered to become guest lecturers at those HBCU’s, forming an alliance with the faculty and students, helping to power an enduring and ever growing partnership, focused on providing opportunities for a rising generation of talent and leaders.
Because of the confluence of all the above, I became an author, sharing my story and life experiences, presenting workshops and seminars, and traveling nationally doing book tours. My audience is diverse, broad and varied.
Growing up, my upbringing was a bit eclectic. My childhood was not unusual, but not necessarily normal. I began school in Ft. Riley, Kansas where my step-dad was stationed in the Army, in an integrated environment including students who were children of soldiers. Our neighborhood was fully integrated, and by all accounts, civility and unity ruled the day. Being a leader in class both scholastically and athletically, I made friends easily. I clearly remember my first bold act of advocacy on behalf of my classmate, my little blonde, blue-eyed friend named Donna, who, when called on by our teacher to give answers to pop quizzes, was paralyzed with fear, unable to raise her hand to answer the questions asked in rapid fire succession.
As all of our hands were upstretched in excitement, wanting to be picked to answer the questions, our teacher continued to purposely call on her, making my classmate cry uncontrollably, in embarrassment.
The discomfort I felt for her compelled me to yell out the answer each time our teacher berated her, which angered and frustrated the teacher. I spoke up and answered the questions out of turn, knowing I would get in trouble. Donna’s feelings mattered to me. I didn’t appreciate the mistreatment and bullying of my friend. Conversely, my teacher didn’t appreciate my interjections, with my yelling out the answers, so she hastily took me out of the classroom, and in the presence of another teacher as the “witness”, I received corporal punishment. The other teacher seemed irritated that the punishment did not fit the crime, but did not interfere, nor raise opposition. I remained defiant. After this episode, the teacher tapered her verbal assaults directed at my classmate, all but ignoring her. I remained prepared to yell out answers on her behalf. I learned about getting into “good trouble” early on.
My step-dad’s military career was cut short due to his poor physical health. The normality of my childhood was disrupted because he was also unhealthy mentally. He was an incestuous pedophile. We left Ft. Riley, and moved back to my hometown, where I began a new school. A segregated school. The anomaly of transferring from an integrated school to a segregated school and neighborhood wasn’t earth shattering in my young eyes, as I felt comfortable in both settings. My new school was all-Black. All of the teachers, faculty and staff were Black, and the students were treated like family. The women wore dresses, pearls and heals, and all the men wore suits and ties every single day. The pride they carried washed over us as students. They believed strongly in instilling in us a solid education. They believed in excellence and wouldn’t allow any of us to settle for less. Integration and busing came to our school four years later. Our fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Tanner, who was beautiful and brilliant, prepared us for the integration process that was to happen the following year. She gave us “the talk”, and drilled in us that although the books, equipment and educational materials that we used for study were old and dated, compared to the ones of our white peers whose schools were on the more prominent side of town, we were just as smart and capable. I believed Mrs. Tanner, and her words regarding capability settled in my consciousness to this day. I graduated from college and obtained my MBA.
From corporate boardrooms to college campuses, and from church pulpits to women’s empowerment conferences, my sphere of influence has allowed me the esteemed opportunity to listen with compassion, create viable diversity programming, to serve as mentor and trusted advisor to executive management, share life experiences, and to empower and affirm those seeking answers to life’s challenges. I learn and grow with each interaction. Advocacy isn’t the path of least resistance, and often, fighting for others while girding oneself mentally and emotionally is typically the road less
traveled. At times, my resolve and tenacity has been shaken when I’ve seen clear paths and pipelines to inclusion, but met with non-cooperation, deflection, indifference and lack of enthusiasm. It’s always a challenge understanding those who are not willing to work hard on behalf of others, unless they receive accolades – self-aggrandizement. But I’ve learned that to push forward to accomplish goals, ideologies and dreams, sometimes obstacles have to be sidestepped, and rerouting and recalibrating is necessary in order to accomplish the objectives of unity and inclusion.
I’m enjoying my journey, paying keen and sincere attention to the needs of those requiring a voice. I relish being able to push, pull and convince others to work on behalf of those in need. All of our lives improve markedly when we serve l.o[0others. I shall continue to advocate for those within our company structure, and for those outside of our corporation. And, as I say often, “courage takes courage”.
