Tag Archive for: People

Movers & Shakers: Sofya Pogreb, COO, TrueAccord

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Sofya PogrebFocus on people, not just projects – that is the “aha” moment Sofya Pogreb had recently when a colleague paid her that compliment. “Spending time working with my peers, mentoring people and trying to understand their needs helps me problem solve and ultimately lead,” she said, adding that companies need to realize that their success lies more in their people and talent than anything else, especially in the fields of technology and finance.

Born in Moscow, Pogreb moved to New York City when she was 14. She attended MIT in the 1990s with the intent of majoring in political science and becoming a lawyer. But it wasn’t long before she realized that most of her fellow students were pursuing computer science, not political science, and although the first time she’d ever touched a computer was her freshman year, she ended up with a double major in computer science and finance.

Pogreb was awarded internships at HP and Intel, and was particularly grateful for her designation as recipient of the “Intel Women in Engineering” honor, which paid a large part of her tuition.

Fascinated by marrying technology and business, she joined McKinsey & Company. “I loved working with smart people, and I enjoyed the variety of projects that the consulting life gives you the opportunity to experience,” she says.

After eight years, she left McKinsey, in part to avoid extensive travel, and landed at PayPal where she grew to run its Americas Risk Management division, leading a team of 40 risk professionals. One of the accomplishments of which she’s the proudest was her role at PayPal helping them assess the risk and reward tradeoff, considering such aspects as how aggressive they wanted to be on fraud and how liberal they wanted to be with merchants.

“My recommendations had significant financial implications, and that was a major change from a consultant relationship, where you give advice but your head is not on the line, so to speak. At PayPal, I had the opportunity to live and breathe the numbers every day.”

A True Fit at TrueAccord

Early in 2015 she left to join TrueAccord as its COO.

She is excited about the challenges inherent in her new position, although she admits she never thought she’d move from a stable corporation to a startup. “When this opportunity presented itself, the leadership team made me feel comfortable I could make it work. I see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Pogreb sees TrueAccord as leading an industry sea change. “I found the passion of the team to be contagious,” she says, since the debt collection industry is ripe for a change. Although the market is significant, there has been less innovation in the past century than almost any industry.

“We believe there’s a huge opportunity to take the techniques that have been used in marketing and risk management and apply them to this industry. Everyone dreads the call from a debt collector, but what you’re trying to do is have a conversation. Through technology we can identify the right tone and language for each consumer based on what we know about them and then use automation to remind people when bills are due.”

Abandoning Assumptions about the Workforce

Pogreb had two assumptions when she started her career – neither of which turned out to be true. The first was that if she worked hard, she would be appreciated and success would follow. She did find that applicable in the early stages, when her career success was driven by working really hard and being the person on the team that the leadership could always rely on.

“As I became more senior, though, willingness to work hard became less of a factor and can even work against you,” she says. “Managers are not looking for me to work hard, but want me to be a strategic thinker and a leader.” She says this continues to be a challenge for her, but also a blessing since these days she can’t put in as many hours with a young family to attend to.

“Managers are not looking for me to work hard, but want me to be a strategic thinker and a leader.”

Pogreb’s second assumption was that she would be offered a well-defined career path, one that laid out how and when she would advance.

“This was never true,” she says. “You can’t count on your employer to map things out. You always have to have a vision in your head of what you’re working toward, and while it’s likely to change, you always have to be heading down a path you have defined.”

She adds that each decision can close some doors, but each one also leads to a learning experience, even perhaps showing you that what you thought you wanted isn’t what you had expected, and it’s time to build a new path.

Pogreb had that experience herself, when she took a break from consulting and joined a large bank, on a quest for a better lifestyle and working hours. “Professionally I have never been so miserable,” she recalls, adding that everyone has different needs but it was not for her. “Not being pushed resulted in my problem-solving skills deteriorating, and that was a huge learning moment; I overshot on my quest for lifestyle.”

However, she adds that it was still a valuable expertise, because it helped her learn about herself and what she needs to be satisfied in her career.

She suggests that women share their vision with their mentors and sponsors, who can then be aware of opportunities that might fit.

She has found sponsors to be vital to her career ascent – and they don’t have to be women, contrary to advice she had initially heard.

“When I remember all the sponsors that I’ve been lucky enough to have, most of them have been men. Men have done wonders for my career by exposing me to opportunities and supporting me when it came to promotions and new responsibilities.”

And that’s the outlook she brings to TrueAccord. She appreciates its diversity in race, gender and age but knows that the important thing is to hire and promote the person who can do the job the best.

A Homegrown Role Model

Pogreb’s work ethic has always been modeled by her mother, who was 40 when she brought her to the United States. A music teacher by training, she had hoped to teach but found it too frustrating to be expected to praise children who weren’t prepared for their lessons.

Instead, she went back to school, supporting the family by cleaning and babysitting, and became a nurse, despite a lack of medical background.

“When I start to think about any problems in my career, I focus on her trajectory — her career path was survival, with no mentors or sponsors. I admire her for pushing through and doing whatever it took to succeed. That’s what I intend to do for my family, but I know it’s a luxury that I can also work in a field I am passionate about.”

As a single mom to an eight-year-old and an 9-month old, Pogreb is devoted to providing that stable life for her children and appreciates that her company provides ample flexibility for her to balance her family priorities with work.

Though free time is hard to come by, she used to be a competitive ballroom dancer, specializing in the quick step tango. She hopes to eventually go back to it since it’s an activity that can be enjoyed at any age. And, she finds that dancing is the perfect metaphor for career success: “You have to work together to be successful.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Men Who Get It: Douglas Kennedy, President/CEO, Peapack-Gladstone Bank

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Doug KennedyDoug Kennedy has always been committed to championing women in the workforce throughout his banking career, which began as a full-time teller working his way through college.

