Tag Archive for: Senior Vice President

Virginia Johnson; Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Legal; Global Atlantic Financial Group

Virginia JohnsonNever check your bag. Those words of wisdom have stuck with Virginia Johnson throughout her legal career since one of her first business trips as a first year associate. Traveling with a senior partner to embark on a lengthy trip, she arrived at the gate and when he asked where her suitcase was, he was shocked that she had checked it. “’Didn’t anyone ever teach you Associate Travel 101?’ he asked me.” Fortunately for Johnson, the bag quickly emerged from baggage claim as expected, but the advice has stuck with her…fast forward over 15 years and it still rings true, she says.

Wearing Many Hats Creates Exciting Opportunities

Of course, that’s just one small, but colorful, piece of advice that has helped propel her successful career. Johnson started as a corporate lawyer in 2002 at a large international law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she served as a securities and complex commercial litigator for nearly 9 years. She transferred from New York to Boston during her time at Weil, and eventually moved to a smaller Boston-based firm as a partner, where she could build her own book of business in an entrepreneurial environment. In 2012, she came across an opportunity to join the legal department of a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, and as she had always been intrigued by the idea of going “in house,” she made the leap.

Since its spin-out from Goldman in 2013, the company, which rebranded as Global Atlantic Financial Group, has dramatically transformed itself, in ways that Johnson says makes it “feel like it’s been 20 different jobs.” There, she currently heads up the corporate legal group and oversees just about everything a corporate legal department would need to handle, including contracts, licensing, cybersecurity, data privacy, litigation, employment, intellectual property, governance, risk, strategic transactions, cross-functional projects, business integration, and more.

She loves her current role where she can serve as a legal advisor but also assist with developing and shaping business strategy. “I am proud that I have been able to cultivate such a rewarding career, but also that I have built a reputation as a dependable problem solver in many contexts—a seasoned generalist who can jump into different types of situations,” she says. “As my expertise has adapted, I’ve been tapped by numerous leaders and have been able to expand my skill base. Business partners often tell me that if they don’t know who to call, they call me, as I have become known as somewhat of a ‘fixer,’ someone who can take on anything and just figure it out.”

Currently that covers leading her company’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including introducing new initiatives, advising the business on legal risks and regulatory compliance, and conducting analysis of workplace safety logistics, company policies and procedures, employee benefits, and other aspects. While she acknowledges it is challenging, she also sees it as a chance to feel positive about something that is otherwise tragic. “Working on our response efforts is a way I can pour myself into the crisis and make a positive impact,” she says. “Most importantly, we are making sure we’re being flexible, fair and caring to our team and our customers.”

Johnson also is involved in a number of technology initiatives at Global Atlantic, an area for which she has a personal passion. This is a time like no other, she says, to spotlight the importance of innovation. “I have seen attitudes change almost overnight toward remote work and the urgency of digitizing our business capabilities, and it’s vital to embrace it, not be afraid of it. This forward-thinking attitude is critical to the future of our workplaces.”

Building Relationships and Learning on the Job

While Johnson says that sponsors can play an integral role in a career she also sees the benefits of networking at all levels.

“During my undergraduate studies and law school, I believed that if you simply buckle down and work hard, that would be enough, and by becoming a subject matter expert, people will seek you out. But now I know, it’s more than that: You have to network and build relationships,” she says, adding that she makes sure to tell her mentees not to underestimate the value of your network and to begin to grow those relationships immediately in your career. Too many times she has seen people focus exclusively on their work, and then find years later that they are building those relationships from scratch.

She credits her career transitions with seeking out and nurturing connections that would pay off in years to come. Success in the world of law entails a blend of talent and effort, along with some luck, she says.

As she considers the many mentors she’s had, the traits she admires most are having a mastery of skills and a devotion to excellence, while still maintaining a life outside work and a sense of humor. “These things aren’t mutually exclusive,” she explains. And, she appreciates those who put a premium on diversity in hiring and foster an environment where people can offer divergent opinions and dissenting views.

Johnson is proud of helping found a women’s network, which has become a firmwide presence at Global Atlantic, offering a large network across all the offices. Acting as a senior sponsor, she finds the most rewarding part has been the ability to empower younger professionals as “office champions” to plan events and initiatives. She sees it as a way to both retain talent and attract new professionals.

A Full Life Inside and Outside Work

In addition to her mentoring work within the company, Johnson is active in external mentoring with Big Sisters and Mentorloop, a virtual networking site that matches pairs according to interests. While she has spent much of her career in the financial services industry, she is an innovation enthusiast who loves learning about emerging technologies, and she often attends tech-focused events and peer chats to satisfy her curiosities.