Abbot Downing, a Wells Fargo business, and Wells Fargo Private Bank offer products and services through Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and its various affiliates and subsidiaries. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company
By Aimee Hansen
Op-Ed: Leading Toward Disruption – A Call to Action for Women In STEM
NewsThere has never been a time in my career when I have been more optimistic about the future for women in leadership and women in STEM.
I have been inspired through all of the chaos of the last year to work toward a new kind of change leadership where uncertainty is the norm and reinvention becomes the goal.
The intense turmoil of 2020 – the pandemic, social unrest, economic instability and devastating natural disasters – has exposed the fragility and insecurity of old paradigms of leadership.
Leadership that is rooted in preservation ignites fear. The fear of change that persists in organizations is the same fear that perpetuates gender bias because it means that we have to do things differently.
As women, STEM professionals and change leaders, we are uniquely positioned to shift the equilibrium from fear toward sustained progress.
We are a triple threat.
Now is the time for us to seize the momentum as champions for equity, catalysts for purpose driven innovation and architects of permanent changes for good.
We must expose the invisible barriers that have weakened companies and communities and leave the rules of the past behind.
While there are more women in STEM than ever before, recruiting more women into STEM careers is not enough. Developing and galvanizing a pipeline of women that can lead into disruption is our greatest opportunity.
In a 2019 research study developed and conducted by RTI International commissioned by L’Oréal USA and the Heising-Simons Foundation, 90% of respondents agree that in the past decade, women’s opportunities for career advancement in science have improved along with gender composition and 66% agree that women’s representation in leadership positions in scientific fields has improved.
While there is a sense of progress emerging, the gender gap in STEM continues to grow especially in leadership roles.
My journey upon reflection
Reflecting on my own leadership journey, I was not always optimistic about the future – especially my own. I experienced set backs, rejection and a lot of disappointment.
For many years, I emphasized competence and performance as a way to advance. I took on more stretch assignments to increase my visibility. I ignored the signs that my dissenting voice was unwelcome and my naïveté got the better of me. I was exhausted, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel. I falsely assumed that change in organizations is rational. And, I battled whether or not I needed to change myself or my expectations to be successful.
Overtime, I began to realize that competence is a trap, certainty is a fallacy and being a critic is really hard.
I started to educate myself and concluded that I wasn’t alone and that the discrimination I experienced was not personal but systemic and far reaching.
According to a study conducted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) commissioned by the National Science Foundation, women believe they need to be exceptional to advance in STEM.
As STEM is considered “masculine”, women are seen as either competent or likable but not both. When a woman displays competence, she pays the price in pay equity, rewards and advancement. And this double bind has a significant impact on retention among the most talented and highest potential women in particular. An Oxford Academic Journal studying retention concluded that women with advanced degrees are 165% more likely to leave STEM.
I too was on my way to becoming another statistic but I reversed the trend and actually I’m proud to say that I am a statistic – but the good kind. In 2018, Harvard Business Review published a study from the Center for Talent Innovation which found that one in five women in STEM achieve success regardless of how supportive or hostile their working environment is.
One of the key differentiators highlighted in the research is speaking up. However, 82% of women in STEM say when they do speak up, their contributions are ignored.
It is no wonder, many of us eventually retreat. According to the Oxford study, after about 12 years, 50% of women who originally worked in STEM leave, compared to only 20% of professional women.
There have been many times that I have been afraid to speak up to avoid discomfort, retaliation and embarrassment.
I became aware that I could take a stand, get overlooked, keep going and be afraid all at the same time.
I convinced myself that I could breakthrough by taking the biggest risk of all – being myself.
This journey of leadership is how I got to today – ready to embrace the unknown, finding the way forward between old and new and reimagining what comes next.
Standing up for change is a courageous decision – especially when it requires change from within.
I envision a future where courage is rewarded and change resistance is no longer tolerable.
Women leaders in STEM are the trifecta of audacity, empathy and diversity needed to unleash a new reality that is grounded in equality.
We are the change.
Danielle Maurici-Arnone is the Chief Information Officer at Reckitt Benkiser (RB), a global Consumer Products company, where she leads the technology function for the North America Health and Nutrition businesses and sits on the Global Council for Diversity and Inclusion.