Not only did his teller position begin his career in banking, but it also earned him a wife. After college, he joined the training program of a local Connecticut bank, where he began by working in a branch. As the industry deregulated, banks were increasingly growing, and so did Kennedy’s career. He held leadership roles with a number of banks, most recently with Capital One where he was responsible for commercial lending in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast; he was also market president for New Jersey. Two years ago, he joined Peapack-Gladstone Bank as its president and CEO.

A Diversity Champion

Diversity has always been important to Kennedy.

“If there wasn’t diversity, the world would be a boring place, and you’d never progress beyond your own beliefs and capabilities,” Kennedy says. For him, diversity starts in his family life. “At the end of the day, I am aware of the diversity in my personal life; this life experience translates easily to what diversity means at the bank.”

Over his 35-year career, Kennedy has worked alongside many talented women and has championed women’s issues, including a job-share situation early in his career with two women whom he knew were top performers that the bank needed to keep.

“It was not well received at the time, and I really had to push for it since management feared that male clients wouldn’t appreciate it.”

Kennedy collected statistics that showed that the job-share employees were more productive than their male counterparts. Armed with the numbers, his human resources department invited him to an off-site meeting of 400 bank leaders, where he was able to show that it wasn’t a crazy, far-fetched idea. “The proof was in the numbers,” he says. “Having math to prove something as a banker elevates it from just an opinion to a fact.” His presentation helped pave the way for additional similar job-share situations — a huge advance at a time when the lack of technology made it harder for women to stay in the workforce.

Maintain Diversity

Currently, more than half of Peapack-Gladstone Bank’s employees are female, and six months ago, he was instrumental in starting a woman’s organization called LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development) which invites senior women in to speak about their careers and the challenges they have faced. The bank’s executive vice president, Karen Rockoff, acts as the senior female leader, and has created a curriculum that speaks to women’s needs and interests and is helping the company develop an agenda to support them.

His goals for the year include accessing female senior leaders in the organization who can organize talks around wealth and how to plan for retirement. “Women can have a gap with financial issues, and since that’s one of our core competencies, we want to deliver those insights to our employees,” he says. In addition, the curriculum will double as an outreach for other corporations with women’s groups.

Kennedy says that he approaches diversity from an enlightened perspective. “I just never have differentiated people on the basis of gender, starting with my wife and I, who have always viewed each other as equal partners. Just because I had the role of breadwinner didn’t give me any authority above hers managing the family and household. So with an equal partnership at home it has been a fairly natural approach when I come to work.”

He says that he would always consider the best person for a position — whether it is a man or a woman. “You have to look at each position and ask yourself, ‘What are the skills each candidate has, what are the skills that are needed, and do they align?’”

Advice for Leaders

Though he sees the prejudice changing, he believes that men would benefit from listening more. “If you are willing to listen to different perspectives, at the end of the day you will end up benefitting. Despite my experience and leadership, it doesn’t mean I have all the answers. We all gain by paying attention to diverse views.”

He says that the key to success in an organization is hiring people who are thoughtful, who have more knowledge about a particular subject and then tapping into that talent — no matter who it is – which will always end up delivering better results. Listening will help any leader find great ideas and solutions to problems.

“If everyone at our company had identical experiences and thoughts, we would be a colossal failure. Diversity is one of the principle assets of any organization and is essential to achieving our future success.”

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Voice of Experience: Kristin Olson, Partner, Goldman Sachs

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Kristin OlsonFor Kristin Olson, career success comes from being reflective about what you enjoy doing and finding a career role that plays to your interests and your strengths. “Over a long career, pursuing something that interests you and challenges you daily will make you much more successful and happier.”

Olson is a lifer at Goldman, having joined the firm as an analyst in the Financial Institutions Group in the Investment Banking Division right out of her undergraduate studies at Georgetown. She figured it would be a great fit for her international economics background and an ideal launching pad to learn in a firm renowned for its accomplished professionals and tremendous amounts of deal activity. As an analyst, she had what she calls a “phenomenal two year experience,” which included cultivating relationships with other employees who have grown in the firm with her and are now in senior positions.

After two years in the analyst program, in 2000 she joined Goldman’s dotcom effort focused on online wealth management, where she worked primarily on marketing and client acquisition activities. She then joined the Special Investments Group within the Investment Management Division, where she has been ever since, earning steady promotions, until she was named partner in 2014.

“Making partner at the firm where I spent my entire career is something that makes me incredibly proud. When I started as an analyst I couldn’t have imagined it happening. I have had the opportunity to help build and be a part of an incredible team with impressive longevity.”

Olson sees the industry as one that will continue to be exciting.The alternative investment landscape continues to evolve and change and become more accessible to a wider universe of investors.In particular, focusing on alternatives allows Olson to hone in on what the interesting investment trends are and how to access them.For example, today technology is transforming and disrupting traditional industries left and right, providing compelling investment opportunities to capitalize on that growth.

Advice For Women That Resonates

In her experience, Olson has found that women are more likely to second guess themselves or feel less secure in their abilities. “Women have to first recognize their abilities and then be more vocal and speak up. They tend to stay quiet even though they have the same skill set and are just as capable. If there were more female role models at senior levels that would help the confidence of more junior women,” she said, adding that it has to be a priority to get more women role models at higher levels throughout the industry.

She advises young women entering the industry to be themselves, be heard and not to try to conform too much. “Teams really benefit from a female approach and the diversity of thought we bring. Some women feel like they don’t want to stand out, but they fail to recognize that being a woman can be and is an asset.”

And for women who have achieved career success, she urges them to continue to challenge themselves. “It’s easy to become complacent, but when you accept those stretch assignments, you’ll find it’s the best way to continue to learn and grow.” In addition, she finds that stepping outside your comfort zone can allow you to meet a new universe of colleagues, and even find a role you didn’t know would inspire you.

Olson herself had that experience, working with a mentor in investment banking, who had always told her she should consider sales. “He urged me to consider a sales role right up until I ended up in one, and he was right. I enjoy the dynamic nature of managing client relationships and it challenges me constantly”

Goldman Sachs’ Investment Management Division has its own women’s network, with which Olson has been involved over the course of her career. She and a colleague recently assumed leadership of the group and are planning future events. Olson has found it to be an excellent way to get to know more women in the division with its focus on mentorship and networking events.

