Tag Archive for: authentic leadership

Shekhinah Bass: Managing Director, Head of Talent Strategy, Goldman Sachs

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Shekhinah Bass“I found my way to my career, but it wasn’t a career that I even knew existed, or even had visions of wanting to become,” says Shekhinah Bass, Managing Director, Head of Talent Strategy, at Goldman Sachs. “No one in my family had gone to college. No one had worked on Wall Street; all of these things were completely new to me. Oftentimes people say that you can’t become what you can’t see, but you can.”

In turn, Bass champions diversity herself formally via her role and also through her authenticity. As a mother with a successful career, she grounds herself with the mantra, “run your own race.”

Upon joining Goldman Sachs as a summer analyst, Bass never envisioned her journey leading to a career in the financial services industry. Her intent was to go to law school after graduation as she believed it was the only way to add value to society. However, through her experience at the firm, she learned what she really enjoyed doing was advocating for diverse professionals which she had the ability to do in Human Capital Management (HCM) at Goldman Sachs. Ultimately, she accepted an offer to work on the diversity, equity and inclusion team and realized it was also an opportunity to make a meaningful societal impact.

Feeling passionate about engaging in the Human Capital Management space, Bass went on to build her portfolio by working in many different HR disciplines, including performance management, employee relations, and chief of staff to the global head of HCM. She now is the head of talent strategy where she oversees the execution of a wide range of talent management priorities, focusing on development, engagement and retention.

Building the Pipeline of Diverse Talent

One of the ways that Bass is making an impact on elevating and empowering diverse professionals at Goldman Sachs is through the Black Analyst and Associate Initiative, where she is one of the coaches. Recognizing that in order to see more diversity in leadership, there needs to be a way to foster young professionals and build a pipeline from the beginning, the Black Analyst and Associate Initiative creates a formal structure for engaging and providing support for diverse professionals from the earliest stages of their careers.

Bass explains, “the experience is based on the relationships. We bring together the Black analyst, their manager and also a coach that’s assigned to them. It’s a trio that works together to make sure that analyst or associate is having the best experience while giving them advice and coaching them through how to be a successful professional at the firm.”

The program has proven to be beneficial for diverse junior talent as they begin their journeys at Goldman Sachs.

“Our junior talent is having a more positive experience. And that’s because we have this more structured program versus only relying on it to happen organically. Having that structure adds more rigor in making sure that you capture that person who may be shy and not want to go to an event where relationships may form, but is still very talented, smart and could benefit from a coach.”

Another development piece in building the pipeline for diverse professionals to excel at Goldman Sachs is the Women’s Career Strategies Initiative. The program is 4-6 months and includes women who are at an associate level, nearing promotion to vice president. Throughout the program, women have access to developmental content and are invited to events where they engage with senior leaders, both women and men, across the firm. The connections that the women make with their cohort are also invaluable to their career growth.

As a sponsor in the program, Bass speaks to its impact on promoting and retaining women.

“I had about 10 high performing women who I got to spend 5 months with — getting to know them, giving them advice, talking through this transition as they were coming up on moving from an associate to a VP, hopefully. And nearly everyone got promoted to a VP, which I’m very proud of.”

She continues, “We’ve seen many alumni of the program have long and successful careers at the firm…They weren’t partners or MDs when they went through this program, they were associates, and so it shows you that we were able to really engage them, retain them, get them excited to work at the firm and feel connected to continue to grow their careers at the firm beyond the program.”

Managing Change and Taking Advantage of the Support Around You

Bass knows from experience that finding the right support can be key when navigating transitions both professionally as well as personally.

“Coming from humble beginnings to get to where I am, I feel proud, but also feel very fortunate that I had so many mentors and sponsors along my life to get to this point.”

Bass talks about the importance of recognizing that the phases of life can create questions of how to proactively manage your career at different critical points and nuanced advice is required for the challenge at hand.

“In each moment, I was always able to identify someone who, even if they haven’t gone through the same experience, had some knowledge that they could share with me on how I can navigate that moment.”

An important mentor for Bass was a manager she sought guidance from during her first pregnancy.

“When I first found out I was expecting I was excited because it was what we wanted, but when it became a reality, I got very nervous and scared. I was grateful that I had this ‘maternity mentor’ that I could go to and ask questions about, ‘How do I communicate this to the team? How do I prepare to be out? How do I operate when I get back?’”

Now a mother of five, Bass knows what it takes to transition back from maternity leave. She advocates for taking advantage of the support that’s around you and feels fortunate that at Goldman Sachs they have resources like backup childcare and lactation rooms to help support working parents. She has learned that it is important to, “be willing and open to taking on that help because I think a lot of times people feel like they need to be able to do everything. And you really don’t.”

Run Your Own Race at Your Own Pace

Along the path of her career, Bass found a mantra to keep her grounded: “I need to run my own race.” She notes that it can be easy to get distracted trying to keep up with everyone around you, but in the end, you must prioritize what is important to you professionally and personally.

“It’s fine to look to your left and look to your right, and that will give you some sense as to what might be important to you, or a goal you might want to set for yourself, and that’s fine. But don’t get caught up in the competition of it all.”

Part of setting your own pace is creating boundaries and sticking to them.

“You have to be clear on setting boundaries and priorities. Any organization is going to take all that you’re willing to give, so it’s up to you to be the person to set those boundaries for yourself. It doesn’t mean that you’re not going make sacrifices or that there will not be this push and pull constantly, but each time that happens you need to be very thoughtful about whether it’s the right trade-off.”

Showing up with Authenticity

Living her life at her own pace is an example of how Bass shows up authentically and pushes for things that she values in a genuine way.

“I’m a Black woman who is also a mother and a wife to my husband. I have all these different ways that I define myself, and I bring all of that to all the spaces that I enter.”

Bass believes it is important to show up authentically as it sets the tone for those coming up behind her.

“It’s simple things. For example, how I wear my hair at work sets the tone for other young Black women coming into the organization. I’ve had people ask me, ‘is it okay to wear my natural hair?’ I’ve never given myself the title of cultural or diversity change agent, but it is this notion of showing up authentically to the spaces that I occupy, that I hope allows this shift or change to happen naturally.”

From her enthusiasm, Bass clearly brings her whole self as much to her personal life as she does her professional. A mother of five with an engaging career, Bass admits that these days her leisure time is devoted to her family, particularly as her two eldest children play on travel soccer teams. Calling herself a “budding soccer mom”, Bass expresses joy in having the opportunity to take her children to practice and shouting from the sidelines when they play in tournaments.

By Jessica Robaire

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Tara Stafford: Project Manager, PGIM Operations & Innovation

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Tara Stafford“Don’t be afraid to be authentically you,” says Tara Stafford, Project Manager, Operations & Innovation at PGIM. “If you can do that, you’ll be surprised how your contributions can positively impact the business, those around you – and beyond.”

Making a Positive Impact – Both Personally and Professionally

Being “authentically you” at work wasn’t easy for Stafford early in her career. After graduating from Montclair State University with a degree in Business Management and Marketing, Stafford landed at the investment and wealth management firm, Merrill Lynch, as the only Black woman on her team.

“Coming into the financial services industry as a Black woman, I didn’t always have the courage and confidence to be myself because I didn’t see a lot of women in senior leadership positions that looked like me in the industry,” Stafford says.

Tara’s authenticity is most evident when she is serving others in her community. Over the last two decades, she has volunteered as a Girl Scout troop leader to high school girls and is a back-up foster parent to two children on the autism spectrum. Her parents, both educators, instilled the responsibility to serve the community and make a positive impact in it.

Tara worked hard and rose through the ranks over 12 years at Merrill—becoming a Six Sigma Blackbelt and assistant vice president in the Global Transaction division, before leaving to join PGIM’s Risk Management team. She enjoyed her regulatory oversight position, but that feeling she could do more – be more – at work wouldn’t go away.

Then, Stafford learned about an opportunity on PGIM’s Operations & Innovation’s Business & Talent Management team where there is a strong focus on including recruiting, training, employee engagement and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She has made impactful contributions and helped launch and lead PGIM’s Neurodiversity Program, which is focused on establishing a more inclusive talent process – from recruiting, to interviewing, to training and retention, recognizing the skills of those who are neurodivergent. The program also has an education component, teaching managers and employees how to best recruit, work with neurodiverse talent and become better leaders. Stafford feels this role in project management is a natural extension of her passion and values.

According to Employee Benefits News, 85% of autistic adults with a college education are unemployed. “I had an idea of what this untapped population needs were and how to best support and showcase their many talents,” Stafford says. She took on the role and jumped right in, onboarding the first six neurodiverse cohort members last year. Four of the six earned full-time roles within PGIM, and another cohort is currently going through the program.

Stafford credits three important attributes she honed through years of volunteerism and foster parenting with helping her make the program a success: empathy, commitment and patience.

