![Ann_Ziegler[1]](https://theglasshammer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Ann_Ziegler1-235x240.jpg "Ann_Ziegler[1]")
By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)
Audacious proclamations are the hallmark of the many of the successful among us. “You’ve got to raise your hand,” says CDW’s Ann Ziegler, the corporation’s CFO.
No surprise, then, that Ziegler, who is an attorney—not a CPA or Finance MBA—told her boss at Sara Lee— “I want to be the corporate CFO”—and has come to realize that goal.
Ziegler was drawn to the law early, mostly because of strong influence of an older cousin who was an accomplished lawyer. Once she was knee-deep in her legal studies, she realized that, above all else, she was called by corporate law, even though it wasn’t what most of her classmates were doing. “At that time I was in law school, litigation was the sexy part. But I never wanted to be a litigator. I enjoyed corporate law and other similar courses.”
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The Glass Hammer / Stone House Consulting Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends
Featured, NewsExecutive Summary
Margins in the investment management industry are under siege, facing threats from both directions – lower fees and rising costs. The Glass Hammer / Stone House Consulting Survey of Buy-Side Industry Trends indicates that while regulators are contributing to the cost pressures, the industry’s own client base, together with the investment consulting firms that advise those clients, are a key factor in the equation. Not only are investors demanding greater due diligence, improved risk monitoring and controls, but they are calling for lower fees without any concession on the performance expectations, high levels of customization and quality client service they have always required.
Many managers, seeking to protect their margin, have responded in the market crisis with staff cutbacks and hasty outsourcing deals that, in some instances, have resulted in increasing operational risk within an investment management firm – or have set the stage for potential problems as the job market improves.
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Voice of Experience: Joanne Kinsella, Managing Director, ITRS America
Voices of ExperienceWhen asked how she ended up in the financial technology industry, Jo Kinsella, managing director of ITRS America quickly answers: “Pure unadulterated chance.”
Indeed, her career path has wound through industries and countries, starting with French proficiency upon graduation from university from Leeds, England. And although she was able to write a thesis in the language, Kinsella did not want to be a translator. Without much office experience, she went to work as an office temp for Carlton Television but was soon promoted to full-time events manager, organizing and running corporate events, hospitality, and public relations for the shows they did around England.
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Bonuses: Are You Getting a Fair Deal?
NewsBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)
Ever wondered why we still have the gender pay gap? Well, women receive around 80 per cent less in performance related pay than their male colleagues in some of the UK’s top finance companies – and that is a large chunk of why women’s salaries differ from their male counterparts.
An inquiry into the finance sector by the U.K.’s Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that women are much worse off when it comes to receiving bonuses. The average performance related payout for female employees was just £2,875 compared to an average of £14,554 for men. It’s not simply a few highly paid men, or a skew toward women in administrative roles on low salaries, either. There was a gender pay gap for men and women in the same grade or job category – where both sexes are assumed to be doing the same actual job – in 63 per cent of cases.
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Rumblings and Mumblings at the FIA Expo
NewsBy Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)
Mere days before the 25th Annual Futures & Options Expo began on October 21st, the Chicago derivatives market was all abuzz. The cause: the report last week by Crain’s Chicago Business that the CME Group was considering an acquisition of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Whether the acquisition will come to fruition is still in question, dependent on a resolution of a lawsuit between the CBOE and the Chicago Board of Trade (owned by the CME Group) concerning the ownership of CBOE. But that didn’t stop speculation about the potential acquisition from making its way through the Expo.
John Lothian, the publisher of the John Lothian Newsletters, believes that this is a ploy to put a price on the options exchange. “CBOE knows that to realize the value of their franchise they need to demutualize and conduct a public offering. It is only for that price information that they will be able to entertain any potential deals,” said Lothian.
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Considering More and/or Better Regulation at SIFMA’s Annual Meeting
Featured, Pipeline, What's OnBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
On Tuesday, October 27, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) held its annual meeting in New York. While speakers covered a range of topics, foremost on the conference agenda was the coming changes in regulation, their potential effects, and whether more and/or better regulation is the right direction for the industry.
