Tag Archive for: women in finance

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

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

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

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

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

Building the Pipeline of Diverse Talent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Managing Change and Taking Advantage of the Support Around You

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Run Your Own Race at Your Own Pace

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

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

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

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

Showing up with Authenticity

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

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

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

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

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

By Jessica Robaire

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Jill Ford: Co-head of Equity Capital Markets, Wells Fargo

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Jill Ford“The equity capital markets are unique in that they’re looking towards the future. The companies we’re raising capital for are disrupting the world, and giving us a glimpse of what’s next. I really enjoy that aspect of going into work every day,” says Jill Ford, Co-head of Equity Capital Markets at Wells Fargo. “No company’s the same, no day is the same, no transaction’s the same. In addition, you get to be around incredibly smart, strategic, visionary thinkers who are potentially going to change the world.”

Embracing Change No Matter How Established You Are in Your Career

With more than three decades of experience in investment banking, Ford is motivated by the ever-evolving landscape of the equity capital markets and the broad array of challenges and opportunities it presents. However, it took trying a few different jobs in the beginning of Ford’s career to discover that a role in equity capital markets was the right fit for her. She reflects that the twists and turns of this early stage were important in understanding, “what I enjoyed doing and what I didn’t enjoy doing, but also to see what I was actually good at and what I wasn’t particularly good at. Both of those things are hard to get a handle on until you’re in the workforce doing the job.”

Ford recently embarked on a new challenge in her career, leaving the firm where she started her career and where she had worked for two decades, to join Wells Fargo as co-head of Equity Capital Markets. Her decision highlights the importance of embracing change, no matter how established you are in your career. She acknowledges that there was a steep learning curve in getting acclimated to a new firm and job, not only in the sense of building a network of connections across another organization, but also in proving herself and establishing her value. Now that she has settled in, she is pleased to find that her instincts landed her in the right place.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of Wells Fargo…I’m starting to feel ingrained in the culture, particularly how team oriented it is. Everyone is eager to help me navigate the company and connect me to others. There is a wonderful momentum and energy throughout the organization.”

Success and Development as a Leader

As a leader in equity capital markets, Ford knows what it takes to rise through the ranks. Reflecting on what has contributed to her success, Ford points to having the discipline to put in the work and build relationships with clients over time by actively listening to their concerns and what’s important to them.

“Being willing to go the extra mile for a client, being willing to go the extra mile for a team, creates a certain amount of goodwill.” She adds, “I have a strong muscle for taking in what is important to different stakeholders, synthesizing how to best serve them, and giving them options that optimize that priority stack.”

Ford believes that being a good leader is about going outside your comfort zone. She shares the example of offering constructive criticism as a tool for helping others grow.

“Being willing to give constructive criticism to people, even if it feels uncomfortable, is a skill that I’ve had to acquire. Not just giving feedback once a year during reviews but giving it constantly. People will be able to move their careers forward much more quickly if they’re given not just the pats on the back, but true constructive criticism.”

She continues, “I mentor people that way as well, which is not just to say, ‘okay, let’s have a coffee and I’ll tell you how great you are,’ but ‘let’s have a coffee and discuss where you think you might fall short. Then I’ll tell you what I think or help connect you with people I know will give you a straight answer.’ There are ways to coach that feel good for everybody and there are ways to coach that might feel a bit outside your comfort zone, and you have to do both.”

Reflecting on the constructive feedback she received over the years, Ford benefited from it but also wishes she had received more, noting it was hard to come by earlier in her career when there were fewer women leaders around her.

“I feel like a lot of men shied away from having those difficult conversations with women or anyone who didn’t look like them. In the end, that stymies your goals and your opportunities to advance.”

As more women have risen to leadership positions over the years, Ford has seen a productive shift.

“The playing field now is a little bit more level – because men see us as equals, they’re more willing to have those tough conversations with us, which is refreshing.”

Learning from Other Women Leaders and Being the Model for the Next Generation

Given the history of underrepresentation of women in senior leadership positions in the financial industry, it’s no surprise that another significant element Ford attributes to her career development is having the guidance of other women leaders as role models.

“There must be mentorship and guidance, whether it’s formal or informal, or you’re not going to see the end game for your career. As a leader, I have to be that person for others. Seeing a woman or diverse colleague reach the upper rungs and manage groups is not only inspiring, it sends the message to others that you can make this happen too.”