Johnson also loves music, film, theater, and travel, and looks forward to resuming those activities after the pandemic clears. Since working from home full-time during the coronavirus outbreak, she has enjoyed being able to exercise more, favoring virtual boxing classes and yoga. And she treasures time she can spend with family, friends and her pets. “It’s important to have a well-rounded life outside of work. It gives you valuable perspective in making business decisions and also when you’re done with the workday.”

by Cathie Ericson

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Cristina Varner; Senior Vice President, National Life Science Practice Leader; ABD Insurance & Financial Services

Cristina Varner

In her 25-year career, Cristina Varner has heard a number of buzzwords come and go, but one concept that she was delighted to first hear about and see endure is “sponsorship.”

“When that term came up it really resonated with me…who’s in the room talking about you when you’re not there?” she says, citing studies showing women tend to be over-mentored and under-sponsored. She recalls a former boss who was a strong producer, and they gravitated toward one another. “We didn’t put a name on it, but it was sponsorship as she helped me be my best,” Varner says. “She would tell me that I was passionate, not impatient, as others might call me. In that way she would replace what sounded like a negative that I might be thinking I needed to fix and reframing it in a way that was positive.”

That’s why everyone who wants to grow in their career needs a sponsor, says Varner.

A Career Pivot Proves Successful

Turns out Varner had a lifetime “sponsor,” even though she just called him “dad.” That’s because she had initially planned on being a fashion buyer, but when she joined Nordstrom during a tough economic period, it didn’t take long to realize that buyers weren’t soon going to be giving up their jobs.

Her father was in insurance, and while he’d always said that insurance was a great business, she hadn’t intended to follow in his footsteps…and yet since he was nearing the end of his career, she joined to see what it was all about. “He was very old school and treated me like any employee,” she says. But that taste of the industry worked, and from there she decided it was what she wanted to do, embarking on what would become a fruitful and fascinating career.

Since Varner didn’t want to take over his business, he recommended she consider becoming a retail broker on the commercial side. She was willing to learn and also realized it was the right time as it was the Silicon Valley heyday, with companies unable to hire people fast enough. Varner started on the ground level and worked her way up, primarily working with tech companies at the time, before a pivot moved her into the life science industry. Since then she’s built two life science practices from the ground up, and that has led her to the professional achievement she is most proud of so far—building robust teams and being part of watching younger people grow and make names for themselves.

Her current company, which she spun out with a core group in 2012, is now in its eighth year.

A Fearless Leader

While she doesn’t recall having specific assumptions starting her career, she realizes the importance of not only having a strong work ethic—being willing to raise your hand for new opportunities, but also the power of being a non-conformist. Varner describes herself as not “cookie cutter,” but rather fearless, a trait she didn’t recognize as unique and valuable until she was farther along in her career.

That instinct was on full display when she and a small group decided to leave a large employer to spin off their new company, an unusual and courageous decision, given that insurance people in general are risk averse in their careers. “It took a leap of faith to believe in a new CEO and leave much of my team behind.” And of course, that sowed doubts: How would I be able to do this? Will clients come with us?

One of her biggest fears was that people wouldn’t come along with her, but her biggest client followed her with words that stuck with her, “I don’t do business with companies; I do it with people.”

Even with initial misgivings, looking back, she knows it was the best career decision she has made. “It allowed me to start fresh in that I could come up with creative ideas, and that was the biggest turning point in my career,” Varner says.

Building Support Mechanisms

Varner has been proud to be part of creating culture at ABD, including a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council formed last year. She also founded the ABDHer Employee Resource Group (ERG), a passion that comes from the fact that she was strongly challenged, inspired and mentored by female leaders in her career and wanted to pay it forward.

The group has spearheaded a number of initiatives, including currently hosting webinars with other female leaders. Recent offerings have included topics like how people can successfully lead in times of tumult.

“When I started my career, we were expected to just figure it out, but I think it’s important that we now have much more focus to help people navigate their careers and growth and build skills.” She also finds that men gravitate toward the group, many of whom had been supported by a strong female figure in their own lives, to show their support.

While Varner has had her share of mentors, she also looks to other avenues for inspiration, including Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey, citing the quote, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” Varner heard this early on and became a devotee of her teachings, which she has found to be very impactful on her career.