With two young children, Olson and her husband have their hands full outside of the office too.

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Corinne Martindale, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Management, Voya Investment Management

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Corinne Martindale“If you had told me when I was in college that I would have a career in investment management, I would have said that you were crazy! I am a great example of how you sometimes have no idea where the road may take you, but if you allow yourself to be open to new opportunities, you will end up in exciting places and in roles that you never imagined.”

That is how CorinneMartindale describes her career journey. As an English and Political Science major in college, she had dreams of becoming an editor or writer. After graduation, Martindale worked at a public relations agency and then accepted a position at GE Asset Management, which completely changed the course of her career: she learned about the asset management business through various trade support specialist roles and subsequently worked her way up to a client portfolio management position. When an opportunity to be considered for the role of institutional product manager at Voya Investment Management was presented, she saw it as an exciting way to apply the skills that she had learned at GE while immersing herself in a new company. After serving as a product manager, Martindale eventually became head of product management in 2011.

“I have been fortunate enough to work at companies such as GE and Voya, where if you demonstrate that you are a dedicated, hard-working and fast-learning individual, your previous background doesn’t necessarily limit you – they look for certain skills and traits in employees and then assist in developing your additional industry aptitude.”

Along the way, she decided that to successfully continue on her chosen trajectory, she needed to develop additional business acumen and completed the Executive MBA Program at NYU Stern. “It was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” Martindale said. “Those were two of the most challenging years of my life in terms of trying to balance work, life and school, but it provided me not only with the additional skills and tools that I needed to strengthen my expertise and capabilities as a business leader, but it also gave me a new network of professors and fellow students who inspired and challenged me.”

Even though her current position wouldn’t seem to reflect her initial career goals and love of writing and editing, she has found that having those related communication skills are critical and applicable to every role and have greatly benefited her in the asset management industry.

Risks Pay Off

As she looks over her career, Martindale has had a number of professional moments that have left an inedible impact. After only a few years in asset management at GE, she applied for a role that was typically held by individuals with more years of experience. The hiring manager thought she was too young and wanted to dismiss her as a candidate for those with more experience. However, another senior leader who knew Martindale’s work supported her advancement and relayed that she just needed to be given the chance – that she was the type of individual who would put in the hours and effort to overcome the learning curve that this new job might bring.

“I told the hiring manager that I would not let him down and if given the opportunity, I would promise to be a hire that he never regretted,” Martindale recalls, adding that it took all the strength she had not to let self-doubt cripple her as she continued the interview process. She eventually was offered the ‘stretch assignment’ and went above and beyond to overcome the initial perceptions placed on her to achieve success in the position. Though there were times she felt frustrated that she wasn’t immediately viewed in the firm as an expert, she will never forget the note she received from the hiring manager when she decided to leave the firm. He told her she had proved him wrong and that she was one of the strongest hires he had made.

Personal and Team Achievements

From that experience, Martindale learned that sometimes the toughest jobs or circumstances where others may doubt your capabilities are the best opportunities to test your own boundaries and rise to the challenge. “You won’t learn and grow as a business leader if you always follow the ‘safe’ route and only take on projects or jobs where you are already an expert. “

“I also learned how powerful it is to build your own personal ‘brand’ via the work that you produce in your current role and the importance of creating relationships with other leaders within your organization. There are good odds that one day another leader may need to ‘go to bat’ for you or help you advance to a new level. Having proven yourself to these leaders and having established trusting relationships outside your own team will help you in many ways.”

Another achievement Martindale cited was creating and building her current team at Voya. Moving from an individual contributor role to managing a team that initially included peers as well as colleagues with more experience was new ground for her. Martindale realized immediately that there aren’t many resources (or much time) available for training an individual to manage others, even though it offers new challenges and situations.

She has found that helping her team advance in their own careers is one of the most satisfying and meaningful jobs you can have, as you learn from them and see them shine in the accomplishments they deliver to the firm. “It is so important to hire the right people and support the teams that work with you – and for you – because no one can be successful completely on their own.”

Take a Risk for Greater Return

Looking back, Martindale believes it’s ok to not always know what your next title or job will be – that although you should always set goals and milestones for yourself, they can change or veer off course. “For so many years, I knew exactly what I thought I wanted to be and how I was going to get there and when my vision changed, it shook me a little. I have always been a planner when it comes to my professional life but I have learned that there isn’t necessarily one path that you will lead you to the next step in your career.”

For that reason, she advises young women to take a chance on an opportunity that might initially seem terrifying. “Every project, experience or job that scared me or made me nervous turned out to be the best move for me,” she says. “I wasn’t always successful at first but I always learned from those experiences and they propelled me forward and gave me the opportunity to embrace the next challenge ahead.”

Networking for Success

Martindale hasparticipated as a mentor and mentee in the mentoring program at Voya and has found it to be very helpful as a forum to not only learn and grow from the advice and guidance from female peers and leaders but also from male counterparts. However, she finds that much of her valuable insight has also come from the more informal mentoring relationships she has developed over time.

She stresses that you cannot underestimate the power of networking – both internally and externally with professionals within and outside of your own industry. “I have uncovered so many new ideas or new processes from those in other industries that I can apply to my own roles.”

She says that networking can often be one of the first things we sacrifice in our daily routines because it’s difficult to find the time and can often put you outside your comfort zone if you aren’t a social person. But as you progress in your career, having a network of professional colleagues inside and outside of your own firm is vital to being able to advance.

“Every person has a different and unique story about how they got to where they are in their career and I have found that many leaders are usually very willing to share their personal and career experiences. You can gain great insight and advice by listening to the lessons learned by others.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Men Who Get It: Roger Mitchell, Managing Director, TIAA-CREF, IT Business and Resource Management

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Roger Mitchell“Increasing diversity is not the responsibility of women or the minority group alone,” says Roger Mitchell. “What is often overlooked is that everybody benefits from diversity, because there is a clear impact on the bottom line, and strong correlation to increased performance, engagement and innovation.”