“We are by no means out of the woods, and even if we were, it would be irresponsible to forget” past events and the practices that have led to the current economic situation said keynote speaker Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro. Schapiro opened the conference with a strong call for new regulation, and explained its necessity.
The right questions had not been asked in the past, Schapiro said, and the SEC intended to change that. In fact, the SEC now receives hundreds of thousands of tips each year, and the agency is working to develop a new tracking system to better identify promising leads.
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Voice of Experience: Ann Ziegler, Chief Financial Officer of CDW
Voices of ExperienceAudacious proclamations are the hallmark of the many of the successful among us. “You’ve got to raise your hand,” says CDW’s Ann Ziegler, the corporation’s CFO.
No surprise, then, that Ziegler, who is an attorney—not a CPA or Finance MBA—told her boss at Sara Lee— “I want to be the corporate CFO”—and has come to realize that goal.
Ziegler was drawn to the law early, mostly because of strong influence of an older cousin who was an accomplished lawyer. Once she was knee-deep in her legal studies, she realized that, above all else, she was called by corporate law, even though it wasn’t what most of her classmates were doing. “At that time I was in law school, litigation was the sexy part. But I never wanted to be a litigator. I enjoyed corporate law and other similar courses.”
Read more
The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking™
Newsby Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
U.S. Banker magazine recently released its annual 25 most powerful women in banking edition. The list is actually several lists: The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking; The 25 Women to Watch; the Top 25 Nonbank Women in Finance and the Top 3 Banking Teams. This year the magazine aptly titled its accompanying story “Taking Charge in Turbulent Times.” Amid the stress and turmoil of the industry overall, women both triumphed and tripped.
Bank of America hired former Citgroup exec Sallie Krawcheck to head the Global Wealth and Investment Management unit and promoted Cathy Bessant to head of Global Corporate Banking. Because Krawacheck was not in her current job for more than one year, she was not eligible for the list of most powerful women. Instead, she tops the list of women to watch. Also the year, the California Public Employees Retirement System appointed its first ever woman CEO, Anne Stausboll. And Heidi Miller, CEO of JPMorgan Treasury and Securities Services, was in the number one spot for the third year in a row.
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Ask-A-Career Coach: How Final Round Job Interviews Are Different…Or Not
Ask A Career CoachA workshop participant recently asked me, “How do I prepare for my final interview at [major financial institution]?”
Kudos to this person for recognizing that final round job interviews are different from other interviews. At the finalist stage, the prospective employer knows much more about you and can tailor the interviews accordingly so dissect the rounds prior to this one and review what everyone who interviewed you asked and what you answered. You need to be consistent. You need to recall everyone by name (to show that you care). You need to be able to summarize what you discussed (to show that you were listening).
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Best of the Best: Working Mother’s Top Companies for Women
NewsBy Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
Twenty-six financial services firms, seven major technology companies, and four law firms were named in the Working Mother 100 Best Companies 2009 list, giving us hope that despite all the challenges women face and we document on this site every day, there are many companies that understand the value women bring to the workplace. And the companies cited by Working Mother magazine, don’t stop at appreciating the contributions of women at work. They support, promote and retain women workers.
Take Goldman Sachs. One of the reasons Goldman made the list is the global financial services firm started a “Returnship” program for employees reentering the workforce. This program is similar to an internship. Goldman Sachs runs an eight week retraining program to help employees bring their skill sets up to current standards.
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Top Women CFOs: How They Got There
Breaking the Glass CeilingBy Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
In an effort to support and promote women looking to become Chief Financial Officers, Deloitte Consulting LLP interviewed 15 of the top women CFOs in the United States and Europe. The firm asked a series of questions including:
Deloitte wanted to understand what career paths, key relationships, traits and decisions led to these women joining the top ranks of financial professionals. The results are published in the report entitled “The Journey to CFO: Perspectives from women leaders.”
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