“People connect with you more and receive more from you when you are open and honest,” Stafford says. She believes that an effective leader is someone willing to learn from others, open to receiving “reverse” mentorship and is dedicated to helping others grow and thrive.

“Make sure you share your knowledge. It’s very important for people to understand that we’re not competing with each other; we’re helping each other.”

Finding Mentors and Sponsorship Outside of Your Comfort Zone

Stafford has a unique perspective on the values of mentorship and sponsorship.

“Growth among peers is not a competition, and everyone’s growth path is different. Putting egos aside and collectively pooling our talent and expertise helps ensure that our business’ goals are prioritized, enabling everyone to ultimately be successful,” she says. “At the end of the day, if support and resources I’ve provided can help develop and lift someone else as I climb the corporate ladder, no matter what level they are, I’ve done my job – and I’ve done it well.”

While she wishes she could have had more mentors with a similar background, Stafford says she learned over the years how important it is to find a mentor or sponsor who has different viewpoints.

She explains, “For me, having a white male mentor is just as important as having a mentor who is a Black woman. Your allies can share a different perspective and teach you new things. It’s very important to have mentors and allies from all different backgrounds and walks of life.”

Stafford also believes there’s value in finding a mentor organically—even if it means going outside of your comfort zone to approach someone for career advice or to learn more about their professional experience. “All relationships need to start somewhere, and in reaching out, you’re showing that you fully own your career.” she says.

“It’s also important that you’re giving just as much as you’re receiving in a mentoring relationship, so be prepared and think strategically about who you want to mentor you… especially since mentors can turn into your sponsors – the people who are champions in your corner and advocate for you at the tables where you don’t have a seat.”

Being the Change She Wants to See in the World

As if it weren’t enough to make a positive impact on her colleagues, Girl Scout troops and foster children’s lives, Stafford wanted to make an even bigger difference in her community, choosing to run for her local school board in 2019. Although she didn’t win, she gained valuable knowledge from the experience.

“I learned how tenacious and resilient I really am, and that experience strengthened my connection to my community and broadened my support network,” Stafford says.

When asked what keeps her going when faced with challenges, she emphasizes her passion for change and her commitment to working hard for the things she values. That, she says, is what is most “authentically me.”

“Your values speak to what you will work hard for. Ultimately, what drives me when it comes to making change and serving as a role model is, ‘If not me, then who?’”

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Helen Chang: Managing Director, Head of Asia Pacific ex Japan, Client Advisory Group, PGIM

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Helen Chang“Don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled, because as you do, you will find new horizons that will take you to the next level,” says Helen Chang. “Finding something you’re passionate about is important because you’ll do better than if you’re forcing yourself into a career or role that isn’t the best fit for you.”

Chang shares her journey about the benefit of international perspectives, taking on new opportunities to evolve and inspiring yourself and others through passion.

Growing Your Career from Outside the Comfort Zone

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chang went to boarding school in the UK, attended college in Canada and then started as a trainee at JP Morgan Chase where she gained exposure to various areas of banking. She then obtained her MBA at Yale University. Living abroad at an early age, she developed an international perspective and a high degree of adaptability in connecting with multicultural people from different backgrounds.

While at Yale, Chang worked on Wall Street for a summer before returning to Hong Kong with Credit Suisse. She then decided to take a major career pivot from sell-side (lending and credits) in the private sector to the buy-side (investments and policymaking) in the public sector by joining the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) (the de facto Central Bank in Hong Kong). Eventually, she was promoted to lead the internal direct investment team, where she gained deep insight into asset management and the investment decision-making process. She also went onto work in international relations, working with central banks and sovereign wealth funds in the region. It’s safe to say that Chang built a solid growth platform to build upon with her deep knowledge of central banking over nearly a decade.

After leaving HKMA for a brief stint with Standard Chartered Bank, Chang went back to the private sector with Principal Global Investors in asset management. There, she was charged with building the business and investment profile across North Asia. In this role, she grew the business from scratch and was instrumental in raising assets, increasing headcount from one to eighteen by the time she left to take on a new and exciting role with PGIM Fixed Income in 2020. Beginning in her new role just two days before the COVID-19 pandemic, she embraced the opportunity to lead a broader regional remit.

“As an Asian, I was brought up in a culture where my parents told me to be modest. So, we’d often say we’re not very good in doing certain things, when in fact, we were,” says Chang. “In interacting with so many diverse backgrounds internationally, I’ve learned you need to believe in yourself, and you need to be open-minded and have the courage to get out of your comfort zone.”

“I was courageous enough to make many career moves even when people advised me not to make those changes,” she says. “In hindsight, I feel I’m a more well-rounded professional and person for having experienced both the private and public sector as well as both buy-side and sell-sides.”

Embracing Vast Opportunities to Develop and Grow

Chang encourages taking a long-term approach to career development, advising others to prioritize new opportunities and experiences. While there may be detours on a career path, all experiences will contribute to one’s future career trajectory. She provides two examples from her journey.

First, in broadening her exposure and knowledge base during her tenure in the public sector, Chang experienced the biggest culture shock of her journey. The long and painstaking decision-making processes and lobbying to many stakeholders were a major adjustment to her private sector background. Even though this challenged her patience, she also feels it was one of the most rewarding experiences and enhanced her ability to get to where she sits today.

Second, Chang learned about what she wanted to do when she took on a new role at Standard Chartered. In what she now judges as too early, Chang says she took on a senior management role, which comprised of sitting in executive meetings, reporting progress and focusing on developing people internally. While she enjoyed parts of this role, she found herself missing her active strategic role in developing and growing the business. She had the big title. She was competent. But it simply didn’t get her heart beating or her blood pumping to be so far removed from the strategic work she loved doing, so she knew she had to move on.

“I’ve always enjoyed building business, and this is where I know I add the most value,” she says.

Using Your Voice with Confidence in Your Knowledge

Often the only woman in the room, Chang has been fortunate enough to have coworkers and mentors from diverse backgrounds who helped shape her leadership style and showed her the value of speaking up.

“Like most Asians, we can be shy and were taught that speaking up may not be courteous, but in reality, it’s not the case.” She notes, “I’ve learned from these leaders, and a lot of them have become very senior executives, in the United States and across Asia.”

Being comfortable voicing her opinions was something that happened slowly for Chang. Early on, she was more conservative about using her voice, but as she advanced, she began to realize that she was hesitating to speak when others who were unafraid to use their voices in the room simply did not possess the same expertise she had.

“You build up your confidence. Once people know you know the business, they respect you and are more open to hearing what you have to say,” she says. “But you need to work hard and know your stuff: you can’t bluff. Because once you start bluffing, people don’t believe you.”

Inspiring Others to Enjoy Work and Grow

“As a leader, gone are the days when one can be bureaucratic. When I started my career, some leaders would say, ‘I’m senior, your job is to listen.’ Things have changed. Many of my team members are younger than me and have a different mentality when it comes to leadership and management styles. Using an old-fashioned management style won’t work – nor is it beneficial to the business,” she says. “It’s important to have connectivity with your whole team, to be able to joke and laugh with them, which helps contribute to them enjoying being at work and enables them to produce a high-quality of work. We’re no longer talking about how many hours you spend in the office, but how much you deliver.”

The successful leaders who have inspired Chang are people who were never afraid to take calculated risks and knew how to inspire a team. They have a passion for their work and for making a difference with their contribution, even in the face of adversity.

“If you love and are passionate about something, you’ll be able to do well. Sometimes there are even these hidden abilities within yourself that you didn’t know,” she says. “So, when you see passionate leaders doing what they love and bringing out more of themselves, it inspires you to think maybe I can as well.”

Nurturing Diversity to Thrive

True to her own international perspective and tasked with the challenge of working across cultural nuances in building relationships with clients and counterparts in the region, her team of direct reports is diverse. She appreciates the cultural transparency in advising clients honestly on what will and will not work, and the focus on long-term business building.

“I have always believed in diversity to help the team grow and build business,” Chang says. “I encourage people to speak up. No one will get punished if they don’t speak. It’s just more engaging when the team share their perspectives and what’s on their minds.”

Having experienced various company cultures, too, Chang appreciates how PGIM is team-oriented, encourages diversity and is respectful of people, which she thinks drives firm loyalty and longer tenures. Even though PGIM is one of the largest asset managers in the world, Chang says that it doesn’t have the same grueling workplace culture that other NYC-firms she worked for has and encourages flexibility while also getting the job done.

The Importance of a Refreshed Perspective

When not traveling for work, Chang enjoys spending time with her family. She also enjoys cooking, hiking and personal travel.

Chang emphasizes the importance of recharging and taking good breaks to rejuvenate yourself to start the week with a clear head and on a positive note. Coming back with a fresh perspective is important to making a stronger impact and contributions to her job, as she continues to do.