Ford shares that her greatest inspiration came from a senior woman leader who not only exemplified effective leadership but also spoke about the importance of her family.

Ford continues: “She had an incredible ability to get what she needed to be successful at her job, both up and down the chain. She also was the one who debunked the notion that ‘you can only have one kid in finance’ because she had three. She told me how she made it work and gave me a lot of practical advice for having multiple kids. Then she went on to become the CFO of a multibillion-dollar company.”

Aware she will be that inspiration for others, Ford is pragmatic in her approach to balancing her career and motherhood, acknowledging the sacrifices involved in having a demanding career while giving her children the quality time they need.

“I don’t sugarcoat how hard it is, but I always let people know it gets easier. The more senior you get, the more you can delegate…Your job and being a mother are both full-time jobs and it’s impossible to have two full-time jobs, but you can outsource what you need to outsource. You can ask people to help you and you can put your foot on the accelerator and on the brake at different stages in your life and at different points in your kid’s life to make it all work.”

The advice she offers is: “Be a sponge, figure out how everyone’s unique situation is working for them and then take the best parts that might apply to your situation. Make sure you have support, whether it’s a spouse or parents or hiring babysitters, so that you can figure out how to get the job done with more than just you.”

Finding Joy Personally and Professionally

Now that her children are older, Ford feels the pull of the balancing act less. She has more time to dedicate to her passions, both professionally and personally.

From a personal standpoint, Ford finds joy in downhill skiing and calls it one of her “secret weapons” for staying close to her children as it brings the family together outside in nature. She is an avid foodie and delights in a good taco truck as much as a Michelin starred restaurant, both of which are easy to find near her homebase of New York City. In her spare time, you might find Ford pouring over an interior design magazine, exploring her interest in innovative design concepts.

Professionally, Ford is excited for the what the future holds in leading the Equity Capital Markets business at Wells Fargo.

“I want to continue to be a part of companies that are transforming the world for good. There are many small companies that have great ideas and investors who want to put money to work in those types of endeavors. I relish being a part of linking these two worlds to move the ball forward and effect change.”

By Jessica Robaire

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Susan Nickey: Executive Vice President and Chief Client Officer of HASI

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Susan NickeySusan Nickey, Executive Vice President and Chief Client Officer of leading climate investor HASI, is an agent for change. In her career, she’s learned that engaging directly but respectfully with detractors and designing fair, innovative solutions can lead to positive outcomes for both naysayers and pioneers.

“When you’re trying to come up with a solution or break down a wall, it isn’t simply saying, ‘it needs to happen.’ You have to spend a lot of time thinking about creative solutions to make it work for an incumbent who might say ‘no, I don’t want that’, or ‘I’m not going to do that.’ It’s how you listen to both sides of an argument and come up with a creative solution. Thoughtfully parsed risk allocation, for example, can enable both parties to move forward in a way that they both deem is balanced and fair for them.”

Nickey cites the clean energy industry itself as a perfect example of how creating innovative change can bring significant, positive impacts. “I have spent my whole career in the clean energy industry, becoming passionate about the cause of making the environment cleaner. Working with people who share my passion only makes what I do more fulfilling. Every day, I wake up with the thought that I have an opportunity to make a difference.”

Finding Her Way to Making a Difference

From an early age, Nickey knew she wanted to make a difference. She recalls in elementary school her mother lecturing her that it was her obligation to “make the world a better place,” observing she was naturally talented. Although Nickey initially considered a career in medicine, her focus and interests migrated to pursue a career in global finance as a path to tackling “big international problems.” But it wasn’t until she met a business client of her father’s, a Swiss banker, who advised her to set a path forward and commit to it, that she started to set herself on a dedicated path to achieve her goals.

With a strong, early focus on languages and math, Nickey entered the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Finance and studying abroad for a year in France. She completed her formal education with a master’s degree from the Foreign Service School at Georgetown in International Business Diplomacy. After taking a position at ABN AMRO Bank and being accepted to join their first non-Dutch expat program, she was on the road to fulfilling her early dreams of a career in international finance. But an unexpected opportunity within ABN AMRO arose that changed her trajectory when she was offered the chance to join the Bank’s first energy-focused project finance group. Nickey remembers her boss at the time telling her that she should grab the opportunity to work in the U.S. power industry, foreseeing it would become a “game-changer.”