Aside from her work, Varner is married and enjoys spending time outside, boating or just enjoying the summer weather, along with her “two spoiled dogs.” Her passion for dogs inspired her to connect with a local man who helps feed the dogs of homeless people and eventually started the nonprofit “Project Open Paw.” Varner also is close to completing training to be a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line, which she heard about when she caught a podcast with the CEO. “It resonated with me as something outside of my career or normal hobbies,” she says. While it’s daunting, she is excited to make a difference. “You should always be doing things that scare you.”

by Cathie Ericson

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Voice of Experience: Jennifer Signori, Senior Vice President, Neuberger Berman

Jennifer Signori
You can’t plan every detail of your career, says Jennifer Signori.

“When I first started, I thought I had my future all mapped out, but you realize over time that there will be twists and turns, and you sometimes have to take a step back to make a leap forward,” she says. And many times, that might entail finding yourself working in an industry that didn’t even exist five years prior, so the ability to be open-minded and flexible is crucial. Case in point….impact investing.

Finding Opportunities at the Forefront of a New Industry

Signori began her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan right out of university. For her, it was the ideal place to start a career, as she was able to learn an important set of fundamental training and tools, from credit analysis to financial modeling, which subsequently opened up opportunities down the road.

She decided she wanted to apply those skills to impact investing—which wasn’t even yet a well-known concept at the time, so she had the chance to get involved early in the days of the industry. She held a director role at Bridges Fund Management, where she played a key role in establishing its U.S. presence, including new fund development and executing due diligence of growth equity, real estate and social impact bond investments. In 2017, she came to Neuberger Berman to pursue a unique opportunity to deepen and broaden the firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing capabilities and to drive innovation in impact investing on an institutional platform across asset classes.

This challenge is the professional achievement she is most proud of so far, as she takes specialized knowledge of this industry, which had been largely niche to date, and to help it grow as it becomes more mainstream. She is working on developing and investing a private equity impact investing strategy, which she sees as an exciting next step of her career.

“To bring ESG and impact investing to mainstream markets and striving to generate positive social and environmental impacts is an exciting convergence of trends, where we are taking a market opportunity and combining it with clients’ growing interest in these areas,” Signori says. “It is exciting to try to solve for challenges facing society, while delivering unique solutions for our clients.”

Her team works with different parts of the firm including the Big Data team to harness all types of data and to make sense of it for investment decision-making. “We are seeing disciplines and subject matters that haven’t historically come together, and it allows us to bring a different perspective to deliver great results for our clients,” Signori says.

Helping Develop the Industry for Women

While Signori finds increased awareness of the need for opportunities for women, she believes that first, they need a seat at the table, which can be spurred through a greater understanding of the gaps that can discourage or hinder women. “Senior leadership of companies are increasingly becoming aware of this and focused on improving—not just for the sake of having a woman fill a position, but by making sure that women are armed with the experience and skills that will allow them to succeed once they arrive there.”

She encourages other women to help each other out by advocating for one another, adding that she’s been fortunate to work with women who were equally committed to collaborative relationships.

That advocacy can come from within or outside of the firm. Signori cites one memorable incident that took place when she had organized a series of women’s networking events at a former employer as an analyst early in her career. A fellow co-chair of the group emailed her manager, praising the events and her contribution. “It was an unexpected gesture that went a long way, and I still kept in touch with her as a friend and colleague; interestingly enough, we both ended up in impact investing.”

Having someone vouch for your credibility like that is crucial for career success. In fact, when Signori talks to younger women interested in the investment management or impact investing field, she always encourages them to first display excellent work skills, and back those with a strong work ethic, curiosity, and a focus on building strong relationships. “Your reputation will precede you if you’re working hard and delivering results,” she says.

Currently expecting her first child, Signori describes it as a bit of a nerve-wracking adventure she’s embarking on, but incredibly exciting. She still intends for her career to play a major role in her life, but she realizes there will be inevitable challenges involved in managing new responsibilities. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many of my colleagues at the firm have stopped by my office to offer support and share their experiences, both men and women,” she says. An avid traveler who has visited more than 50 countries, she hopes to continue exploring in that aspect of her life as well.

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Voice of Experience: Angela Harrell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Voya Financial; President of Voya Foundation

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LC_Harrell-Angela_full By Cathie Ericson

“Women sometimes feel like they must have all of the answers in a male-dominated industry,” says Voya’s Angela Harrell. Harrell believes that women tend to put pressure on themselves, and hang back, rather than apply for an assignment or position because they might not feel like they check every single box. Men alternatively may only have half the necessary skills, but apply because they plan to manage the uncertainties as they arise. “As women, we need to believe that we are capable and can achieve whatever we set our minds to do. Perfection can be the enemy of good,” she says.