On his journey to becoming a strong champion of diversity, Mitchell began his career in the UK with Ford Motor Company in a series of human resources roles.Ford eventually offered him the opportunity to move to Detroit, where he lived for 15 years. After a stint as head of HR for Ford’s global IT group, Mitchell segued into a position leading the global IT strategy team. He later joined Fidelity as a member of the HR leadership team. Mitchell subsequently came to TIAA-CREF as the managing director of IT business and resource management, and as a member of the IT leadership team.

Throughout his career, Mitchell has identified the need to expand roles for women as a business imperative. “In IT specifically there’s already a shortage of talent, and it’s tightening even more,” he says. “There’s a necessity to attract and retain both talented women and men, because we are under a tremendous amount of pressure for those skills.”

The Light Bulb Moment

Mitchell first became a diversity champion during his time at Ford when he ended up in a significant disagreement with his boss over missing a meeting to take his kids to the doctor. “When he asked me why my wife couldn’t do it, I had to explain that she worked too, and she had an important meeting at that time and couldn’t miss it,” Mitchell recounts, adding that was when he realized that everyone benefits from flexibility.

He recalls that earlier in his career it was expected that men would put in unlimited numbers of hours as the breadwinner, and he found there were times he didn’t get to spend the time he wanted to with his own family.

Part of changing this traditional mindset is challenging premises such as “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” as espoused by John Gray in his best-selling book.

“I don’t believe that our differences are so extreme, that we might as well be from different planets. I frame it more as men are from earth, and women are from earth too.”

While he agrees that there may be some differences in communication styles, he points out that there are differences even among people of the same gender or across different cultures. “I find it more productive to spend my time focusing on similarities between men and women and any other groups,” he said emphasizing how focusing on differences is divisive and can be the catalyst for unconscious bias.

Identifying and Managing Unconscious Bias

Mitchell is sensitive to unconscious bias, and one example he has seen is how women are judged more on performance than on their potential. He also finds that they are remembered for their mistakes more than their achievements, and that they continually walk a tightrope between being too masculine or too feminine.

“You are either not liked or not respected when you get on the wrong side of the tightrope,” he says.

In Mitchell’s view, systemic change is what will count. He sees his role as impacting those systems to advocate for diversity and inclusion — whether that’s in the areas of employee development or compensation.

“Early in my career we would look at numbers and targets and make symbolic appointments but if they were the wrong appointments, that would set everything back,” he said.

One systemic change he is working on is reviewing job descriptions to check for unconscious bias. He has found implied hours of work or exaggerated amounts of travel that might deter women when in fact they might not really be necessary. To help solve the problem, he says he asks his team to really think about whether the targets they are offering are typical or an extreme example.

Other areas ripe for diversity opportunities are talent review meetings where high potential females are identified. Mitchell says he has challenged his peers in those meetings to validate their selections and compare them to the female candidates.

“We have to look at all of our processes and make sure that there are no unconscious biases,” Mitchell said. “My role as an advocate is to remind people to make sure we’re not missing those who might not be getting the attention and exposure they deserve.”

He also knows that you have to interrupt unconscious bias as it is happening – maybe when you notice that someone is not being heard in a meeting, try to stop the flow of conversation and help them get the floor to make their point.

Spending Political Capital Wisely

Throughout his career, Mitchell has often acted as a sponsor, and in doing so realized that it requires him to use some of his own political capital. He also appreciates that his own sponsors, who value his judgment, help him lobby for those whom he is sponsoring. “It is crucial to focus on talent and use your political capital wisely or you lose the trust of your peers and your own sponsors.” He tries to maximize female opportunities by looking for talented women and putting them on key projects that allow them to exhibit their best capabilities. He also says that as a strong advocate for expanding talent, he tries to hire people who are better than himself and to not feel threatened but to see this as an opportunity to challenge himself. A crucial part of identifying and developing top talent is providing them support and placing them in challenging stretch assignments.

“It is crucial to focus on talent and use your political capital wisely or you lose the trust of your peers and your own sponsors.”

Mitchell admits that his blind spot earlier in his career was to pick people who were just like him, assuming that if he was successful and chose people close to his profile, that they would be too.

“I know now that is flawed logic, and that you need employees with different perspectives and backgrounds,” he says. “I learned that hiring those in my own image wasn’t giving me as successful a team as I could have had. You need spirited conversation and push back to arrive at the right viewpoint.”

Advice for Leaders

Mitchell says that having two daughters of his own in the workforce gives him a unique perspective since he’s heard their stories. He advises others to listen to the experiences of female colleagues and never assume you understand how they feel.

“When you’re speaking, all you’re doing is repeating what you already know. When you’re listening, you’re potentially learning something new.”

He also believes that women have a role to play – notably by making sure that they state their needs rather than letting someone make an assumption. For example, a woman back from maternity leave or one with a young family needs to tell her boss if she’s willing to travel. If she has a partner who will follow and therefore is mobile, say so. People will make assumptions based on stereotypes so you have tell them what you are thinking.

And that includes being specific about career aspirations. He finds that women tend to be more modest and talk about growth and development, whereas men are more likely to be specific and state that they want to be CTO in three years.

A key component to success will be establishing a strong network which is how you create connections that may lead to opportunities, whether it’s volunteering to be engaged in high-priority projects or finding an empathetic sponsor.

“With men still holding many of the senior corporate roles, we must make sure that they in turn become sponsors for women, and help move them into senior roles, “says Mitchell.He views his role in mobilizing other men behind this cause as crucial to the success of any firm’s diversity and inclusion effort.