“I was assigned to lead alternative energy. I ended up being at the brink of the industry before ‘renewable’ was a common industry term and before wind or solar were even on the landscape – but we were on the cusp of what we now call the ‘renewable energy industry.’ Looking back at my early discussion with that Swiss banker, I frequently give that same advice to other people making career decisions. Namely, it’s important to set a course, to be on a path, and to show that you’re driven and that you know how to get places. But adding from my own experience, I also emphasize being open to pivoting along the way – to consider new opportunities that arise – and if it’s the right one, grab it. You never know where it will take you! And if you’re like me, the framing you developed in your early days will stay relevant in your new career chapter and can still bring you to where you set out to go originally on a different route.”

Since that pivotal decision to move to the alternative energy sector in 1988, Nickey has continued to build her career, earning several accolades and recognitions along the way. Among these awards are Tamarindo’s Wind Power List (2023), A Word About Wind’s (AWAW) North American Power List (2018-2022), AWAW’s Women’s Power List (2021), Environment+Energy Top 100 (2021), and The Cleanie Awards Woman of the Year (2020). Nickey also currently serves as chair of the board of the American Clean Power Association.

Becoming a Leader in the Clean Energy Industry

Being at the forefront of a new industry allowed Nickey to flex her creativity to develop solutions to the challenge of getting people on board with investing in new energy sources, which in the early days seemed cost prohibitive.

“I remember the early days when the consensus was that wind and solar would never be more than ‘alternative’ – and would only amount to 1% or 2% of our total energy mix because they were unaffordable. It was important to stand back and say, ‘how do we make it more affordable?’ And the solution was not just improving technology, but also driving innovation in financing structures and lowering the cost of capital for an energy industry with high upfront capital costs but harnesses an energy source which is free. If you believe like I do that we need renewable energy, that we need cleaner energy, we have to keep finding innovative solutions. Saying ‘No, this can’t work’ was not then and still is not an option for me.”

Learning to Work with Opposition

Nickey notes that she has been surprised by how you can change people’s approach or their entrenchment in an old model. Breakthroughs arrive by not only being persistent, but also by listening closely and mindfully, maintaining a rational mindset, and “meeting people where they are.”

“When you keep pushing forward and creating allies along the way and are not afraid to engage with detractors or people putting up walls, you can get great things done. I’ve been pleasantly surprised when the person I thought was an immovable opponent to something all of a sudden comes back and says, ‘Hey, it wasn’t about you. I’m really glad we got this done.’” She continues, “Everyone’s human and worthy of respect. If you can understand and acknowledge where they’re coming from – and find those points of common ground – great things can get done.”

Nickey credits her approach in part to her early master’s training at Georgetown. At the time, the program was led by Madeleine Albright and diplomats including Henry Kissinger would come to lecture. Learning from two great Secretaries of State, and other people during this time, the skills of the “art” of negotiation and diplomacy shaped her approach toward constructively dealing with opposition.

“You may not agree with everything but try to find a common ground and create some trust – establish a personal bond. With that, from my experience, I’ve solved and negotiated through my most intractable, unwieldy, and thorny situations.”

The Value of Mentors and Growing a Network

In her own life, Nickey prizes continued openness to learning and getting feedback from others. In talking about the value of mentorship, she notes that the gift of a true mentor is not only someone who gives good advice but also is willing to observe you closely, to see and to identify where there may be gaps. Nickey believes it is important to find people in one’s life who are willing to give candid feedback about strengths and weaknesses and are comfortable talking about personal opportunities for development.

“By yourself, it’s very difficult to see the whole picture of your life – how you come across to others in your business life, in your personal life. And looking back, the best mentors in my life were the ones that pushed me the hardest – the ones who prompted me to understand myself, then take my game to the next level. For me, that was the best career help I ever received.”

Going beyond individual mentorship, Nickey emphasizes the importance of leveraging a network of mentors, particularly as a woman, in energy or finance. “People get ahead or get in the door because they have mentors, sponsors, and networks. You still have to walk through that door each day and deliver yourself – being devoted to building a real network will prove invaluable to opening doors and creating opportunities. And now, where I am in my career, I’m surrounded by successful women at all levels. I have the opportunity to leverage that network and develop it to be even stronger than it has ever been.”