Danielle has served in global technology leadership roles for more than 20 years. She has founded and led SaaS based start ups in digital marketing and retail.
She has a rare combination of skills and experience delivering enterprise digital technology transformations as well as designing and scaling emerging technology solutions.
Danielle graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA from Rutgers University. She received her Masters in Public Policy and was a graduate fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers. She holds a Masters in Information Systems from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
She serves on the Governing Body of Gartner’s CIOs Forum, is a board member of the Foundation Committee for the NJ Society of Information Management, is board member and Scholarship Committee chair for the Academy of Finance.
Danielle passionate about the advancement of women in STEM careers, technology and business leadership
Niamh Bushnell: Chief Communications Officer (CCO), Soapbox Labs
Voices of ExperienceBushnell shares her passion for Ireland’s technology prowess, the importance of equitable AI and the challenges for women in technology.
Tech Was The Ticket, Ireland Was the Passion
Coming out of university in the mid-90’s, Bushnell was keen to travel, use her foreign languages (Spanish, French and Italian), and work with smart, exciting people.
“So it wasn’t a love of technology itself that attracted me to the tech industry.” she admits. “I’ve always had those two sides, working with savvy tech entrepreneurs and representing tech companies, but not being a ‘tech person’ myself. What I did love, and was drawn to, was their smarts, and the universality and the dynamism of the industry.”
During 16 years based in the NYC area, she worked on supporting Irish, European and other international start-ups in entering the U.S. market. While adventure may have drawn her to tech, what compelled her to remain has been the opportunity to secure Ireland’s place in the “pantheon of technology champions.”
“For someone who loves to travel and has a global mindset, I’m also very committed to supporting local – be where you are, get involved in where you, shop where you are,” says Bushnell. “I was 16 years in NYC when I saw an ad for a leadership role in Dublin – to be the face of the indigenous tech industry there, to tell the story of Dublin as a city of technology and innovation. It read like a job tailor made for me, with a mission I could be really excited about.”
In 2014, as Dublin Commissioner for Startups, she returned home with family, where she launched popular initiatives like the First Friday Brekkie, the publication Dublin Globe (to tell the stories of Irish tech companies), the data tracking platform TechIreland, and female founder focused activities like the €100M campaign, and the video series Female Founder Fridays.
“People think that multinational companies are the only Irish tech stories,” states Bushnell. “But there are over 2000 Irish startups and scale-ups expanding globally with technology homegrown in Ireland. I was just really fired up to tell that story.”
The Power of Tech Networking
As Commissioner, Bushnell’s strategy was to focus on promoting “the best of the best” Irish companies to achieve international traction.
“My philosophy was always that to win, our approach can’t be to love all of our companies equally. If we want Dublin’s reputation to grow, we have to focus our limited resources on promoting the very best companies, the most talented and gifted teams, the businesses with the greatest global potential,” she remembers, “Promote them first and foremost, and all Irish companies will benefit from that.”
It was at one of the monthly First Friday Brekkies Bushnell hosted in the Commissioner’s office that she met Patricia Scanlon, CEO and Founder of SoapBox Labs, a deep tech AI company specializing in speech recognition for children. They happened to both have a ring made by the same Soho designer from their stints living in New York.
“You can tell when you meet founders how deep their ambition is, how great their vision is, and how solid their ground rules are,” states Bushnell. Scanlon’s 20+ years of specialization in speech recognition, her vision, and her approach to fundraising impressed Niamh hugely.
“Speech recognition for kids hadn’t really been touched,” explained Bushnell. “So SoapBox was going to be the specialist who would become a world leader in that space. The ambition to deliver on that was already tangible.”
Real integrity in AI
In her current role at SoapBox Labs, Bushnell testifies to the value of foresight and patience in developing the best technology to positively impact all user’s lives.
“Is your AI developed in a way that is equitable – that doesn’t have inherent gender bias or racial bias?” asks Bushnell. “If voice tech doesn’t recognize a kid’s dialect and gives them a lower score on a reading assessment because they don’t pronounce words in the way the AI has been built to understand them, they’re going to lose out at school.”