This translates to the board room or in meetings. “Women sometimes risk coming off apologetic or even discount their own expertise with phrases like, ‘You may have already thought of this, but …’ or ‘This might not be a good idea, but ….’ If you have an idea, sell it,” says Angela. “If you are going to speak up, do so with conviction.”

A Varied Career, Focusing on What Really Matters

After earning degrees in foreign affairs, Harrell expected to move into international work. Instead, after grad school, she joined a consulting firm and subsequently an executive recruiting firm, which relocated her to Atlanta. As a Coca-Cola Scholar, she had ties to The Coca-Cola Company and soon joined them as a project manager in the chairman’s office, coincidentally replacing another Coca-Cola Scholar.

There she worked for the chairman and CEO, eventually moving into public affairs and communications, where she performed a wide variety of functions, including executive speech writing, media relations, internal communications, overseeing the annual report, the sustainability report and global photography. During her tenure she travelled extensively, including spending two years as an expat in South Africa.

Two years ago, she joined Voya Financial, where she heads up the corporate responsibility function and serves as president of Voya Foundation. “It is truly a culture that embraces corporate responsibility and all its facets, from ethics and integrity to sustainability and serving clients in a way that reflects our mission and values.”

A Service Ethic

This ethos is evident throughout the company. While Voya employees donate to charities at what Harrell calls “an extraordinary level,” employees are equally as generous with their time. Harrell oversees Voya’s National Day of Service (NDOS), where 60 percent of the company’s 7,000 employees (and 100 percent of its senior leaders) logged 13,500 volunteer hours this year.

For the event, employee-led committees across the country selected community projects for volunteerism efforts. Employees embraced the opportunity to interact with a diverse network of project participants, all in the name of serving the community. Harrell sees this effort as one that encourages ongoing volunteer behavior, since many people desire to help but are daunted at the prospect of diving in on their own. “Volunteering with colleagues to make a difference in a community infuses a different kind of dynamic into relationships and really reinforces the power of working together. In 2016, family members were invited to participate in the event.”

Harrell has acquired a more holistic understanding of how corporate responsibility manifests in financial services, affecting everything from environmental, social and governance (ESG) influences on investment decisions to the importance of transparency and disclosures. “It’s exciting to see businesses and individuals increasingly take ESG into financial investment considerations and think about the long-term impact on people and the planet,” she says.

Imparting Lessons to the Next Generation

When looking over her career, Harrell notes that her achievements of real significance have involved empowering others. “I am proud of how my team members have stretched themselves, either to transform an existing program or to develop a new, groundbreaking one,” she says. “When I stand back to consider my achievements, they center around enabling others to flourish by providing guidance and coaching as a partner, rather than being prescriptive,” says Harrell. “If you give guidance and help clear the runway, people can really soar.”

She adds that the best feedback she can get is positive input about a member of her team. “That is how you multiply and scale your effect,” she says.

Part of this focus stems from her early years when she was self-reliant to a fault, determined to accomplish everything by herself. But that attitude can preclude opportunities to understand other people’s perspectives and how they might approach things, which can influence you to think creatively. She soon realized that asking for help or input would allow her to grow, rather than reflect weakness.

“The kind of leader I want to be is the one who says, ‘How can I help you?’ but lets people succeed on their own,” she says.

She also encourages young women to think about their own personal brand and how they want to be perceived by others. “It’s not about being someone you are not. It’s about making sure you are yourself in all facets of your life,” she says. “If there is too much dissonance between who you are at work and who you are in your personal life, it can be exhausting. You can be your own true self and be successful.”

She mentions one woman who said she was always feeling pressure to “not be too nice” and be less emotional, which was contrary to her personality. Harrell urged her to choose the path where she could be herself, while ensuring that she wasn’t so nice that people would walk all over her.
She reminds senior women to pause and make sure they are continuing to build relationships with those around them, with a special recognition of more junior women.

“Part of our responsibility is to reach our hands down and bring others up with us,” she says, adding that it can be informal and doesn’t need to be overly time consuming, like connecting during lunch or for coffee. “We have to transfer some of the strength we have to those who are less experienced.” As such, Harrell often mentors other women and is active with many of Voya’s employee-led committees.