By Aimee Hansen

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Lola Ninonuevo: International Chief Operating Officer, Wells Fargo

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Lola Ninonuevo“As a leader, it’s less about you the more senior you become. It’s about who you lead and being available, honest and authentic with your teams,” says Lola Ninonuevo. “It is a pivot to realizing you’re here to serve people and you have to make time.”

When she was twelve years old, Ninonuevo told her mother she wanted to travel internationally, see the world and become a business woman. Growing up speaking Spanish at home, she then studied Japanese while obtaining her economics degree, began her career in a Japanese bank in New York, and has spent the last 25 years working out of London in global positions, joining Wells Fargo in 2020 to help lead the international business strategy.

Finding a Bigger Reset in London

From early on, her Puerto Rican mom and Cuban Puerto Rican father impressed upon Ninonuevo the value of a good career. She was drawn to banking for the multicultural, international environment and the financial security. In 1991, she took that first trading assistant job with a small Japanese bank in World Trade Center in New York. As the only woman on the trading floor, she both served tea but was empowered early on to take on additional responsibilities such as cash management for the branch and representing the bank at industry round tables hosted by Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Having gained experienced in the fixed income market, she then joined BlackRock, which at the time was a start-up and small boutique asset manager, and worked with the founding partners to set up the middle office and trading support functions.

In 1996, she was approached by HSBC to help build out their Global Markets business. She was attracted to their global footprint, and in 1999, she relocated to London with HSBC and went onto work for 23 years across a variety of global roles in the Corporate and Investment Bank. London offered her international travel, a strong learning curve and new career prospects. But what London also provided was a reset and new freedom of self, supported by now being a part of a multicultural global and diverse organization.

“I had not been ‘out’ in the workplace in New York, and that was hard. It impacted my decisions and ability to bring myself to work, for example talking about what I had done over the weekend and attending corporate events with my partner,” she recalls. “I felt more at home in London where I felt comfortable to be more open about my personal life, because I could be Lola, the American woman who moved. Not the Puerto Rican woman. Not the gay woman. It was just Lola.”

Two decades later, in 2020, Ninonuevo was approached for the COO role at Wells Fargo. While still based in London, returning to a U.S. work culture has felt like a homecoming. She notes that John Langley, CIB COO and Head of International, has been a fantastic leader, support and sponsor. Ninonuevo has found a welcoming, collaborative and optimistic culture at Wells Fargo and enjoys connecting with both international colleagues from different backgrounds as well as reconnecting with American colleagues across the US.

“I can be an American advocate while bringing my international perspective to the table to help drive the Wells Fargo global strategy,” she says. “It feels like coming home, and it’s fantastic to be back.”

Creating a Brand of Speaking the Truth

When it comes to rising up to the executive level, Ninonuevo notes self-awareness is critical – including knowing what you’re good at and what you’re not and building a team that complements your strengths and weaknesses. Resilience and being a powerful collaborator are also essential.

“In banking these days, with both the complexity and risk management challenges we’ve had since the crisis, connecting the dots and bringing people together to solve problems is a key part of what I bring to the table,” she reflects. “I really focus on building relationships. I’m honest and candid in my approach.”

Her willingness to be incisive, which found a home in British culture, helped Ninonuevo to breakthrough to the C-suite in 2012. When HSBC was in a crisis with compliance issues, she stood up and spoke truthfully about what was going well and what was not going well. That became a turning point in her career, catapulting her into a global role leading the firm wide compliance transformation across 60 countries.


“When I came in and talked to the board and the regulators, they knew they were going to get honest and balanced feedback. And that became my personal brand – a person with integrity that got the job done. In my opinion, since the crisis, the role of women in banking has become very important in C-suite jobs. Because I personally think we are more inclined to ask difficult questions, be honest, and not just go along for the sake of going along. And that tribal mentality of going along was a pitfall in the industry.”

Pivoting to a Collective Leader Mindset

“In my opinion, being a true leader is not just about managing up anymore or trying to get the next job,” says Ninonuevo. “I genuinely think I should be judged based on the teams I build and how I encourage and empower them.”

This involves a greater level of willingness to let go and let learn.

“When I was progressing through my career, a lot of it was about me and developing my technical skill set: I’ve got to manage up, I’ve got to manage sideways. I’ve got to manage down. All of those facets still exist,” she says. “But that’s the big leadership pivot people don’t realize: You don’t have all the answers. You’re there to listen. You’re there to serve and support others to be successful.”

Visibility has been the major factor that distinguishes the C-Suite from other levels of leadership, and again asks one to evolve.

“The visibility and impact you can have as a C-Suite leader are multiplied. It’s so important to be aware of how you behave, how you treat people, and how you react under stress.”

The Obligation of Being a Voice

“With all the learnings on how important it is to have diversity and diversity of thought around the table, and often being the only woman in the conversation, I feel it’s my obligation to ask those difficult questions and make sure we’re challenging ourselves to do the right things and to hold ourselves accountable,” says Ninonuevo. “So I’ve used the difference as an opportunity to have a voice, to be honest and to say it like it is.”

Ninonuevo has reflected with compassion, too. “When firms are in crisis, they are driven by fear. And when you’re afraid, you basically hire in your own image because you trust it and it’s what you know. Taking risk is hard when you’re in a crisis.”

When it comes to managing your career, Ninonuevo emphasizes to be your own advocate, communicate your ambitions to your stakeholders regularly, focus on your transferable skills and don’t be afraid to go after challenging roles.

“As Citi’s Jane Fraser has spoken to, your career is over decades. It’s not the be-all and end-all. There’s periods where you can really lean in and put 100% into it, and there’s periods where you can’t, and that’s okay as long as you stay connected.”

Why Relaxing Into Yourself Makes All the Difference

Ninonuevo admits that for years, being gay and feeling unable to talk about her life outside of the workplace inhibited her ability to relate and feel belonging with colleagues on a personal level, but that also touches upon everything else.

“In the workplace, people relate and connect by sharing things about themselves, whether it’s their family life, their children, or what they did over the weekend,” she says. “I found it really hard to share because I was self-conscious.”

If she could go back and give her junior self some words to lighten the road ahead, she would advise to be more of herself at work, sooner. But, at times, she worried about how others would react and whether it would count against her. She even got a coach to seek out help in confidence-building.

“After a few seconds of work, he stopped and told me, ‘You don’t have a confidence issue. You’re confident. You know what you’re doing. People enjoy working with you,’” says Ninonuevo. “Then, he said, ‘You just need to be yourself and selectively find opportunities to do that and connect.’”

For her, this meant becoming more willing to bring her full self to work, despite the challenges she felt. As a change agent, once she becomes aware of something, Ninonuevo starts to move forward in a more effective way.

“Before that, I’m sure I was projecting a lack of confidence. But I was just closed with that part of myself. But the more that I was myself, the more I relaxed, my body language relaxed and people relaxed around me,” she says. “I started being more approachable, people enjoyed working with me more, and I got results from that. I actually had more gravitas because I felt relaxed and confident and became a better communicator, and it all started coming together.”

Ninonuevo is a dual citizen, practices pilates and enjoys walks. She loves spending time with her six year old daughter, traveling and good food and wine. After a month in Spain, she’s been inspired to get her Spanish fluency to where it was those years ago, back when she first professed to her mother that she would become an international business woman…let alone, fill a big seat in the C-Suite.

By Aimee Hansen

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Vanessa Rodriguez: Head of Community Lending & Investment, Commercial Real Estate, Wells Fargo

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Vanessa Rodriguez“At some stage, it’s not completely linear any longer. Sometimes, you must take a step back, or move laterally, to go forward,” says Vanessa Rodriguez. “You have to leave what you’ve exclusively done, branch out, take a risk or accept a new challenge. That could be a geographical change, a different line of business, a new company or position – but generally, it’s out of your comfort zone.”

Rodriguez shares on interviewing for a senior promotion while becoming a mother for the first time, learning to show up authentically regardless of who is in the room, and her commitment to coming at life and work from a genuine and constructive perspective.

On A Mission Towards Affordable Housing

After completing her B.S. in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Rodriguez was recruited to join the Wells Fargo Financial Analyst program in the Company’s Commercial Banking business. In 2007, she moved to NYC to take a position in Wells Fargo’s Real Estate Merchant Banking business, jumping into the hot seat just before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit in 2009.

“I had no clue as a young banker how bad it could or would get. I’d never seen a market cycle,” she says. “Being in commercial real estate, specifically in workouts, in NYC during the GFC was intense but an amazing and enriching experience. Three years felt like ten years and only elevated my interest in building my career in commercial real estate.” She began to rise in the ranks, leading teams in NYC and then back home again in the San Francisco Bay area. In the past couple years, she took the opportunity to further expand her real estate career by becoming the Group Head of Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment (CLI) group.