By Cathie Ericson

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Gender Champion: William “Bill” Johnson, CEO, Citi Retail Services

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Bill JohnsonLeaders must always be conscious of the shadow they cast for their teams, says Bill Johnson, CEO of Citi Retail Services. “You can ‘talk the talk, but people watch you and your behavior, and what you do day in and day out is far more important than what you say. You should never ask anyone to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself, and you certainly should not behave in ways you wouldn’t want your team to emulate. The impression you leave behind is your shadow.”

For Johnson, that shadow extends to a deep passion for diversity. He credits this focus to two strong female role models that he had in his mother and grandmother, who both overcame adversity in their lives to become successful beyond what their education and opportunities would have normally allowed. He was always very aware of the decisions they made and the activities they pursued to advance themselves, and how those decisions helped them overcome some of the bias they faced in life. “Seeing what those two strong women accomplished helped give me better perspective on how to guide talent, irrespective of gender, to achieve their potential,” he says.

Carving Out His Path

Bill Johnson joined Citi in 1999 and has held a number of roles in the North America cards business over the years. Currently he serves as CEO of Citi Retail Services, a leading provider of private label credit cards to a virtual “who’s who” of retailers: major chains like The Home Depot, Best Buy, Macy’s and Sears; prominent specialty retailers like Staples, Brooks Brothers and The Children’s Place; large gas companies like Shell and ExxonMobil; and leaders in the automotive space, including Goodyear, Ford, Lincoln and Volkswagen U.S. In addition to private label and co-brand cards, Citi Retail Services specializes in research, data and analytics to help retailers grow sales through enhanced customer marketing, loyalty and compelling value propositions.

Prior to joining Citi, he spent 10 years at GE Capital, where he learned the retail card industry along with skills that have served him well in business development, relationship management and operational discipline.

A Diverse Team Starts at the Top

Johnson says his goal is to make sure thatevery person on the team has the right opportunities to succeed and that those who are smart, hardworking and committed to the business get exposure to the company’s leaders and retail partners. “I see this as doing the right thing for our business and our people. I look at our team and see diversity, which I’m proud of, but I’m more proud of the performance of the team,” he said.

To continue to build the team’s diversity, it’s important to him to ensure that a diverse slate of candidates is available. He believes it’s important that those in the organization who are doing the hiring expand where they look and source a diverse slate to encourage a range of perspectives and experiences that provide fresh ideas and expertise.
Twice a year, the business conducts rigorous talent reviews, and Johnson requires the entire leadership team to participate so that each member is familiar with the broader talent base as well as emerging talent deeper in the organization.

And that commitment to diversity manifests itself in his core leadership team:four of his six direct reports are women as well as two of his matrix reports. He has either hired or promoted each of these women, who lead major roles in partner management, marketing, risk, strategic initiatives, human resources and compliance.The next level of management is approximately one-third women, and they are always working to continue to grow that number.

Presenting Choices to Promote Sound Decisions

Over the last 30 years Johnson has mentored and sponsored a number of women, sharing his perspective on how to be successful in an environment that isn’t typically gender-diverse.

He finds it most valuable to help emerging talent – women in particular – think about the future and understand how the choices they make might be different from the choices others make. “It is important for anyone to understand that their career choices may be impacted by their personal choices. People – women and men – have to do what is right for them, personally and for their family. Making a choice isn’t a bad thing; it’s just part of life.”

He believes that his role as a sponsor isn’t about helping someone make those choices, but rather to help the individual give full consideration to all the aspects that go into making the decision and considering all the possible outcomes. By ensuring they consider all the consequences of their decisions, they not only can make the best choice for themselves, but they are also owning the choice themselves. “If you make a decision for someone, it gives them the liberty of not taking ownership for the outcome which is where regret and blame originate.”

Balancing the Team

Johnson recounts a story of a young woman who worked for him as a sales representative many years ago, when the industry was dominated by male clients. One particular client team was very traditional and was uncomfortable having a woman in the room. While it would have been easier to remove her from the account, Johnson believed she was a fantastic salesperson with potential to advance and was aware of the impact a reassignment could have on her career. Instead, they worked together to improve her executive presence. In future meetings, she was better able to contribute and ended up being very successful.

Johnson has carried that ethos during his work in Retail Services, where they believe in making the best decisions in the interest of the business while balancing the needs of the teams and their partners. They look for people who are curious and agile and who act with integrity but also realize that ensuring someone is a cultural fit is just as important as having the right skill set. “Given two candidates with similar skills, we gravitate every time toward the candidate who embodies our principles and values,” he said. “Over time, we’re more concerned with people who will do the right thing personally and make sure that others do the right thing. You have to hire the right people for the right reasons.

Johnson has a sign in his office with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that reads, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”
He believes that can be extended to apply to people as well – that it’s easier to succeed with a positive attitude, and that it’s critical to always try to find the best in people by assuming their thoughts and actions are intended positively. “With that comes the understanding that men and women may be different, yet both are equal.”

By Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Monica Boll, Managing Director, Accenture

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Monica Boll“Be bold about asking for what you want, particularly when you know you deserve it. If you don’t make others around you aware of your career aspirations, they can’t know how to help you get there,” says Monica Boll. “The right time to make your goals known might not be today – it’s different for everyone – but a conversation won’t happen unless you start it. It’s important to find your voice.”

This advice has helped Boll throughout her career, which began working in and around the outsourcing business in a variety of roles involving process improvement, transition, change management and global sourcing. For the past nine years, she has held a variety of functions in Accenture Operations, including leading an HR transformation program, delivering finance and accounting, procurement and marketing services and cost management initiatives. Currently a managing director in Accenture Operations, Boll leads accounts in the Financial Services and Communications, Media and Technology industry groups and manages a team of 250 Accenture associates in India, Costa Rica and the United States.

As such, she is on the forefront of seeing how technology is disrupting industries in a positive way in her various roles. In Accenture Operations, it’s the use of automation – for example, robotics to improve quality, turnaround times and overall customer experience or leveraging a cloud-based solution to deliver a new capability or system to a client. And in Financial Services, it’s disruption through the advancement of digital services like Apple Pay – what will life will be like without cash? How will purchases and sales be funneled through a smart phone versus a computer or other system? “It’s fascinating to me how quickly technology is advancing and then, on the flipside, how we always need to be trend spotters in order to remain relevant and stay ahead.”