“The way technology is built these days hugely impacts people’s quality of life – including their physical and mental health – and it can impact them socioeconomically too.” says Bushnell. “Equity is a big piece. Our voice technology has been proven to show no bias when it comes to accents and dialects. That’s massive. We built it with the ambition to deliver a level playing field for all kids, so we’re super excited that independent validators and customers are confirming that.”
As technology becomes more deeply integrated into our lives and education, especially at a young age, it’s more important than ever that it offers a positive and accurate experience for all users. With voice technology, this means developing solutions from the ground-up that actually work for all kinds of children.
“So that’s the compelling vision I’m now happy to be communicating,” smiles Bushnell.
Challenge for Women in Tech
Having held several roles promoting the tech industry, Bushnell has talked to many women about their experiences.
“What is one-hundred percent true, but kind of unbelievable still, is that women founders who are technical by background are often not taken seriously for their big vision and big ambition,” says Bushnell, especially if they’re proposing game changing, first-of-its-kind innovation.
“Women founders who are scientists, who are engineers, who are PhDs, who have spent their whole careers building innovation and have the patents to prove it, these women say that when they go into a room and position a big vision of something that is going to change the world, they are often not believed by the men or the women (if there are any) sitting on the other side of the table.”
These women need extra grit and resilience as they move step by step through the process of knocking down the hurdles placed before them. Bushnell agrees that women have a huge responsibility to support other women in breaking down the barriers we collectively face. She also says it’s about time that women get over the need to be liked by everyone.
“I think you’ve gotta really be comfortable with being a leader and being respected” she says, “but it’s also okay to be unpopular for decisions you make. It’s also okay to be wrong about decisions you make and put up your hand and say so. I think women care a lot more about their reputations at every stage of their journey than maybe they should.”
Despite the observation that society has a harder time accepting and encouraging women through failures, she encourages women to learn to embrace racking up some failures along the way.
“We just have such a hard time faking it until we make it,” says Bushnell. “and business is nothing but that. You never really have any of the answers! You do good research, pay attention to the trends, listen to your instincts, but in the end, you have to take risks.”
One of her greatest experiences was in the TechIreland role when her team had little resource but a big vision. She loved taking risks, dusting herself off, and developing the tenacity to get up again and learn by doing.
“You can have loads of failure but if you have tenacity, the chances are you’re going to figure it out as you try and fail, as you go along.” she muses.
“There’s a lot of freedom when you’re comfortable with risk, and with freedom comes creativity. Don’t worry if every single step isn’t going to come out as you want it to. Often times you don’t even know what the ideal outcome is, until you start.”
Women in Tech: Seven Hurdles to Overcoming the Gender Gap
NewsSo why is tech still so male-dominated? Research shows gender diversity training programs are not altering the leadership composition in tech.
Perhaps it’s because the gender gap is truly a series of interconnected hurdles that run along the tech trajectory.
Attraction Deficit
Women have been disinvited from tech over the decades, often even steered away by their teachers. Both tech stereotypes and a lack of visible role models are discouraging.
Back in the 1980s, women made up 37% of computer science (CS) graduates. Nationally, women earning CS degrees decreased from only 27% percent in 1997 to 19% in 2016.
Meanwhile, Accenture found there are more jobs in the field than graduates to fill them.
Yet focusing only on attracting female students – who are inclined to be more proficient in engineering and tech tasks at the eighth grade level – is highly oversimplifying.
Fewer Women In Tech Roles
As of 2015, women made up only 25% of computing roles nationally. In the UK, only 17% of the digital workforce is women for a decade now.
“A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone,” says Google CEO Sundar Pichai. But the tech profile does not reflect gender diversity.
As of 2020, women comprise only 20% of Microsoft tech jobs, and 23% of tech jobs at Facebook, Google and Apple.
“Bro Culture”
A stereotype-ridden “bro culture” that is laden with microaggressions creates a sense of women not belonging in tech.
“Diversity in the workplace has a lot to do with psychological safety and a comfortable welcoming environment in the workplace,” writes Kamilika Some in Analytics Insight. “As long as workplaces don’t become women-friendly, they would not feel comfortable enough to speak up and contribute to the team constructively.”
Pew research in 2017 showed that 74% of women in computer jobs felt gender discrimination. In a male-dominated workplace, 79% of women felt they had to prove themselves all the time.