“Affordable housing is one of the Bank’s top priorities, and this was an opportunity to lead a premier affordable housing team and large national business at Wells Fargo,” says Rodriguez. “It’s exciting to look at commercial real estate from a different angle and immerse myself in this new ecosystem – which includes non-profits, housing authorities, foundation work, government and community relations, public policy state and local governments.”

Rodriguez notes that providing a quality, affordable home to all must be a top priority everywhere in the US. In the San Francisco Bay Area, many of the families and friends she grew up with have had to relocate to attain good, cost-effective housing. Some now have 2-3 hour super commutes to work.

“It’s really sad when you become priced out of the place that you grew up, and that’s happening for more and more people across the country,” she says. “There are so many amazing things here in the Bay Area- the outdoors, the moderate climate, the diverse culture, so many top notch universities, the innovative tech industry, think tanks and VCs. But the downside is an extremely high cost of living in which regular people are forced out, breaking up families and communities, and negatively impacting the landscape. We need to work on these problems in communities across the country, and I want to be a part of that solution.”

Taking a New Role While Welcoming Her First Born

At a certain point as you ascend in leadership, Rodriguez notes that the path can become less clear. What your next step will be depends on investing in a lot of self-reflection and soul-searching around core questions: What do you want to do? How do you want to spend your time? Where can you add the most value? Because ultimately nobody else is going to be equipped to hand you those answers.

Such a moment came for Rodriguez when she was 41 years old and seven months pregnant with her first baby in 2021. The opportunity to run Wells Fargo’s CLI group came up, and she “looked away, frankly.”

“This is the value of having those strong personal and professional relationships in your life, whether they are formal or informal mentors or sponsors or ultimately over time perhaps become friends after years of working together” she says. “I had some of these people call me and say, ‘Don’t look away from this. It’s probably tough to think about a new opportunity now or interviewing for a new role at eight months pregnant, but do not check out right now.’”

So, despite how daunting it felt, Rodriguez began the interviewing process while pregnant in her third trimester, finished while on maternity leave, and ultimately returned to work in a new position. She had a second child in November 2022, and appreciates Wells Fargo for the support she’s received: assuming the role at this stage in her life has included managing her own high expectations around her career and motherhood, working hard to deliver, but speaking up where flexibility is needed. Rodriguez is inspired that while there are many things about parenthood that remain unique to women, parental matters are seen less and less as only women’s issues.

“But I will say that every day, I am forced to make decisions about where I am most needed because there are only so many hours in the day,” she admits. “I would love to get up every day and have my set routine, but my current state is more like a Rubik’s cube, where I move this piece down, pull it up here, take the lever off here, and make tough decisions about what I can and can’t do today. The truth is it’s not always graceful but tomorrow is always another chance to improve and do it better.”

Building Your Personal and Authentic Brand

“From the beginning of my career, I always focused on treating every single task like it was very important. It was all about building my personal brand,” she notes. “I tell young people: ‘You need to sweat the small things as well as the big things as you build your brand. Make your mark. What do you stand for? What are your standards on the quality of your work product and how do you approach it?’ Because if you build that personal brand and do great work for people, there is a multiplier effect where people start asking for you and saying your name in the room when you’re not there.”

Yet keeping your head down isn’t enough. Rodriguez also focused on real estate being a people business, and the importance of connecting, regardless of whether she may have initially felt like an outsider, to gain a strong network and the right visibility. Rising into that confidence to bring more of herself to the table has been immensely important to her growth.

“Twenty years ago, I entered the space focusing on being less visible. Over time, I realized there is a lot lost when you try to fit the mold, when you do not bring your full self to work, your best self to work” says Rodriguez. “We can and should bring our personal style and unique experience to work and connect in different ways. I certainly would encourage that in a sea of many, be memorable.”

Being extremely competent, authentic and walking the walk are important to Rodriguez’s sense of personal brand. As a leader, she never asks anyone to do something she hasn’t done or wouldn’t do herself. She prefers to roll up her sleeves. She values genuine and transparent communication and people feeling comfortable enough to share their unique perspectives.

“I want to bring value to people, whether it’s my clients, my team, or senior management, and what it means to bring value is going to be different for every situation,” she notes. “I hope that when I’m not in the room, people say she brings leadership value everyday, and she brings it in an authentic and genuine way – and we enjoy being in her orbit.”

Belonging, Irrespective of the Room

When it comes to entering a room where she may be the only woman, let alone the only Latina, Rodriguez says, “It starts with whether any of those factors intimidate you. I’ve always just prided myself on not being intimidated, even if there were moments I could have been.”

“When I enter the room, I focus on being prepared for the content of the meeting, on being a good listener, on finding solutions,” she says. “I focus on the principles that matter, irrespective of who’s in the room and whether you’re the only woman.”

While she’s had many moments of feeling she wasn’t part of the club and remembers once being told it was a career-limiting move not to golf, Rodriguez comes back to her confidence in the subject matter and being memorable because of her difference.

While twenty years ago, she may have gone with a strategy of blending in, today she would advise: “Embrace who you are and everybody else will be richer for it.”

Maintaining A Constructive Mindset

“There’s a moment, which is certainly an adjustment, when you’ve reached the point in your career where the buck stops with you in leadership. I’ve always been someone that took responsibility and was willing to make decisions, but when you get to the level where you have complete ownership from start to finish, it’s no longer someone else’s problem in leadership,” she says. “It’s ‘we’ and it’s ‘me.’ You’re not alone – you have peers, a whole team, a manager – but it’s embracing an entirely new level of ownership and responsibility.”

At that level, Rodriguez has embraced the advice to be vigilant with her mental approach, day-to-day and in all parts of life.

“How constructively you approach anything is going to be the difference-maker for you and for all those who work with you and for you,” she says, “When you hit those roadblocks and it’s tempting to pivot to feeling captive or negative, I force myself to remember that the only way out is forward. Approach issues constructively and that will help you rise above the challenge or circumstance, to focus on a solution.”

She continues, “I’ve needed that encouragement at times. We could waste time wallowing, but the work will be there tomorrow. So give yourself a few minutes, if you need to take a step away, do. But then, come back to it, calmly and constructively. That’s what I want to exemplify for my team, the leader I want to be. Cooler heads will always prevail.”

Keeping the Perspective of a Longer Arc

Twenty years into her work journey, Rodriguez would also advise that it’s okay to slow down and pace yourself: “If we’re lucky, the career is long. We live in a culture of instant gratification and are wired to constantly seek it. Technology only serves to reinforce and accelerate the need for instant gratification,” she notes. “But you truly have to toil away at something to really learn it, to master it, to become an expert, to unlock the benefits and skills that will propel you to that next level. The corporate ladder is really a staircase with various landings along the way and you have to play the long game. Climb the staircase…”

With two little ones at home, Rodriguez observes that “six months feels like a night” and time feels more precious than ever. Rodriguez loves spending time with her kids, husband and extended family. She’s seeking to weave back in her wellness focus and routine, and having enjoyed much travel before motherhood, muses on family travels to one day come.

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Alexandra Tyler: Managing Director, Digital Transformation Leader, Accenture Song

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Alexandra TylerRemoving my protective wall around my identity has enabled me to create deeper connections in my work and in building more meaningful relationships with my family and with my colleagues and clients,” says Alexandra Tyler. “The protective wall goes down, and it impacts everything, including being a better leader.”

Curiosity and Customer-Focused Growth

Curiosity has driven Tyler’s career. She’s come across specific job positions by asking questions. “I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been able to pave my way in making my own adventure, essentially through conversations with people about open positions they had that weren’t quite right,” she reflects, “and in which we often crafted a new position that matched the needs of the business with my expertise and interests.”

Having studied psychology, she began her career in advertising, where she learned to appreciate the power of understanding what customers want and need.

“If you understand what customers want and need at every stage of their journey and are able to fulfill those needs and desired successes, you can enable growth,” she says. “What do those customers want to achieve and how do you develop the roadmap and path to get there? That is the opportunity. That’s why I’m excited about Gen AI and other innovative capabilities to unlock and enable more insights to meet customer needs.”

Being Focused on People’s Motivations

Growing up as a daughter of first-generation immigrants and raised by a father with a disability, Tyler understood the importance of two important lessons that he imparted: in order to succeed, one must persevere and exhibit true grit. In addition, one must celebrate differences in others.

“I feel strongly about focusing on doing right by others. Ambition goes awry if you don’t have respect for individuals, and if you don’t think about what motivates them,” she notes. “I want to understand what’s important to the people with whom I work. I focus on treating individuals how I would want to be treated – including respecting their differences, talents and expertise.”