Noting that many women lead the community-oriented groups at each of Voya’s sites, she says those roles allow women to hone leadership skills they might not otherwise obtain. She recommends women take advantage of leadership opportunities within employee resource groups or through the mentoring programs their companies may offer. They help women flex their leadership muscles and meet colleagues they wouldn’t normally interact with often.

A Global Citizen

An avid traveler who has lived in eight countries and traveled to more than 50, Harrell is serious about her globe-trotting. She is an adventurer who immerses herself in different cultures. “I love learning about culture through the way people greet each other, their dress, food and all other nuances you experience when you get off the beaten path. It really fuels me,” she says.

Equally intrinsic are the many experiences she can obtain right in New York. “The entire world is here, no matter what I want to see or eat or the language I want to hear,” she says. “It’s amazing to literally be surrounded by the world.”

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Voice of Experience: Nicola Morris, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, WEX

nicola morrisBy Cathie Ericson

People truly do want to help, says Nicola Morris, reflecting on a lesson she’s learned over the years. “When I received offers for guidance or building out networks and relationships, I wish I had understood the value and not been as shy and reluctant to take people up on their outreach,” she says, when looking back on her career. “It’s a hard thing for many people to do, especially when you’ve not yet proven yourself, but once you progress in your career, and see how much you want to help others, you look back and realize the offers you received were equally genuine. Where I spent time working into the wee hours, I know that some of that effort should have been redirected to having lunch with colleagues or mentors along the way.”

Change Dynamic As a Career Constant

“Winding.” That’s the word Morris uses to describe a varied career covering sectors such as government, startups and financial services, and functionalities that have entailed IT strategies, product marketing and M&A.

When she looks at the diverse journey, however, she sees one unifying theme: helping companies maintain the leading edge for how they grow and expand, whether it’s through new products, acquisitions or an expanded marketplace. “I’ve had a patchwork of experiences that have come together to create an exciting, interesting career,” she says.
At WEX, she focuses on shaping the direction of the company through the decisions she makes now that will influence tomorrow. “We have to understand how to meet the customer’s needs today and then realize what our reality will be tomorrow to map out the journey that will get us there.” Doing so involves deciding on the steps and executing, whether success will be achieved through new product sets, business ventures, investments or expansion into new global environments.

Technology will be the driving force in her company as the business model coalesces around blockchain, AI, mobile and IoT – developments that will have a meaningful impact on most businesses but particularly ours, she says, as they focus on how they can imbed payments seamlessly through various technologies. She says it will be particularly interesting to see how the sharing economy’s inevitability will drive evolution in many industries, and the changes that will be wrought by this pivot from a consumption economy.
Another heavy influence comes from a macro-demographic perspective and the effects it will have on customers’ needs, as well as what it means for her company’s internal employee base and generational shift to consider how millennials work differently than Gen Xers.

The Value of Relationships To Bolster Your Career

Morris thinks of her professional life in terms of the people she leads, and how they contribute to the future of the company, which is why she names her teams and the professional accomplishments of the people she’s worked with and for as the achievement she’s most proud of.

Being better and working harder is a key component to the success puzzle, she stresses, but you have to balance that with relaxing and going with the flow. “You have to be the one they want in the boat because you’re good, sure, but because you have those other pieces to your personality as well,” she points out.

She finds that as a general rule women still tend to underplay their achievements and be more self-deprecating, where they should focus on accentuating these success.
“We need to recognize our own unconscious bias, and the lens through which we are viewing the world and work environment. Then we can determine how we can address it to be better leaders, employees and colleagues.”

Morris found that early in her career, it was challenging to be one of few women in a male-dominated environment, because of how they form relationships by socializing. “The connections you make during casual conversations and events do shape the way people work — who they will think of for a new assignment, for example,” she says. And while she points out that it’s rarely intentional, recognizing the dynamic of unconscious bias at work and figuring out how to put yourself in situations where you can reap positive benefits will help you move ahead.

Balance in the Workplace and Beyond

One of WEX’ core values is ensuring there are policies that are balanced for all employees. For example, the company just launched a new parental leave policy, very intentionally focused on both parents, not just maternity leave.

“I look at my own situation with three children and two careers, and I know it would have been great for each of us to have had the flexibility. It wouldn’t have made sense for only me to take leave, because of where our careers were at the time we had children. It’s about giving family the flexibility rather than just the mom,” she says.

With three kids, ages 15, 17 and 13, Morris laughingly notes that her family and their hobbies are her hobbies too, whether it’s sports or music. She notes that proximity to big cities has helped nurture both those interests for the whole family.