An Ivanti study showed that more than 60% of women in the tech sector felt that long-standing stereotypes still favored men in leadership roles in tech and that women are judged by different criteria. 53% of women felt they weren’t taken seriously in the workplace.
Forbes council member Tendu Yogurtcu writes that increasing women in leadership requires meaningful cultural changes and “happened (at her company) because we focused on creating a fair, inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to share ideas.”
Less Pay
Pew Research reports that women in computing on average earn 87% of what a man earns, with greater gaps for Black women.
A 2019 IDC report showed that, contrary to stereotype, women (52%) in tech were more concerned about compensation and pay than men (33%). Further, only 42% of women felt their employer paid equitably, while a whopping 75% of men felt they did.
The Ivanti research revealed that 64% of women would see equality in pay and benefits as a main factor in attracting them to a new role.
Low Retention
National Science Foundation data shows that only 38% of women who majored in computer science are actually working in the field (compared to 53% of men).
Previous research showed that US women working in tech, science, or engineering were 45% more likely than male colleagues to quit their job in the first year.
With lower pay, unwelcoming culture and less likelihood of leadership, it’s not surprising.
Missing in Leadership
The Ivanti women survey found that women perceiving a glass ceiling in tech (31%) rose in 2019 (from 24% in 2018).
An IDC report indicated that women in tech senior leadership increased from 21% in 2018 to 24% in 2019. 54% of men felt they were likely to be employed to executive management in their company, whereas only 25% of women felt the same – noting lack of support, self-confidence and sponsorship.
Deloitte found that women who have sponsorship within STEM are 22% more likely to be satisfied with their rate of promotion, 37% more likely to ask for a raise, 70% more likely to have their ideas endorsed, 119% more likely to have their ideas developed and 200% more likely to have their ideas developed.
According to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), only 41% of new US tech startups have a woman in the C-Suite and 37% have one on the board of directors. Only 4.8% of S&P 500 CEOs are women.
Women make up only 25% of Microsoft leadership, 26% at Google, 27% at Amazon, 29% at Apple and 33% at Facebook.
IDC research shows that at companies where at least half of the senior leadership positions are held by women, the chances of equal pay for women, higher retention and job satisfaction are better.
Yet only a third of start-ups have programs focused on increasing women in leadership and 17% have goals to increase C-Suite representation, according to SVB.
Few Women Founders
The gender of the founder or founding team of startups has a huge impact on gender diversity in leadership, according to SVB.
Only 14% of total startups have a women CEO. But among startups with a woman on the founding team, 46% have a woman CEO. Among startups with only male founders, only 2% have a female CEO.
Yet less than 4% of total startup funding goes to women founders, and Pitchbook reports 77% of US Venture Capital funding in 2019 went to all male founding teams.
When it comes to venture firms who channel the capital, 65% have no female partners. Only 7% of partners at global top 100 venture firms are women.
All in all, tech is currently better at keeping women out than encouraging them in. If the industry wants to catch up, it’s not only one gap that must be addressed, but all of the hurdles at which women drop out.
by Aimee Hansen
Trisha Sircar; Partner, Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity, Katten
People, Voices of ExperienceThe terrain of data privacy and cybersecurity is evolving as quickly as our relationships to technology, so there’s rarely been a more challenging or rewarding time to be an authority in this field.
Organic networking from one of the world’s largest insurance companies to Katten
After beginning her legal career in litigation at a law firm, Sircar moved to in-house at a global insurance company. In 2014, two years into her eight-year tenure there, she segued from employment law to data privacy and cybersecurity, exploring from both legal and business vantages, usually for Fortune 500 clients.
“We’d take a deep dive into how organizations measured their data privacy and cybersecurity from a macro and micro perspective,” Sircar says. “It was very interesting to see how different clients — healthcare, pharmaceutical, hospitals, universities, media, tech, professional services firms, retail, and others — use, collect and retain data, and manage their privacy and cybersecurity risk.”
Within her last remit as counsel and compliance officer, Sircar helped implement the company’s global privacy compliance and records and information management program, as well as manage internal policies and procedures pertaining to privacy, data and cyber security across more than 50 global locations.