In addition to treating her colleagues and team members with mutual respect, Tyler learned the importance of inspiring them to pair their great ideas with great follow-through: “I often see people who are incredible ‘ideators’ – who come up with innovative and breakthrough ideas – but they struggle with execution,” she observes. “The devil is in the details when it comes to lighting up an idea. It takes focus, management and collaboration.”

Freeing Herself To Show Up Fully

“It took me a long time to feel comfortable as an authentic leader. Growing up in the world I grew up in, as an LGBTQ+ individual, was challenging,” she notes. Recently at a bank branch, she saw a sticker related to the LGBTQ+ community about celebrating differences. It struck her to imagine the impact that seeing that message would have made early on in her career.

“When I first started my career, I was lying by omission, often doing what LGBTQ+ people do…not using pronouns for your partner. It’s only in the last ten years that I have been comfortable enough to be honest about who I am and to bring my full self to the equation.”

What you feel you cannot say begins to grow heavy and become a burden. Tyler imagines carrying a sixty-pound barbell all those years. “When I put that burden down visually in my head, it was exceptionally freeing,” she says. “When I freed myself of that burden, opportunities in my career opened up.”

For example, at a work town hall, Tyler recently shared her personal journey and the value of bringing her full self to work. She was commended by the head of her division for showing up as her true self and was applauded for doing so, exhibiting the traits of leadership that Accenture values.

“I cannot tell you how much positive feedback I received just for being true to who I am and being vocal about it,” says Tyler. “Leaders at Accenture have been phenomenal in recognizing the power in whatever differences you bring to work and the ability to bring your full self.” And sharing her experiences of exclusion has built bridges of empathy with others who have faced challenges. LGBTQIA+ peers have approached her inspired by her authenticity and, in turn, let down their own protective walls.

Advocating and Inspiring Others

“Freeing myself up to be myself empowered me to be an advocate for others. It is important for me to pay it forward by being an advocate in my community.”

Tyler is on the Board of Be The Rainbow, an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit organization in her Long Island hometown. On their third Pride March, Tyler is excited to be opening minds and hearts to create a greater platform of equity in which all can have a voice.

In her training and at work, Tyler’s approach is comprised of experimentation and optimization. She often tests the waters, dips her toe in, tries out different messages and approaches. What she found when she ‘came out’ is that the response was much more positive than she had anticipated. She encourages others to consider who they can safely share with – a person, a group – in order to build that positivity. Tyler acknowledges that the experience of speaking one’s truth, no matter the reaction, is alone invigorating and empowering.

The Intersection of Identity and Innovation

Tyler admires that her daughter’s generation wields identity and labels quite differently. “Labels are fluid and I know that my daughter and her friends are comfortable at the same time with no labels or multiple ones: Imagine what you could do if you were not carrying the burden of the sixty-pound barbell, or invisible burden, every day?”

At Accenture, Tyler is fascinated by the intersection of innovation and identity – particularly how removing obstacles around identity frees you up to create and innovate. She considers cryptanalyst Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the film The Imitation Game) who developed the ability to decode messages and the predecessor to the computer, and who was also tortured for being homosexual.

“I think about what more amazing things he could have done. He was such an innovator, even with the constraints of conversion therapy and being tortured,” she notes. “What aperture could have opened if individuals like Turing could have been safe to express their identity freely? I’m interested in that tension for any minority who is held back because of societal constraints or one they put on themselves. I’m fascinated by the intersection of how innovative you are as a thinker and the ability to free yourself up to feel comfortable to think differently.”

Why Failure Is Growth

Early on in her career, Tyler worked on developing and launching a new product that consolidated all utility bills into one billing statement. For various reasons, after two years of pretests and pilots, the project failed to launch. But her functional leader was an innovator who believed in failing often and failing fast. Instead of berating the team, he applauded the risks and innovation and threw the team a “failure party” and handed out awards. The team received their best performance reviews that year.

“I learned the importance of reinforcing that failure can actually spur innovation,” says Tyler. “I was very lucky to find leaders that encouraged failing. I know that it may sound trite but, to me, the age-old notion that failure begets growth is very true.”

As a result, Tyler encourages her teams to take calculated risks and experiment: “It’s okay to fail because you learn and those learnings bring you closer to success. Because you WILL eventually succeed. Perfection at the sake of innovation is failure in itself. You must try and also not be afraid to be curious, and that effort and curiosity are successes in themselves. ”

Tyler has two daughters, 15 and 18, a freshman in high school and college, respectively. Her wife, Beth, is a special education teacher in Queens. Recently, her oldest daughter “failed” to get into her first college choice. After the initial disappointment, she applied to an array of different schools that she would otherwise not have considered. She now feels “at home” at UNC Chapel Hill where she is thriving – an example of how failure can lead to the growth you didn’t see coming.

To be surrounded by her family and watch them grow are her greatest successes, and Tyler now embraces sharing those successes with others.

By Aimee Hansen

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Mikaylee O’Connor: Principal, Senior Defined Contribution Strategist, PGIM DC Solutions

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Mikaylee O'Connor “One thing that’s at the core of how I operate is a focus on internal versus external gratification. I tend to go above and beyond for my own satisfaction because I have very high standards for myself,” says Mikaylee O’Connor. “Everyone’s way towards internal gratification is different, but I feel that when you do things for yourself, you exude different energy and attract more of what you want.”

Moving From Her Comfort Zone

Growing up in a small Oregon town, O’Connor was put on the Montessori track with an emphasis on independent thinking and hands-on learning. She then skipped middle school, while being home-schooled and spending her time in the stables, riding horses. She graduated high school at 17 and was off to Portland State University.

As a finance graduate, O’Connor joined a local investment consulting firm, RVK, as an investment analyst. She stayed for almost 13 years, working her way up while advising clients on pensions, 401k plans, and endowment foundations, to eventually becoming Head of Defined Contributions (DC). In 2020, she craved a new challenge.

“When you feel like you’re in your comfort zone, it’s the right time to maybe see about getting outside of that comfort zone. I wanted to do more strategic thinking, be a little more creative and be part of a movement to help the DC industry forward and find better solutions for everyday people,” she says.

In the start of 2021, she joined PGIM as a senior DC strategist and, this past February, she became a principal. O’Connor enjoys the ‘think tank’ atmosphere of her team: “We’re always asking, ‘What is the problem out in the market and how can PGIM and Prudential as a company come together to solve these problems and deliver solutions?’”

Embracing the New Challenge

“In my experience, the consulting world is very much for people who like to be constantly challenged,” she notes. “Every client project provides something new – new content, new research, new ways of presenting materials, or simply, adjusting to different personalities.”

O’Connor finds that everything depends upon how you approach those challenges: getting frustrated or seeing each as an invitation to grow. Receiving the support of mentors and advocates has been critical to rolling with new challenges. As she’s become senior, providing that same support to junior associates has been essential and rewarding.

She’s also learned to stay open to what she doesn’t yet know: “If you’re constantly trying to learn new things, you have to be humble to the fact that you don’t know everything,” she advises. “It’s important to surround yourself with different voices and perspectives so that when you’re trying to solve problems or provide solutions, you have that 360-degree view instead of looking only right in front of you.”

Opening to More Possibilities

O’Connor is known to give an unfiltered view of what she is thinking and play her own part in widening the conversation in any meeting.

“I push us to think differently or to have a different view on what we’re trying to solve. I often bring the end-user to the table,” she reflects. “Let’s put ourselves in the position of the person that’s going to be using this product or solution. How would they go about doing this or that?”

Despite being in a predominantly white male industry, O’Connor had the opportunity to work under a female CEO at RVK and with many female shareholders throughout her career. But when becoming involved in industry organizations, the gender skew became salient. Her approach to being underestimated by male peers was simple: “I would feel compassion for them because, at the end of the day, that’s their own challenge, not mine.”

But mostly, she has leveraged being a unique voice in the room to help her challenge the status quo.

“I’ve always been one to point out that just because we’ve done it this way in the past doesn’t mean we need to do it this way going forward. What are we missing? What should we be thinking about differently?” she says. “Having both that fresh perspective and high conviction about thinking about problems and solutions differently doesn’t always make people feel good. But I like a good debate and being uncomfortable talking about things, because we are only going to grow more through it.”

Adapting For Your Audience and Your Team Members

“Whether it’s your boss, client or a prospect, reading the room and adjusting how you approach the situation and your communication style matters to being effective,” says O’Connor.

Being able to adapt to and apply different ways of learning and communicating has been a powerful component in her ability to meet people where they are and create the momentum that drives results. Equally, sitting on the extrovert-introvert cusp, O’Connor highly values adapting her approach to hearing all voices in the room, including considering the different ways they may need to be heard.

“You have extroverts and introverts. You have people who need more time to think and you have people who can come up with ideas right on the spot in the meeting,” she says. “In order to capture all of the different great ideas, concerns and considerations, you have to consider how to make sure that you’re getting what you need from each of them, and that you make them all feel included.”