Women in Finance

Boll has recognized that across all of the industries in which she’s worked, there is a severe shortage of women in senior leadership positions. She notes that in the financial industry, for example, the barons in centers like New York, London and Hong Kong have been men, with rarely if ever a woman to be seen at any leadership level. “True or not, most women believe that they have to exert more effort to prove themselves; history shows it takes much longer to achieve parity. Women have to work a lot harder and be a lot smarter to be recognized,” she says.

In addition, she notes the increased obligations outside of the office that traditionally fall to women, from bearing children to raising a family and caring for aging parents, and how striving to achieve balance among the demands of work and life make it harder for a woman to succeed.

However, it is a career where the rewards are vast for those who push past these barriers. She advocates that young women be bold by being innovative, vocal and open to learning as much as they can all the time, as well as by actively volunteering for work opportunities to improve their skills. “They should treat themselves as an equal to their male counterparts,” Boll says.

In addition, Boll hopes that senior women will be more supportive of one another. “Only we have the direct experience and have lived or recognize the limitations that women might face in their professional careers,” she said. Because of that, they need to advocate for young professional women and dedicate the time to coach and mentor them so they can advance faster, and more effectively, than they would on their own — to help young women navigate a professional world that can be, or appear to be, incredibly complex.

Paying it Forward

Boll walks the talk in all those areas. Looking back on her career, she is most proud of how she’s been able to leverage her industry experiences – those at Accenture and previous roles – to be the executive sponsor of the Accenture Operations North America Inclusion & Diversity mentoring program.

“It is a rich and gratifying experience, and I am particularly passionate about this because it focuses specifically on both men and women from diverse and LGBT backgrounds, a reflection of what I offer as a woman who is LGBT and Hispanic.” The program focuses on mentoring in various ways: professional development, work-life balance, career management and even reverse mentoring.

Boll also acts as a sponsor in the mentoring program which is gratifying because of her positive experiences as a mentee. “I have had a variety of excellent mentors and role models throughout my career who have helped me become the person I am today – both professionally and personally. I am very passionate about paying it forward to the next generation.”

Accenture has a number of programs in place to further that mission. The company has a global women’s theme, “Defining success. Your way.,” which is designed to encourage the more than 115,000 women at Accenture to find their own paths to professional and personal success by supporting their goals and aspirations and striving to provide an environment and culture that empowers women and enables them to thrive.

Speaking Out For LGBT Rights

Boll is actively involved in the firm’s LGBT initiatives, including the New York and Atlanta LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) which help bring the LGBT community and allies together for leadership development training, networking, mentoring, information sharing and recruiting activities.

Earlier this year Accenture joined more than 300 companies in signing an Amicus Curiae brief urging the Supreme Court to affirm that all couples share in the right to marry. “I am extremely proud to work for Accenture, a company that offers its people and their partners, regardless of sexual orientation, access to the same benefits.”

On a personal note, she and her wife Ellen were associate producers of a feature film “Love is Strange,” a story about love and a network of friends and family that come together to support a married gay couple during a time of need.It premiered last year at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to achieve global acclaim. “For me, that was a great opportunity to take a risk on something topical – gay rights – and something that I’m passionate about. We wanted to be, and indeed it felt like we were, part of the movement that will lead to the Supreme Court case on gay marriage to be decided this summer.”

She and her wife have been together for 23 years and married since 2012. They are involved with the Human Rights Campaign, the Trevor Project and the True Colors Fund which works to end homelessness among LGBT youth.

When they are not splitting time between Atlanta and New York for work, they make the commitment to take an annual vacation to somewhere exotic. She also describes herself as a huge tennis fan: “a formal recreational player, an avid spectator, and one who one day will pick up a racquet again.”

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Men Who Get It: John Covington, CISSP; Infrastructure Manager, Production Services; TIAA-CREF

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John Covington

“My main message is that people who feel more comfortable at work are more productive. I want to show people that my career has not been limited because I am gay.”

With 30 years of IT experience, initially as a technician, Covington currently manages two teams – the Service Now infrastructure team and the Identity and Access Management team. Having molded both teams, a total of 13 members strong, into a cohesive, collaborative unit, he is proud of how they work together to share information. “I encourage all of them to work hard and understand the value of attitude, cooperation and teamwork.”

Being a diversity champion is important to Covington because of how much the work environment has changed since he started. “When I entered the workforce, it was not the norm for someone to be out at work,” he said; in fact, he personally didn’t come out at work until he came to TIAA-CREF in 2006. “I feel like my goal is to provide a role model for others to help create the environment where people can be more comfortable at work,” he said.

Creating a Culture of Compassion

As the current co-chair of the Charlotte LGBT employee resource group (ERG), Covington helps plan and promote the monthly meetings, lunches and speakers. In addition, the group participates in community events like Charlotte Pride and the Human Rights Campaign. He is also a member of the IT Diversity Council, which is focused on attracting and retaining a diverse IT workforce.

He sees that even though he works for a very diversity-conscious company which has superior support from the senior leadership team, there is still room to improve the culture through social awareness and acceptance.

“I think a lot of young people still don’t feel comfortable at work. They don’t want to be on the LGBT ERG mailing list because they are concerned that if people see their names on that list, then it might hurt their careers.” He notes that the group only has 40 members in Charlotte, out of 5,000 employees. “If you do the math, that doesn’t add up.”

He urges LGBT individuals to be more active and visible and create the environment where people feel and offer acceptance.

Importance of Mentors and Allies

One plan in place to help move the needle is a mentor program that they are in the process of forming for LGBT associates. While the ERG requires attending meetings, having a mentor will provide someone the opportunity to meet privately, until they are ready to be more open.