Through her work, Sircar developed a longstanding client relationship with Floyd Mandell and Karen Artz Ash, Katten Partners and Co-Chairs of the Intellectual Property practice.
“I had very close ties with Katten throughout my career,” she says. “I saw Floyd and others on his team as mentors and friends that I could always turn to.”
Sircar was focused on establishing her career in-house and did not plan to return to private practice, but soon found herself accepting the invitation to join Katten in January 2020.
“I knew their business model, their reputation, and I knew that I could trust them as a partner based on the multiple matters that we handled together,” she says. “I always tell my mentees and associates on my team that you should keep an open mind and be open to opportunities. So I kept an open mind, and I’ve been very happy with the decision.”
New World, New Questions, New Challenges
In her role at Katten, Sircar is largely confronting the issues that have arisen and solutions to be forged under the context of a public health crisis.
“I’ve recently worked on updating business continuity plans for clients that envisaged a terrorist attack in advance of 9/11 or natural disasters before Hurricane Sandy struck, but many of our clients never thought to foresee a pandemic,” says Sircar. “So we are creating a new playbook. It’s something that is dynamic and going to change day to day, every day.”
A salient focus right now is education privacy, both in creating safe and secure practices for sustaining education in a remote environment and navigating, where feasible, re-entry into the classroom.
As both an attorney and aunt, Sircar appreciates the complex considerations at play in the transition to remote learning, including the importance for schools to perform critical due diligence on software, applications and technology platforms with regards to how they protect students’ privacy, and to pay close attention to how these platforms collect data on students.
Schools need to address whether they provide sufficient disclosures to students, parents and guardians, and teachers, and employ adequate information and cybersecurity protocols so parents and guardians are clearly aware of what is going on in virtual classrooms and what support is available, according to Sircar.
“Whatever we can do to promote safe and secure practices for schools during this environment, whether they are participating remotely or in a hybrid model, is really important,” Sircar said.
Sircar clarifies there is no easy, one-size-fits-all solution. Not only are schools under state-level laws, but guidance at the district and school levels differ and fluctuate too.
Many business clients are also navigating creative changes in their client or consumer relationship and interface in the present pandemic world.
The way of overseeing businesses’ privacy policies and processes, and compliance with global privacy law, is also impacted — from managing increases in cybercrime to what to do when you can no longer run to the IT guy down the hallway.
Real Diversity is Visible
Despite the tech-related nature of her legal realm, Sircar attests that neither her gender nor Indian ethnic background have been personal barriers.
“My last manager was a female. Her manager was a female and the hierarchy above her were all females,” she says. “I have been fortunate to have had incredible mentors. And Katten is truly supportive and amazing in terms of their work/life balance and maternity leave policy.”
“I have interviewed with companies and law firms that I know have strong diversity and inclusion programs, and it’s not just window dressing. I see their impact at a substantive level,” says Sircar.
She recommends to do the research before interviewing, ask the hard questions and pay attention. At a senior level, she suggests reaching out to networking peers to share thoughts on the leadership culture of a firm.
“When I hired Katten at my predecessor company’s lawyers, I saw the hierarchy, and there were females and minorities in those high positions that I’d be working with or reporting to,” says Sircar. “But I think law firms generally have more work to do to achieve parity.”
On that note, Sircar finds her pro bono work with entrepreneurs in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, which helps to foster more diversity in law, to be essential.
“I think it’s really important that as lawyers and leaders, we don’t always look to what we deserve or what we should get,” states Sircar. “It should be more of a culture that embraces giving back.”
Mentorship and Support
“Katten really supports mentorship, not only at an internal level between partners and associates,” notes Sircar, “but also externally with students — from high school to college to law school.”
While she’s often gone the path on her own — from Australia to New York to law school to partnership — she emphasizes to her mentees to be willing to ask for support.
“Reaching out for help or advice does not subvert you from your task of getting to what you want to do,” says Sircar, “and it could have gotten me there faster. Be open to others’ opinions. Don’t be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions, but also be prepared for the tough answers.”
“It’s really important to get different perspectives from different people, from different backgrounds and different facets of the legal profession.”
Guardian of our Times
In addition to being perceived as a role model to other women and making her family proud, Sircar is proud to stand as an authority in a field of law that has an impact on everyone in this interconnected, global digital economy.