Reframing for Confidence

Shifting her mindset to increase her confidence has helped O’Connor to take on bigger roles.

“In the past, despite being overly prepared for a client meeting or discussion, I would still feel nervous,” she recalls. “But one mentor in particular assured me, again and again, that I knew more about the topic than anyone in that room. Over time, it shifted my perspective from being the ‘victim of scary stares and expectations’ to a ‘person with important information to share.’ I shifted to see that I’m going in there as a teacher.”

Now she loves to speak in front of an audience and does so often. Another learning curve has been around the challenge of leadership.

“I can be a perfectionist and always want to do things correctly, but when you’re in charge of people and emotions, that’s a different skillset and a different realm of understanding how to deal with things,” she says. “It takes a lot of listening and stepping back to ask how you can best support each of these individuals. Ultimately, their success is also my success.”

She’s also learned to always ask for feedback and to create an environment where people feel comfortable giving it.

Meanwhile, O’Connor has recently been unlearning multi-tasking as a leader: “I’ve been working on mindfulness and there’s a huge benefit to focusing your attention on one thing at a time. I’m much more active and creative when I get rid of distractions.”

Focusing on Internal Gratification

“By focusing on internal gratification, I’ve naturally been given more opportunities without necessarily focusing on what I have to do to get to the next step or to get promoted, because those are external focuses,” she notes. “By doing what I want to do – to grow and to learn and to do it for myself – I’ve just had those opportunities come to me.”

For years, O’Connor has been doing a self-review after meetings to consider whether she could have done anything better or differently. While it can be exhausting, it helps her grow and creates internal gratification.

“I would encourage women to focus internally and not worry so much about external steps and getting to the next one,” she says, “because then you’re doing the work for someone else instead of yourself.”

Being Human, First

O’Connor appreciates how PGIM Quantitative Solutions CEO Linda Gibson shows strength in her role and humanness in her communications.

“Linda has brought a sense of ‘we’re all just people.’ We’re all trying to do the same thing and nobody needs to be on a pedestal,” she says. “She can talk to you in the office just like anybody. It’s refreshing.”

O’Connor observes that since the pandemic and remote offices, more people are breaking down barriers and hierarchy, while seeing everyone as individuals and not just as employees.

“If we want to bring out the best in ourselves, we also have to show that we’re all humans and we all have things going on,” she says. “We can normalize that. But also, how do we take that change and use it to create a more cohesive and better company? Our relationships can be stronger because I can relate to you on something I didn’t know before.”

Speaking of which, O’Connor finds travel to be good for the soul, and enjoys seeking out AirBnBs and boutique stays with her husband while getting out of their comfort zones and taking in the cultures wherever they are exploring, most recently the Swedish Lapland in the forests of the Arctic circle, with saunas and cold plunges. Iceland is another favorite. Closer to home, she likes scouting out new atmospheric spots for a great meal in New York.

By Aimee Hansen

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Melinda Cora: Principal, Head of Product Implementation and Project Management at PGIM Quantitative Solutions

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Melinda Cora“I’m a firm believer in the power of personal brand. When you see a particular logo – like Apple, Starbucks or Nike – you immediately have feelings associated with that entity,” says Melinda Cora. “When someone sees my name appear on their phone or in an email, my desire has always been that the brand I’ve developed makes them want to answer my call or read my message and engage with me. My hope is that they have positive feelings and thoughts, based on my work and experiences with them.”

Carving Her Own Trajectory

Growing up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a low-income and predominantly Hispanic and Black community, Melinda recognized the lack of resources around her (vacations often meant opening a fire hydrant on hot summer days) and how it contrasted with the untapped wealth of talent. She was motivated to carve a different trajectory for herself and recounts that one of her earliest supporters in this regard was her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Aievoli, who noticed Melinda’s potential and giftedness and inspired her to grow.

“She invested her time in preparing me to test for a specialized middle school. My acceptance into the school put me on a path to graduate high school at the top of my class at 16 years old,” Melinda recalls.

With hard-working Puerto Rican parents who hadn’t had the opportunity to pursue higher education, school guidance counselors who lacked the frame to point her towards scholarships, and a family mentality of avoiding debt and needing to make ends meet, she attained her associates degree in just 1.5 years before taking on a full-time role as a legal secretary at 18 years old in the M&A department of Shearman & Sterling LLC. It was in that role that Melinda began the practice of learning through observing and quickly became an asset to her team.

“I knew there was something wrong with the equation, and I wanted to be a part of making it right. We had pounds of hard labor workers in my community but a lack of role models who could demonstrate that it was possible to enter a variety of industries, and that lit a fire in me,” says Melinda. “I wanted to be able to go back years later and say, ‘I’ve had a successful career. I’ve been able to break out of this mold. And guess what? You can, too.’”

She was soon promoted to a marketing coordinator role at Shearman, before one of the lawyers she’d worked with called on her for an opportunity at Equavant. When that same lawyer again moved to Lehman Brothers, she called on Melinda again. After seven years at Lehman, where she was an operations analyst and later, a member of an alternative investment management team, Melinda was sponsored by another former colleague for a project management role at PGIM Quantitative Solutions (then known as QMA), a leading quantitative investment manager owned by PGIM, the investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc.

“Multiple times in my career, former managers and colleagues picked up the phone and offered me some type of pivotal change,” says Melinda. “They believed in me and recognized my drive and many strengths. With each opportunity, I assessed whether it was the right, progressive next step in my career, and once I gave my ‘yes,’ I also gave those roles my all.”

Melinda knew she’d acquired the experience and network, but recognized that if it weren’t for sponsors, her lack of a bachelor’s degree may have filtered her resume out of the interviewing process: “I realized that I needed to go back to school, even though I was in my 30s,” reflects Melinda. “So, I became a full-time working wife and mother of three children—who was also earning her bachelor’s degree. I graduated Summa Cum Laude and have also taken several MBA courses to date.”

Striving For Excellence

“I appreciate that perfection is a myth. However, striving for excellence has been a driving factor for me. If it has my name attached to it, I want to do it with excellence,” says Melinda, speaking to honing her personal brand.

Nearly 15 years ago, Melinda joined QMA as a junior-level project manager and is now head of product implementation and project management at PGIM Quantitative Solutions: “It’s a dynamic role managing my team and a testament to the evolution of the body of work we coordinate within PGIM Quant,” says Melinda. “I have the privilege of working with some of the brightest individuals and leaders in our industry who I get to learn from and partner with daily. No two days are the same, and each new opportunity allows my team and me to be a part of developing new solutions.”

Melinda also serves as a role model and mentor. It’s her passion to build the power of dreaming big among youth and young adults. With HISPA (Hispanics Inspiring Students to Perform and Achieve), she speaks to middle school students in predominantly Hispanic New Jersey communities, inspiring them to believe there is space for them in the asset management industry.

Melinda is a co-founder of PGIM Quant’s Hispanic and Latino business resource group (BRG), Unidos, and a leading member of the Inclusion Council, which oversees each of PGIM Quant’s BRGs to drive meaningful results through a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. She serves on the Latinx executive leadership team for PGIM overall. Melinda also volunteers through Junior Achievement of New Jersey, through her local church’s Girls Ministry program, and leads a young adults life group out of her home.

The Courage To Speak

Latinos are underrepresented across the finance industry at less than 10%, though they account for approximately 18% of the US population. That percentage drops significantly when accounting for senior-level Latinos in this space. Despite her Latino colleagues coming from different countries, the messages from their families and peers are often similar—like be grateful to have a job, keep your head down, and do not make big waves. Melinda says, at times, Latinos are often not outspoken enough in the workplace as a result of this common conditioning.

“I’ve often struggled with that internal tension. My perspectives and ideas are unique and valuable within the work environment, but everything in my culture tells me I shouldn’t speak up,” she reflects. “So, I’ve had the interesting dynamic of saying I am going to speak up and it’s going to be hard.”

To do this, Melinda calls on her own touchstone of living from courage: “Courage is sometimes ill-defined as ‘not being afraid’ or ‘the absence of fear.’ That’s not what it is. Courage is moving forward or speaking up, even if you are afraid,” she says. “I had to develop the courage to say I do have an idea and it is worth sharing.”

Valuing Diversity of Thought

Melinda, at times, struggles with the notion of imposter syndrome, but quickly reminds herself that her lack of privilege growing up does not equate to a voice that counts less. She recognizes the importance of embracing the background that shaped her and the need to value every upbringing – even the upbringings of those who grew up in privilege.

“It’s rethinking and relearning certain things as an adult to continuously challenge yourself. We’re all learning from each other. No one has arrived at any sort of final destination and we should regularly seek opportunities to further develop,” Melinda notes.