He says that he wishes he had understood earlier the value of a mentor, and that he’d felt more comfortable, but most of all that the time had been different. “I worried that people wouldn’t want to work for a gay manager,” he said, adding that he believes that LGBT youth who are not yet comfortable would be well advised to have an LGBT mentor; not just for social reasons but to help navigate the workplace.

In addition, the ERG is also working to introduce a new Ally program in June to help promote a “Safe Place” at work.This would increase the number of people at ERG events and perhaps “provide cover” for those who might not yet be comfortable. “They can have a sticker in their office or wear a pin and it can be an ice breaker. It might be an easier entrée for those who are not yet ready to say, ‘This is what my partner and I did this weekend’.”

He also believes that if leaders get involved in the Ally program, it will send a very positive message, and help bring the issue to where it should be – just an everyday thing, and one that supports the core values of TIAA-CREF.

Covington is a native of North Carolina and has lived in the Charlotte area most of his adult life.He is an active cyclist, hits the gym regularly and participates in charity cycling events. He lives in Charlotte with his 92 lb. Doberman; Scarlette.

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Voice of Experience: Linda Freundlich, Vice President and Head of Agency Financial Operations, New York Life

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Linda Freundlich“Let your voice be heard; speak up and share your opinions and perspective,” says New York Life’s Linda Freundlich. “Women tend to be better listeners, and that’s important too; but don’t let the opportunity pass to contribute to the conversations. Decisions will be made with or without your input and they’ll be better decisions WITH your input.”

She cautions that doesn’t mean that all decisions will go your way, but at least you know your viewpoint was considered, which is vital no matter where you are in your career.

With 31 years of experience at New York Life, Linda describes it as “just as enjoyable today as the day she started.”

She began in a mid-level position in what was the group insurance department, and stayed there for four years before making a lateral move to the distribution business unit, where she held various positions covering training, developing and recruiting, among other functions.

When a position in operations opened, Linda moved, appreciating that it gave her the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills she gained in previous positions. She is currently vice president of financial operations, supporting 12, 000 agents nationwide, plus a field management force of 1,000 in functions such as field compensation, performance analysis and administration operations.

“At this point in my career, I am most proud of my team, and what they do day in and day out to achieve positive results by supporting the field,” Freundlich said. “We help to increase the productivity of our agents, and it’s very gratifying when we see sales increase.”

Right now she is focused on initiatives that will ensure the profitable growth of the agency field force in the years to come. “It’s exciting to be part of the design and planning from the start and determining how best to measure our success, even though waiting to see our plans come to fruition will take several years.”

As “big data” is becoming increasingly important, she sees that systems analysis is becoming increasingly integral in the insurance industry. What she finds different these days is the volume of information, along with the proliferation of tools that quickly analyze information to better understand customers and the overall business.

A Positive Industry for Women

Freundlich has found that pursuing a career as a life insurance agent is a smart choice for women.It offers a variety of positive aspects including flexibility and the ability to work independently as an entrepreneur. “The challenge is convincing women that they have what it takes to be successful.”

New York Life offers a robust slate of Employee Resource Groups, and Linda has been active in the Women’s Initiative, adding that it was particularly meaningful to be asked to be on the advisory board. The goals are to help members develop personally and professionally, with a mission to help women take their place at the corporate table through a three-prong approach – Be Confident.Be Connected.Be Committed.The group goes back more than 20 years, and she says that it was ahead of its time.

Bringing Your Best Self to Work

Freundlich asserts that the most important aspect of her career is the inspiring and caring people she has worked with, so it’s surprising that she spent the first half of her career in the closet.

Although she and her partner of 38 years came out to their families early on, she found a big part of her was missing at work because she wasn’t able to share who she was.

“It’s hard to describe what that’s like,” she says, adding that something as simple as lunchtime conversation about what you did over the weekend or who you went on vacation with adds a stress that runs deep.

Linda wouldn’t wear her commitment band to work but recalls one day when she forgot to remove it and a coworker asked if she had gotten married. “I remember blurting something out about being in a committed relationship, but the fear was extreme,” she said.

But when Linda finally did come out to her colleagues, she was astonished at how incidental it was – a non-event. “I wish I knew that 31 years ago.What I would tell young New York Life employees today is to bring their best self to work every day.”

Linda is a member of NYLPride, New York Life’s LGBT Employee Resource Group. The group was launched around 8 years ago and fosters an inclusive environment with the LGBT community and their friends. “We have a very open dialogue within New York Life about issues of relevance to LGBT employees and we have made tremendous progress. I am really proud to be affiliated with New York Life and how it has pioneered awareness on these issues.”

Approximately five years ago during Pride month, the group started “Coming Out Stories,”an annual panel of New York Life LGBT employees and friends who share their coming out experiences. “It’s a very moving and powerful event,” Linda said, adding that she facilitated the first and was honored to sit on a panel three years ago focused exclusively on New York Life executives.

Freundlich lives in Westchester, N.Y., and enjoys spending time with friends and family at her second home in Cape Cod.

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Thought Leader: Monica Marquez, EY West Region Diversity, Inclusiveness & Flexibility Leader

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Monica MarquezIt was a subtle comment that kept Monica Marquez of Ernst & Young LLP (EY) in the closet at her first job – the sense that coming out would hinder her opportunities. And that’s one of the reasons she is so focused on improving the experience for other LGBT employees. “When you are able to be your authentic self, barriers dissolve and your performance becomes just about your performance. The LGBT piece becomes moot.”

Marquez attended Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, studying biology with a dream of becoming a doctor. While in school, she realized she had a natural passion for student engagement and involvement. One of her professors, the vice president for Student Affairs, praised her abilities, telling her she would make a wonderful administrator in higher education. She did some soul searching about what drives her and what she most enjoyed doing, and for the first time realized she had options other than the careers she had seen growing up, such as doctors, lawyers or engineers.

With that, she earned her master’s degree in higher education, and after meeting her partner, decided to move to New York, where she felt people would be more open minded.