Collaboration is Key

Collaboration has been a key component of Nickey’s leadership approach, and it features strongly in her advice for women who are mid-career in their leadership journey.

“Respect everyone who is in the room with you. You have been asked to work on a multi-level team, be mindful not just of ‘the boss’, everyone in the room has ideas to bring and value to contribute. By listening to everyone, and respectfully communicating to everyone horizontally, not in silos, you will bring people together to drive forward whatever project or whatever collaboration you’re working on. Work to ensure everyone is engaged in a successful outcome.”

Nickey loves competitive sailing. She grew up sailing and racing and enjoys the opportunity to get back into competitive sailing now that she lives in an area on the water in Maryland.

“It’s very much a collaboration: learning how to speak to each other clearly and efficiently, being close enough to know what the other person is going to do, having a basis of trust that everyone’s going to do their part, and that if something starts going wrong, being confident to know how to pitch in and that the team will all come together. I realize I not only like sailing and racing because it is beautiful to be out on the water, but it is also very much a tactical intellectual sport to navigate the wind, the weather, and the waves. Best of all, it also reminds of the beauty of teamwork.”

By: Jessica Robaire

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Vanessa McMichael: Head of Corporate & Public Entity (CPE) Strategy, Wells Fargo

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VanessaMcMichael“I have a lot of passion for what I’m doing,” relates Vanessa McMichael, Head of Corporate & Public Entity (CPE) Strategy at Wells Fargo. “I want to make the most of each day that is in front of me.”

McMichael shares her insights on finding her niche in the financial industry, using her voice to elevate and empower others, and being a single mother while working towards her career goals.

Putting in the Work

Speaking to what she has learned so far in her career, McMichael maintains, “you have to put in the work. There’s no substitute for it. Any leader that you speak with has put in the work and is still putting in the work. It’s something that I harp on a lot, because it is necessary. It certainly has gotten me to where I am today.”

McMichael is the first person in her family to go to a traditional four-year college, and she recognizes her parents as giving her the grit and work ethic to succeed. Her father, an African American nuclear engineer and small business owner, emphasized to McMichael throughout her childhood, “Vanessa, you have to work hard. You’re going to have to work harder than other people.” It was an important life lesson that aided his own success, and one that he passed on to her.

Giving birth to Vanessa in high school, her mother did not get the chance to graduate and subsequently worked in factories her entire life. When her parents split up when she was young, she witnessed her mother work hard to rebuild her life, demonstrating to McMichael that, “if you want it, you have to go get it. No one else is going to just hand you what it is you think you need.” And, even more importantly, she saw firsthand how women can do it all.

Moreover, Vanessa is a childhood cancer survivor, and this is one of the central reasons why she strives to seize each day. This is also a reason why she has to be mindful about taking on too much, “because it’s easy to do when you’re trying to make the most of every day.” And although her parents taught her how to work hard through leading by example, her experience with cancer was a significant contributor to her drive and work ethic. She highlights that going through an experience like that suddenly, with no prior family history, and as a child, “changes your perspective and stays with you.”

McMichael took these experiences to heart, and it gave her the drive to reach goals she set for herself. After studying Japanese in high school, she attended Howard University’s business school. Initially, she wanted to move to Japan and create commercials, and she thought business school was a good starting point. But instead, she discovered her path to the banking/financial services industry after listening to a presentation by Wachovia on campus. She remembers being struck by the diverse representation of people at the presentation and compelled by the work they described.

After graduating and working for Wachovia for a few years, she then went on to get an MBA from one of the top business schools in the country, the University of Chicago Booth Business School. Following her MBA, she joined a rotational program at Wells Fargo on the trading floor where she had the opportunity to explore different areas of the business. It was during that program that she “stumbled” into the strategy group, an area she has been working in ever since.

Finding Her Niche

Working in the strategy group at Wells Fargo for over a decade, McMichael points to the value of finding your niche and a role that is a “good” fit. In particular, she highlights the variety of work she does day-to-day and the relationships that she has made as what keeps her role fresh and interesting.

“With our clients, who are corporations and public entities, my job is to equip them with what they need to make informed fixed income decisions. So, with that, my day-to-day is always different. I can talk to five retailers in one day, all in the same industry, but the conversations are varied.”