Her early experiences shaped the way that she cultivates different perspectives as an adult: “As a child, I felt like people often didn’t care about what students in my schools thought. It was a ‘what the teacher says goes’ mentality. Even then I knew, if we’re not allowing opportunities to challenge each other, then we’re doing ourselves a disservice and missing out on diversity of thought.”

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

As a tip, Melinda discourages people pleasing: “What’s more important is developing into a trustworthy and sought-after business partner. Whether raising a difficult issue with her children’s schools or inside the four walls of PGIM, Melinda has learned that uncomfortable conversations must be braved.

“I’ve had many experiences where I felt uncomfortable raising a topic but I did it anyway, because there was merit in it,” she says. “If we’re going to have diversity of thought, then as leaders and as professionals, we have to evaluate the things that make us uncomfortable and really decipher, what is this individual trying to say? What is the goal here? Because if you believe intentions are good, you might want to tune your ear and try to better understand what is being said, versus dismissing or disqualifying it.”

Cultivating a Growth Mindset and Culture

As she’s become more senior, new challenges and greater stakes can heighten the fear of making mistakes: “I often say each product effort or project is like its own recipe,” she says. “You may have a group of people with different work styles or a different timeline. You may have different factors that lead to initiatives being diverse even when they’re similar on paper.”

Melinda embraces the idea of being a continuous learner: “We’re not going to get it right 100% of the time. So, two main factors drive my thought process. When I get something right, I celebrate the opportunity to teach. What went right? How did I get there? What was new? What defined the win?” She continues, “And then when I get something wrong, I celebrate the opportunity to learn. What didn’t go right? What can I learn from this? How can I get better? It’s important to look at mistakes as something that will help me grow and, in turn, others as well.”

Melinda looks for opportunities to convey that growth approach and reinforce it with her team members, too. She focuses on caring about people as individuals first and then supporting their career growth with the learning and opportunities to get where they want to go, in their own way and style.

“Whatever number of years and whatever season we spend together, my goal is to be that servant leader to individuals on my team,” she says. One way Melinda empowers her team, especially in the hybrid environment, is to let them decide on her attendance in meetings. This instills confidence in their abilities, while she remains available to provide guidance and be there if and when needed.

Melinda says she has gained the most from organic mentor relationships – precisely, from exposure. As a self-motivated learner, it’s not conversations, but truly watching people in action that inspires her.

“From the start of my career, the way I’ve learned from leaders is by sitting at a table with them, listening to how they interact with others, seeing how they get decisions made, and watching how they influence business,” she says. “How I learn best is by observing. What drives me is looking around the office and asking who do I want to be more like to continue growing as a professional and progressing in my career?”

From Childhood to Today

Mrs. Aievoli still figures prominently in her life and has proven to be Melinda’s lifelong mentor.

“To this day, she keeps me pushing myself. She always says, ‘okay Melinda, and what’s next?’ She keeps me focused on that idea of growth and development,” says Melinda, who still shares her milestone accomplishments with her. “She’s been invested in me from childhood and that’s resonated with me for years.”

Melinda is most proud that her three children – now 20- and 16-year-old daughters, Jayden and Madison, and 13-year-old son, Zachary – can see in her an example of the role model she wished for as a child.

“I had a non-traditional career and educational path, and while it hasn’t been easy, I never settled or gave up, and that’s something I hope encourages them throughout their lives,” she says. “I want them to believe in their own aspirations and carve their own paths so that they, too, can be role models to future generations.”

By Aimee Hansen

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Loretta Pearce: Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Shearman & Sterling LLP

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Loretta Pearce“It makes all the difference in the world that you don’t have to compartmentalize and say ‘this is who I am over here’ and ‘this is who I am over here,’” says Loretta Pearce. “To just be who you are everywhere is liberating.”

Yet the research is clear, the further you are from dominate prevailing culture in the workplace, the more you adapt and conform to expected norms to thrive in the organization.

Pearce shares, “I’ve spent much of my career helping others navigate this space so that they can advance their careers and be as authentic as possible given cultural workplace constraints”.

She inspires us with a love for supporting the transformation of organizations and people, checking your inner circle, embracing difference, offering up your best gifts and giving yourself, and others, some grace.

From Academia to Leading Diversity and Inclusion

Pearce’s DEI journey was seeded when she left her hometown community to become an undergrad at the University of Virginia. Though she was an honors student in the top 10% of her class and well-supported by a preparatory program as a first-generation college student, she also experienced a sense of “otherness” those years on campus that catalyzed her drive to create open and inclusive spaces for everyone: “I wanted people in any space to feel a sense of their own value as well as a sense of belonging.”

After graduation, while teaching, she worked with (predominantly black and brown) students from lower income communities in the inner-city. When that campus relocated to a suburban location, diminishing her ability for impact, Pearce moved into learning and development in corporate spaces. Given her passion for inclusion, she was repeatedly called on to facilitate conversations, coach leaders and lead DEI initiatives.

“In my heart, at the very core of who I am, I’m an educator,” Pearce shares, who is immersed in doctoral studies at Teachers College at Columbia University, “I am always seeking to support others as they endeavor to be their best selves.”

While in talent management roles, Pearce realized that no matter how much leadership development an individual had, if that person wasn’t provided with opportunities by organizations to showcase their skills and talent, her work was in vain. She began connecting people to opportunities and sponsorships as she went across various talent management roles until DEI became her focus. That has meant that not only does she focus on supporting people but also on systemic barriers to inclusive workplace practices, community outreach and engagement, recruitment and supplier diversity.

She contends that “Being strategic and intentional with a holistic view, understanding an organization’s culture and practices, developing and managing relationships with stakeholders and being steadfast and determined are essential to having impact in this space. Diversity and inclusion must be embedded into every facet of the organization; that takes time, attention, and resoluteness.” Most recently she was the DEI Global Talent Management Programs Leader at Meta (formerly Facebook) and in May of 2022 she was hired as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) for Shearman and Sterling, LLP.

As the CDIO at Shearman and Sterling, Pearce, has responsibility for Shearman & Sterling’s global diversity and inclusion strategy. Pearce shares that she “grew up in law firms,” as after serving in academia she launched her corporate career at a law firm. She reveals that after meeting with the firm’s leadership “it was clear to me that diversity and inclusion was a key priority for the firm and that I would get the support required to continue to develop and implement the firm’s goals and vision in this area”.

Since she is an educator and it is foundational to the work she does, she finds the time to facilitate unconscious bias programming or other sessions with inclusion themes – recently for example, at Shearman and Sterling’s Associate Leadership Academy, and while “glamping” during one of the practice area retreats.

Check-In: Who is In Your Trusted Ten?

“Acknowledging and identifying your own bias is the beginning of being better,” Pearce says. “To simply recognize that you have unconscious bias, that we all have it, and then to try to understand and mitigate against it – and essentially, widen your circle.”

She challenges individuals to consider “The Trusted Ten,” those who are the closest ten people in your friend group. What are their demographics (gender, race/ethnicity, education, socioeconomic status)? If they align with you in most of these areas (which they normally do), find someone different in some way and have a conversation. The more you do that, the more open to difference you become. Pearce notes that “small, deliberate progress in this area can make a big difference”.

Pearce argues, especially when she is met with resistance from leaders around sponsorship, that “you’re sponsoring people all the time. Anytime there’s an opportunity and you put a name forward, if you’re a leader, you’re sponsoring that person – and, typically that person looks like those who are part of your trusted ten.” Pearce advises that as leaders we must endeavor to embrace difference, widen our circles, and understand the abilities of all those we lead; their talents, aspirations, and capabilities so that we can put their names forward the next time an opportunity presents itself that aligns with their experience and skill set.

Pearce brings her passion and experience to bear in her work at Shearman and Sterling, LLP and is especially excited about the culture of mentorship and sponsorship that the firm is already known for: “The firm has received numerous accolades for partners who are patient and understanding that take the time to explain assignments. Repeatedly during my listening tour, I heard that the culture was collegial, considerate, and kind. The firm’s values align with my own and we continue to make progress toward creating a more diverse and inclusive environment,” Pearce shares.

Her Success Factor: A Love For People

“The higher you are in leadership, the more removed you can become from those you impact. But I love to talk to the people that I’m endeavoring to elevate, advance and serve,” says Pearce. “What really motivates me is having conversations with the people I’m trying to serve, hearing directly about their experiences and understanding what I can do to better help them.”

Pearce would say the biggest factor behind her success is “honestly, just a love for people.” As a preacher’s kid (a PK, she quips, with a smile, adding she is also married to a man who is a pastor), she was brought up on the values of loving and treating all people with kindness, respect, and dignity.

“I believe that relationship with and service to others is foundational,” says Pearce. “No matter what situation I find myself in, I look around and ask, how can I serve?”