“I assist my clients in understanding and managing the evolving privacy and cybersecurity risks that they face when they create their services and products or market them, while protecting and securing personal data and confidential information,” she says. “Working in an industry that really affects everybody and holding all parties accountable to that, that’s another thing I’m proud of. I get to do a job every day that helps society by promoting and ensuring an ethical approach to the usage of data, individual privacy and sound cybersecurity hygiene.”
By Aimee Hansen
Afua Richardson-Parry, Senior Medical Manager, Pfizer Ltd.
Movers and ShakersShe didn’t set out to be a “Jill of all trades,” but rather to be adaptable and flexible. However, this drive shaped a sense of focus that sharpened when she came across a quote that really spoke to her; “Know your strength, staff your weakness.”
“That has changed my perspectives on teamwork and delegation in both ‘work’ and ‘play’ contexts,” she says. “Knowing what you’re best at and what others can and should do instead of doing it all yourself allows you to be your best.”
Keeping a Focus on Patient Needs
Richardson-Parry pursued pharmaceutical sciences because she was interested in research and exploration into how the body works and possible interventions to combat diseases. “I can say that now with almost 18 years in the industry, my desire to make an impact in healthcare has and continues to be positively fulfilled,” she says.
After earning a post-graduate research degree, Richardson-Parry began her career at the UK Department of Health – specifically the executive branch dealing with medicines regulation and licensing (MHRA). She then moved into the pharmaceutical industry, working within regulatory affairs and rising quickly into senior executive roles with increasing responsibilities.
Now a senior manager within medical affairs, compliance, governance and strategy at Pfizer, she appreciates her role as one that brings her close to healthcare professionals—and more importantly patients—through various educational initiatives. She views this as a great professional achievement – seeing the fruits of her passion for making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients through collaborative partnerships that help to optimize their health.
“I have had the privilege of working with and supporting leading experts, academics, healthcare professionals and clinicians, such as doctors, pharmacists nurses and specialists through a series of online and digital educational resources to enhance clinical practice and patient care,” Richardson-Parry said.
Working With Others to Learn More, Achieve More
Over the years, Richardson-Parry has had the opportunity to mentor and be mentored in personal and professional life settings. She has found being able to coach or encourage someone in the right direction is rewarding. Equally, being championed by fellow colleagues has tremendously bolstered her understanding of the business and corporate world. “In addition, I believe my career has progressed because of having a sense of purpose and focus. I live to better understand why I am here and what I am supposed to bring to this world. Also, having a strong conviction in my values and beliefs is just as important to me as being confident, hard-working, positive and resilient. Above all I have a personal desire for growth in every season of life.”
In addition, she cites former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Dr. Martin Luther King and Michelle Obama as some of her goal role models – both for their outlook on life and their sense of optimism even in the face of adversity and challenges.
Closer to home, she has found value in company networks that are designed to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment, which she finds essential for business as well as personal growth. “When women connect on professional and relational aspects, it can help ensure that they are well-represented in leadership, while having the freedom to balance family life and other social initiatives”, Richardson-Parry says.
She recently has been able to co-lead colleagues in the UK in continuous dialogue about race and ethnicity at work. She confirms that diversity and inclusion is a key focus of all levels of senior leadership at Pfizer. Through her local networks and workstreams in the UK, she joins a group of dedicated colleagues who are passionate about raising awareness about race and ethnicity at all levels of leadership.
“With a group of passionate allies, we are leading the conversation to effect lasting change so people feel confident to talk about racism and injustice, as well as create opportunities where all colleagues can thrive and progress in their careers, whilst bringing their best selves to work.”
Richardson-Parry, in collaboration with colleagues at Pfizer, continues to build lasting partnerships within academia and among clinicians through digital educational resources that may help them to manage patients with chronic disease and within the context of the current pandemic.
While she initially held the view that the corporate pharma world might tend toward being business- and transaction-driven, with little opportunity for the patient’s voice to enter key decision making, she soon learned that was far from the case. “Throughout my career in the industry and especially in my current role, I can share plenty of examples that attests to a strategy that puts patients right at the heart of everything that we do.”
by Cathie Ericson