Vanessa added that although each client situation is unique, there has been a shift in the broader conversation with clients this year as the rate environment falls. “We are no longer in an environment where organizations can sit back and earn interest on excess cash so easily.”

Harkening back to her high school dream of creating commercials in Japan, she recognizes that her career at Wells Fargo is maybe not so far off from where she thought she would start: “I’m not creating commercials, but I am creating stories. I’m telling the story of what’s happening in fixed income markets and how the narrative can impact my clients.”

Another element of her job that she enjoys is having the opportunity to speak at conferences that corporate and public entity clients attend. She adds, “That’s probably what I enjoy the most about my job, is getting on stage. I’ve even told folks that I’m probably more comfortable getting on the stage in front of a lot of people than having a one-on-one.”

McMichael recently had the opportunity to speak to a much larger audience when she was interviewed on Bloomberg TV, addressing money market funds and the outlook for 2024. As this was her first live TV experience, she was initially nervous about being on camera, but then she found her rhythm, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Mentorship and Sponsorship

McMichael recognizes mentorship and sponsorship as contributing factors to getting her to where she is today, particularly as they not only helped her learn the “rules of the road,” but also “what I need to know” to succeed.

“I’ve had to build mentorship relationships to learn the rules of the road on the trading floor because the rules are not apparent all the time.” She adds that it is important to have both mentors and sponsors because, “sponsors are the folks who are telling me what I need to know and helping me take action to obtain it. I’m sharing projects that I’m working on or what I’m thinking, and they will say, okay, ‘you’re thinking this, you should go meet this person.’ That’s part of the role of a sponsor and the other part is speaking on your behalf when you’re not in the room.”

Using Her Voice

Reflecting on being a woman of color in the financial industry, McMichael believes that she is in control of how she is perceived, so it is important to use her voice to that effect.

“Going into situations, I’m very aware of who I am. I am a woman. I look different. I don’t think people automatically assume that I’m Black because I am mixed. So, I have a voice, and I use it. Instead of shying away or being self-conscious, I use it as an advantage. I want to be a good representative of women, of women of color, and of diverse women. We all have a voice, and we have to advocate for ourselves.”

McMichael takes action and uses her voice by supporting other women through the WomenGoFar network in Wells Fargo’s Corporate & Investment Banking division. While on the committee she created a speed networking event where women had the chance to meet five to ten new people within an hour. It was an impactful way for junior women to get a chance to meet women leaders, who might not otherwise have the time to commit to a longer networking activity during work hours. And likewise, the senior leaders appreciated interacting and hearing from junior women across business lines.

Taking her support for women in the workplace a step further, McMichael recently coordinated a wellness workshop on stress and the impact it can have on the body, particularly as women are often juggling many different demands on their time and energy. This topic is especially important to her given her health history. McMichael is thrilled this initial idea has developed into a Wellness Series and is looking forward to creating additional content to further promote the well-being of women.

In addition to taking action to elevate women, McMichael has a network of African American colleagues that she engages with regularly, whether through sharing job opportunities or articles of interest to keep the dialogue going. “We have Employee Resource Networks for diverse teammates, but this is a grassroots way that I’m trying to engage and educate particularly around internal mobility for our diverse talent.”

These projects demonstrate the value of creating a space for connection that supports the advancement and inclusion of a diverse workforce.

Being a Single Parent and Succeeding in a Career in Finance

Connecting with colleagues who can understand her experience was also an important part of McMichael’s journey, as there was a time that she balanced being a single mother and developing her career. McMichael remembers when she first became a mother, she met senior women around her with stay-at-home husbands, and so her confidence wavered as to whether she would be able to advance in her career without one. She worried that she would be “stuck,” because she did not have the same kind of support. But she met other single parents at Wells Fargo who could relate from a lifestyle perspective.

“That connection with people opened this new life for me. One where I went from feeling isolated and stuck to one where I felt empowered and supported.” She continues, “If I could speak to younger Vanessa, I would tell her not to feel that you can’t be successful in this business, because you’re a single parent.”

McMichael expresses her joy in motherhood and the exciting prospect of sharing her interests with her now older daughter. Recently, McMichael introduced her daughter to salsa dance, a passion she held before becoming a mom. They also enjoy traveling and exploring together. As she looks ahead, McMichael is energized to continue growing and challenging herself at work, while keeping up with her daughter and husband and their busy life at home.