The timing was less than ideal: they were headed to New York City on September 11, 2001, but postponed their arrival until Sept. 21, right after the 9/11 tragedy. She soon found out that there was a job freeze at most schools, limiting her options. She accepted a position at an art school, which one would assume would have a more open-minded administration, but that was where she felt the perceived pressure not to come out in the role for which she was hired, so she spent her first four years in New York closeted at work.

That challenge convinced her that when she looked for a new role, she would share personal stories during the interview and essentially “out” herself from the onset. “I’m going to ensure they like me for me.”

Moving to Financial Services

When she was offered the opportunity to pursue a recruiting role at Goldman Sachs focusing on building out their diversity pipeline of talent, she hesitated. She had only heard “horror stories” about working in a corporate environment, especially the financial industry, but after consulting with friends with financial and business backgrounds she realized it was too good an offer to pass up.

And indeed it was. “Joining the financial services industry was the best choice I’d ever made. It was fascinating to watch the same student development theories I had learned during my graduate studies play out in the workplace, as employees entering the working world transitioned into discovering their skill sets and who they are,” she says. “It was the mirror image of freshmen and sophomores coming into college, and I realized I was able to parlay my background to develop professionals as I did students.”

She credits the recruiters, who saw potential in her ability to bring a different perspective.

One of her first efforts was rolling out the Goldman Sachs Returnship program, supporting women returning to the workplace, which stands as one of her proudest career moments. As she progressed in her career, she focused on expanding her diversity experience to work on initiatives focused on LGBT, women, Asian, black and Latino employees at Goldman for the next seven years.

At that point, she decided she didn’t want to get siloed in diversity, and took a role at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she focused on leadership development, working with senior leaders to help them shape culture, organizations, teams and talent. But after a year and a half, she realized she was passionate about diversity and began looking into other diversity roles. As serendipity would have it, her partner Alaina was asked to relocate to the West Coast by her employer, so Marquez used that opportunity to tap into her professional network and start searching for roles out West. Before she knew it, she was hired for a diversity inclusiveness and flexibility role at EY in Los Angeles, ironically with the same report date as her partner –December 2014.

At EY, Marquez has been working on assessing the environment for flexibility, diversity and inclusiveness, underscoring that it’s no longer just focused on women. As one example, gender neutral bathrooms were included in EY’s San Jose office redesign, a concept Marquez is encouraging teams to implement wherever feasible. Her goal is to capture momentum, engagement and energy and focus on creating high-performing teams while weaving in the concept of inclusiveness. And, she’ll be taking the firm’s global and Americas priorities and customizing them for the west, taking into account different cultural nuances based on client groups.

LGBT in Financial Services

As a whole, Marquez believes the financial services industry has been more progressive and more forward thinking than many.

“Having firsthand experienced being ‘closeted’ in the workplace, it was a priority for me to only consider employers with progressive and inclusive cultures during my job search. I found that, contrary to what I believed, the financial services industry was further along with LGBT initiatives than others. I’m excited to be at EY, a place I knew I could be myself from the beginning, instead of debating the right time to come out.”

She says even though EY has solid stepping stones in place, the firm is always looking for ways to improve and offer an inclusive environment. As part of its overall inclusiveness efforts, EY has initiatives geared toward LGBT professionals and their allies, that promote a welcoming work culture and make inclusiveness real for everyone, whether it’s through support or education.

The firm’s benefits include spousal-equivalent domestic partner recognition (from registration to benefits and policies), gender transition coverage in accordance with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and tax gross up on the domestic partner benefits imputed income. “These are subtle policy practices, but they have a big impact on the welcoming feel that things are equal.”

Encouraging Others

Marquez says she wishes that she had been strong and confident enough at the beginning of her career to say “This is who I am!” She believes she was initially unable to reach her full potential by not coming out, because she was always hiding something, which breeds a lack of trust with managers. “Over the course of my career, I’ve seen this mistrust manifest itself in manager-employee relationships. I’ve counseled closeted professionals who felt that their career trajectory was stalled. And I know why: for the manager and the employee, there’s something that’s off, but neither one of them can put their finger on it. In reality it’s that the LGBT professional doesn’t feel they are able to be their authentic self in the workplace, and the manager perceives the employee as being closed off or not engaged with the broader team. This misperception can adversely affect a career because the lack of a manager’s trust can lead to missed career opportunities for that employee.”

She says that this valuable lesson has made her even more passionate about teaching leaders to be careful about their words, to educate them on how to create an inclusive environment.

When talking to younger LGBTs about career opportunities, she counsels them to research companies where they think they want to be employed and dig in to see the culture: to make sure they embrace diversity and inclusiveness and see how other LGBTs have fared. “You’re going to spend the majority of your time there so you have to make sure it’s a good fit, and you don’t realize how important that is until you’re in the midst of it,” Marquez said. “I tell them, ‘Don’t put more time into choosing a car than your workplace.’”

Marquez counsels LGBTs to avoid making it an issue by seizing an opportunity to out yourself to make others feel comfortable. “Talk about your partner like anyone else would. People take your cues so don’t make it awkward; make it a non-issue.”

She says that managers are often afraid to say the wrong thing, but when you see them trying that says a lot. “We shouldn’t get upset if their response isn’t perfect, but instead look at those as teaching moments.”

Outside the Office

Marquez is involved in the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), where she has hosted panels to discuss the nuance of the LGBT journey in the Latino community, which tends to be conservative.

She also works with students, helping broaden the definition of success for young minorities. “Growing up in a small west Texas town, success was defined narrowly. I have a huge passion for educating students about what it takes and how it works,” she said, noting for example that they wouldn’t necessarily know that if you want to get an internship at EY you need to apply early in the fall of your sophomore year in college.

Marquez and her partner, Alaina, now live in Los Angeles and have begun to explore all of the amazing areas and outdoor activities the West Coast has to offer. “The adjustment from New York City to Los Angeles has been significant, but we are enthusiastically determining for ourselves if the West Coast really is the best coast!”

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