Morris says WEX encourages the team to give back through philanthropy so she enjoys her work on the boards off two local nonprofits, Center for Grieving Children, which provides peer support for families who have gone through loss, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra. “These two organizations represent a nice balance, and I really appreciate that my involvement is so positively supported by my company.”

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Voice of Experience: Nina Long, Senior Vice President of Trading Strategies Development, CoreCommodity Management

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nina LongBeing out at work can change your entire dynamic, says Nina Long, senior vice president at CoreCommodity Management. “It’s so vital because then you can concentrate on your work and clients, rather than spending mental energy trying to figure out how to answer simple questions like, ‘What did you do on your vacation?’ or “What are your holiday plans?’ without revealing that you have a same-sex partner. You can be so much more productive when you are not trying to maintain elusive answers.” Now she feels free to discuss the adventures she shares with her partner Bella, a clinical psychologist.

An Unconventional Career Path

Long attended university in Belarus where she studied physics and enjoyed learning to code, even though at the time she was unsure what the business application could be. It didn’t take her long to find out: In 2002 when she immigrated to the United States, her coding prowess helped her get a job in a marketing firm where she optimized schedules for TV ads. She soon learned that physics and mathematical tools played an integral role on Wall Street and decided to find out how she could apply her knowledge in programming and science to finance. After completing a Carnegie Mellon certificate program, she joined UBS in the commodity group in fixed income, where, as she says, her diverse experiences and broad knowledge came together in a way that equipped her for the job entirely.

“I could code faster than I could speak and my experience in marketing allowed me to compile excellent pitch books,” she says. From there she joined CoreCommodity Management, an independent commodity firm serving global clients, where she heads the strategy development team that develops models and profiles that inform investment processes.

“I’m proud that I have become an essential part of the firm and have grown to be in charge of quantitative strategy development team,” she says. Its rapid growth from a boutique firm has brought challenges, including the realization that she has to manage her team efficiently, rather than opting to do everything herself. “I’m still excited about my daily work fine tuning models and applying new methods and techniques to figure out how to separate information from noise. This work makes me happy,” she says.

As new businesses like Uber or Apple Pay disrupt existing models, she believes that finance as an industry won’t be immune. “We need to anticipate and plan for disruption.” She also sees that as the U.S economy moves to more of a service economy from a manufacturing economy, it will have impacts on inflation and individual investors. “How do you hedge your risk and exposure to inflation in a shifting environment?” she asks rhetorically. “Those are the types of questions that I find fascinating.”

Confidence, Even When You Don’t Feel It

Looking back over her career, she wishes that she had been braver and that she had realized at the time that she was not the only one lacking confidence. “I was not in a unique position at all, but I assumed that everyone knew more than I did.” She says that even something as simple as joining an industry 5K race seemed daunting – that perhaps you had to be a professional runner, but she soon learned that anyone who was willing to spend the time could do it. And, she says, participating in those types of events has an added bonus as it earns you exposure and access to people in the firm at a different level.

She advises women starting their careers to volunteer and join networks, but not just the ones that you think you should. She encourages women to keep trying different groups until they find that one that really interests them, and in which they are looking forward to participating.

Expanding the Ranks at the Top

Long emphasizes that the industry still lacks sufficient numbers of women in top executive positions and how noticeable it is when you see more than one women in any given setting. “If you walk into a client meeting and greet a team of men, it will seem ordinary, but if you open the door and see a team of women, you will notice the gender of the people in the room,” she points out.

And Long reminds her peers that to keep growing you have to keep learning. “As an intern, you did a rotation every few months to learn new products and tools, which was great. However, as you progress, it can be easy to stop learning as many new and different ideas, which is actually a barrier for growth. I am really keen to keep learning.”

A Supportive Culture Toward LGBT

Long has an especially insightful perspective on LGBT issues and acceptance, due to her weekend volunteer work with RUSA LGBT, a group that helps newly arrived LGBT asylum seekers to adjust. They help with practical matters such as information about insurance and housing and then connect them to community support.

And, one of their highlight moments is participating in New York Pride Month.

“It’s amazing to help people from Ukraine, Georgia and Russia spend time here in a more accepting environment,” she says, noting that in many Russian speaking countries, unless you work in a creative industry, you are still as risk to be fired due to being LGBT. When they come here and see JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms marching in the parade, it makes such a difference for them to know that there can be a supportive corporate culture.

“Despite progress, we are reminded all the time when we talk to our friends back home that there is still a long way to go for equality worldwide and the recent tragedy in Orlando reminds us that even here in the USA there is still work to do also.”

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