Strive For Excellence and Give Grace

Pearce has joy at her core and brings that into the workplace. She leads with calm and compassion and fosters a team culture of collaboration, learning and giving people the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to judgement or blame when a mistake occurs. She emphasizes and practices the perspective of “giving people some grace.”

Pearce imparts two key pieces of advice to mentees. The first is “Strive for excellence. Mediocrity is just not acceptable, so offer your best gifts.” That came from her parents and the environment that she was raised in, but also, her family and community of origin emphasized that you must “Give yourself some grace, and if necessary, forgiveness. Take chances, be bold, mistakes offer an opportunity to grow. Learn the lesson and move on.”

Embracing Difference

As an introvert, Pearce’s stretch zone has been around extending herself in social settings, as her senior leadership and executive roles hinge on building relationships, developing, and managing them and therefore networking is essential.

“We are all humans having a human experience and so you ought to be able to connect with anybody on some level,” notes Pearce. “Different perspectives are something to embrace, not something to close yourself off to, because they help you think and see things from different perspectives – and that’s what this work is really all about.”

Role Modeling Towards the Future

Along with working on her doctorate, Pearce serves in the church and does a lot of reading. She also loves TV, movies, and science fiction, declaring: “I’m a Trekkie from way back. If it says Star Trek, I’ve watched it.” But there’s more to her Trekkie passion than entertainment.

“When Star Trek started, they had a very talented and diverse cast, and, of course, Nichelle Nicholas who played Lt Nyota Uhura, a beautiful, intelligent, competent black woman who was either 3rd or 4th in the command structure. I could see myself in the future,” says Pearce. “I loved the show and the world it created, and I loved exploring the themes they grappled with.”

With a demanding schedule, Pearce still finds time to coach and mentor those who reach out to her for support and guidance. She shares, “At the end of the day, it’s about impact and leaving the world better because you were here. I endeavor to do that every day. It fuels me and inspires me to do even more in my areas of expertise and influence.”

By Aimee Hansen

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Alena Brenner: Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Cornerstone Building Brands

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Alena Brenner “I realized—and it is a powerful attitude shifter—that everyone you encounter as you navigate your career is in a stage of development,” says Alena Brenner. “While we all have things we are working on, you can still learn from everyone and every interaction.” Brenner, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Cornerstone Building Brands, talks about how the immigrant experience influences her work, inventing her own career path to prioritize balance with longevity, networking in male-dominated industries and allowing mistakes to fuel her learning and growth trajectory.

Shaped By the Immigration Experience

When she was a girl, Brenner’s family escaped from Ukraine before the country achieved independence from the former Soviet Union, receiving asylum in the United States. While learning a new language and acclimating to a new culture, she watched her parents work multiple jobs to give their family a new start and a better life.

“The immigrant experience is core to who I am, and because it is so foundational to my identity, I have a natural tendency to put in the hard work it takes to recognize and seize opportunities to learn and grow,” says Brenner. “When my family left Ukraine to pursue a better life, I felt the benefit and burden to both live up to expectations and have gratitude for the opportunities available to me that I would not have had if my family had not immigrated to the United States.”

While she was in high school, she won a scholarship offered by her father’s union to children of union members which allowed Brenner to attend Cornell University. After college, as she considered opportunities to land in a ‘respectable’ field that would provide financial independence and allow her to pursue a variety of career options, she turned to law.

Upon graduating from Fordham University School of Law, Brenner spent nine years with a prestigious law firm, but knew she didn’t want to pursue the partner track. While Brenner was going through a divorce and raising two young children, an in-house opportunity at Anheuser-Busch InBev in New York City became available. Brenner accepted the challenge and went on to play a crucial role in helping integrate two companies after a merger to build the foundation for a new global enterprise.

Forging Her Own Career

“Everyone is on a different path. Some paths may not be linear and may depend on where you are in your life’s journey,” says Brenner. “You’re going to learn to prioritize different things at different stages in your life.”

As a global executive in a high-profile, high-stakes business, Brenner’s career was exciting. But while she loved her job and admired her boss, the pace the work required was not sustainable as she managed the challenges of being a single mother. Though still highly career-driven and ambitious, she realized she wanted to be closer to family and to have the support and balance that offered.

Brenner moved to Miami where her parents lived and accepted a position as corporate counsel with Ryder System, Inc.— a $9 billion transportation and logistics company. She was quickly promoted and eventually became Deputy General Counsel, having expanded the scope of her role significantly. Nine years later, she was tapped to lead Cornerstone Building Brands legal function, a C-Suite role she began in 2021.

Inquisitive and a planner/builder by nature, Brenner has always been interested in learning more about the “how” and “how can we make it better” in her work, which is one reason she was drawn to roles in logistics and manufacturing, including her current position with Cornerstone Building Brands, where she’s spent the last 12 months creating a more robust and effective legal, compliance and risk management team.

Additionally, Brenner knew she wanted to join an organization that believes strongly in cultivating a collaborative and inclusive culture. She found that under the leadership of President and CEO Rose Lee. “Rose has been breaking every ceiling imaginable,” says Brenner. “She strives every day to close the gender gap in our industry and to promote a workplace that is diverse and equitable. She is fostering a culture where team members are encouraged to engage in open dialogue around complex and often difficult topics. We’re also living our purpose through the company’s sustainability, ESG and DE&I mission and goals.”

Currently, Brenner is charged with laying the foundation for a new ESG team and is spearheading the development of a comprehensive, industry-leading sustainability program.

‘Everything Is My Job’

Having worked across a spectrum of male-dominated industries such as beer, tobacco, consumer packaged goods, transportation and now industrial manufacturing, Brenner’s aptitude has enabled her to build relationships with essential business partners. She has a strong track record of taking on strategic business challenges by committing to understand the issue at hand and collaborating with all those involved, at all levels, for context and understanding.

“I think people sense that I’m genuine and earnestly trying to help them be successful in their roles. I am willing to offer an honest, third-party assessment of any issue,” she says. “If you demonstrate that, people start coming to you for counsel and view you as a business partner.”

Brenner has adopted a mentor’s mantra: Everything is my job. Whether calling a manufacturer to solve a high-stakes challenge or running to FedEx to ensure a package goes out on time, anything that contributes to the company’s success is within her scope. “Everything that comes across your desk, you own it and you have a responsibility to make it better,” says Brenner. She looks for the same mindset and sense of ownership in new company hires, too.

Embracing Mistakes as Part of Growth

“I realized—and it is a powerful attitude shifter—that everyone you encounter as you navigate your career is in a stage of development,” says Brenner. “While we all have things we are working on, you can still learn from everyone and every interaction.”

Inclined toward perfectionism, Brenner received excellent advice from one boss on the importance of not being too hard on yourself: The only people who don’t make mistakes are the ones not doing anything. They’re not taking any risk or they’re delegating. Brenner says she was encouraged to make mistakes, which led her to learn more and grow confidence in her legal work and in areas outside of her field of expertise.

“Too often, people are reluctant to take on responsibilities outside of their areas of expertise or comfort zone for fear of failing or because they work in a culture that does not reasonably view mistakes as opportunities to learn, grow and innovate. As a leader, you have to be willing to support a degree of risk-taking to signal to others that making those leaps are supported and encouraged,” says Brenner.” You want to grow and develop people who have ambition and want to learn, so you act to support them and allow them to make mistakes, give the necessary feedback to avoid repeating them and move on to solutions.”

Brenner notes that if she makes a mistake, she might spend a few hours reflecting on what she would have done differently. When she wakes up the next morning, it’s a new start with a unique advantage. She is now better equipped for success because she can apply the lessons learned reflecting on her decision-making to achieve higher performance.

Finding Her Own Way

Working in industries where men tend to fill the highest ranks of leadership, Brenner has often found herself the lone woman in the room. This hasn’t come without challenges, including finding people willing to talk to her, sit next to her or include her in informal networking that is often critical to career advancement. She admits she’s over-prepared, an overachiever and works especially hard to prove her value.

Her networking strategy is to go to as many meetings as invited to, attend events regularly and visit manufacturing facilities with the intention not only to build connections, but also to learn about every aspect of the business.

Serving Others

When she’s not working, Brenner has spent her time working pro bono supporting refugees who have been victims of torture or scarred in some way on their asylum-seeking journeys. She has also helped female victims of domestic violence obtain green cards and gain independence from abusive partners. The work is life-changing for those it impacts, and though often intense, it is also immensely fulfilling.

With her children now 17 and 14, she’s focused on enjoying her time with them before they leave home to make their own mark on the world—one that she’s determined to continue to make better.

“If a certain approach isn’t working, then I know I need to pivot to achieve my goal instead of giving up on it,” says Brenner. “There are infinite ways to pursue your aspirations, so if one way doesn’t work, you can try others until you achieve your goal.”

By Aimee Hansen 

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