by Caroline Shannon (Dayton, Ohio)
Sharon Vosmek was busy planning an exit strategy when the CEO decided to resign from the company Vosmek had been working at as second in command for about three years. She was positive the company, Astia, would seek an external candidate, and then that person would bring in his or her own team. It never occurred to her that, perhaps, she could be a viable candidate for the position; that is, until the Astia community convinced her otherwise.
“I finally threw my hat in the ring for the position after the very loud and consistent support of others,” said Vosmek, who is now the CEO of Astia. “To this day I am surprised by my own lack of understanding that I had the very skills required to succeed as the CEO of Astia.”
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Women in the City Award Winner: Dr. Denise Pollard-Knight, Managing Director, Nomura Phase4 Ventures
Movers and ShakersYou wouldn’t expect a biochemistry degree to open many doors in financial services but Denise Pollard-Knight has found that her life sciences background has given her an excellent grounding for bioscience investment management. She is now Managing Director of Nomura Phase4 Ventures, a venture capital subsidiary of Asia-based investment bank Nomura, and has just been confirmed as the Financial Services Category winner in the Women in the City awards 2008.
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Hand in Hand International: A Holistic Approach to Microfinancing
Women and PhilanthropyIn the fight against global poverty, microfinance has been hailed as one success story in a field of many failures. As microlending continues to move into the mainstream, men tend to hold the top jobs. But there are women moving up the ladder.
Hand in Hand International, a public charitable trust that works mainly in India with some activity in Afghanistan and South Africa, is a prime example. Headed by Indian national Kalpana Sankar, the organization takes a holistic approach to microfinance, believing that such an approach is necessary to make microfinance a sharper tool in combating poverty.
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Movers & Shakers: Aeronautics and Defense
Movers and ShakersOf the six companies among the Fortune 100 ranking for this industry—Boeing (#27), United Technologies (#39), Lockheed Martin (#57), Honeywell (#73) , Northrop Grumman (#76) and General Dynamics (#87)—all have women in the C-suite.
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Women as Leaders
Next LevelSharon Vosmek was busy planning an exit strategy when the CEO decided to resign from the company Vosmek had been working at as second in command for about three years. She was positive the company, Astia, would seek an external candidate, and then that person would bring in his or her own team. It never occurred to her that, perhaps, she could be a viable candidate for the position; that is, until the Astia community convinced her otherwise.
“I finally threw my hat in the ring for the position after the very loud and consistent support of others,” said Vosmek, who is now the CEO of Astia. “To this day I am surprised by my own lack of understanding that I had the very skills required to succeed as the CEO of Astia.”
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Pink Slips
Expert AnswersAt the recent CEO summit I produced in Canada, one of the women directors admitted to me that she was mortified when she was handed a pink slip and went to hide in the Ladies Room so no one would see her cry. She left the company at the end of the day, but before exiting, quickly signed the severance agreement given to her by an HR manager. She did not address her team nor did she say goodbye to her colleagues. She was just so embarrassed by the situation.
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Ask-A-Recruiter: The Choice Matrix
Ask A RecruiterYou have two job offers. Which do you choose? You’re expecting a baby. Do you stay at the job, scale back or quit altogether? You’re unhappy in your current job. Do you move laterally, find a new employer, or change careers? You will make many career choices in your lifetime. A matrix of your priorities and your options is a useful decision-making tool: Read more
Canada’s Top 100
Breaking the Glass CeilingOn November 25, 2008, The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) announced their picks for the 2008 Most Powerful Women in Canada: Top 100. This list recognizes and celebrates the achievements of women in academia, government and the arts alongside those in corporate leadership. More than a quarter of the women on this year’s list work in banking and financial services. Read more
California’s Glass Ceiling
Breaking the Glass CeilingThe World Economic Forum 2008 Global Gender Gap Report released last month may show that women are making progress worldwide, but a report closer to home tells a bleaker story, even in one of the most progressive states in the Union. The University of California Davis just released its fourth annual study on women in the 400 largest publicly held companies headquartered in California and it reveals there is only one woman for every nine men at the executive levels of these companies.
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Women in the City Award Winner: Sara Caplan, Associate Partner, KPMG
Movers and Shakers“I don’t think women find it harder to succeed than men,” says Sara Caplan. “I think often they choose a different lifestyle.” And management consultancy is a very specific lifestyle choice. It can involve long hours, being away from home, and being expected to hit the ground running as soon as you arrive at the client site. You can’t have an off-day and you can’t always predict how your working week will plan out. This can make it a difficult choice for women.
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In Case You Missed It: Weekend Round-up
NewsIn case you were too busy enjoying your weekend (or too swamped trying to get all of your holiday shopping done) to have kept up with the news, contributor Martin Mitchell has been kind enough to gather some important market events from this past weekend (and week) so that you can start this week well informed:
Saturday, December 6th
Spain’s Ferrovial has invited bids to sell London Gatwick airport in advance of an antitrust decision that is expected from the Competition Commission next March. Ferrovial owns BAA, which in turn owns all 3 London airports as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow. Indicative bids are expected by January 19th.
Financial Institutions
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