 

By Jessica Robaire

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Lola Ninonuevo: International Chief Operating Officer, Wells Fargo

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

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

Finding a Bigger Reset in London

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

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

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

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

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

Creating a Brand of Speaking the Truth

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

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

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


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

Pivoting to a Collective Leader Mindset

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

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

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

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

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

The Obligation of Being a Voice

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

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

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

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

Why Relaxing Into Yourself Makes All the Difference

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Aimee Hansen

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LaShonda Fuselier: Head of Multi-National Corporations Subsidiary Coverage, Corporate and Investment Banking, Wells Fargo

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LaShonda Fuselier“For me, it all comes down to a genuine intellectual curiosity about people and places and cultures and things,” says LaShonda Fuselier. “As a banker, you’re building bridges and relationships, trying to understand people and their business, and being inquisitive enough to ask the right questions. In an international context, we’re taking that to a totally different level.”

An Innate Passion for International Perspectives

That unique international aspect is what magnetized Fuselier to banking and what has kept her at Wells Fargo for over 18 years. Despite growing up in a small and rural town in Louisiana, her fascination with gaining international perspective started early. She took her first flight at 20 years old to Belgium. After graduating Dillard University with degrees in accounting and French, she interned in Paris and went on further to obtain her MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School – with an international exchange at HEC Paris.

“I love the need for a global perspective for us to be able to serve our clients. My clients are headquartered outside of the US in my current role, and I love working across borders and across cultures,” says Fuselier. “I love thinking about not just how these factors [cross-borders and cross-cultures] impact the business but also the individuals in the businesses.”

As a leader, Fuselier encourages new hires to not only execute on the “what” they are responsible for, but to also go beyond and consider the “why” (“why is it important?”) and “how” (“how can I add value/make it better?”). Embracing this herself, two years ago, while discussing the next potential stage of her career development, she pitched a new role to the Head of Corporate Banking – the one she presently finds herself in. This coming fall, she’ll host an inaugural Multi-National Corporations Conference as a means to be more consultative to Wells Fargo’s international client base.

Finance Is a Relationship Business

Growing up in a small town with hardworking parents, Fuselier was raised with a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility.

“Your word is your bond, my dad always said,” she shares. “I grew up in a family where if you say you’re going to do something, you’re going to do it. And if you want something, you’re going to have to put a little sweat into it.”

On top of trust-building, she’s recognized she possesses the important relational skill of making people feel comfortable: “You might think we’re talking finance. It’s numbers. But those are table stakes,” she says. “It’s a relationship business. People do business with people they’re comfortable with and they trust.”

Learning What Is In Your Control

Sometimes, it takes a difficult experience to learn how to be a leader.

While Fuselier has had many great managers, that has not always been the case. At times, she has even found herself offended by some past managers’ lack of leadership skills. Always committed to engaging professionally, she does surmise, she may not have engaged productively in one situation where she felt a past manager was not a great leader: “I have a tendency sometimes to stand on principle,” she says, “and so I focused on what I saw as the injustice about how this person was leading.”

But a colleague of hers with the same manager just focused on the work and ultimately had a better experience. As a result, she endeavored to engage more productively and constructively moving forward and it improved her experience.

“From that tough experience, I learned that you can’t control others. You can’t make someone a great manager,” she said, noting there will always be individual high-performers that are not as suited to be managers. “What you can control is everything that you do. You can control how you respond to the environment and use that response to make it better.”

Engaging and Empowering Others As a Leader

Today, Fuselier’s leadership is in part catalyzed by that experience. Fuselier has a clear view of what it takes to be a great leader and manager, which is a lot about encouraging and empowering her teams – in the same way some managers have done that for her. She advises mentees to “approach every assignment as an opportunity to develop and demonstrate your capabilities.” And as a leader, she prioritizes finding chances for others to do just that.

“It’s a practice I’ve developed to engage and empower others. One of the most rewarding aspects of being in leadership is when I have the opportunity to facilitate leadership opportunities for others and pull them out of their shell,” she says. “It feels really good when I get a chance to support somebody from behind and see them in the spotlight developing their skills, accomplishing things and being recognized.”

Fuselier likes to let her team take front and center where possible and be there in support. If someone mentions they don’t like public speaking, then they can expect to be invited to the next opportunity to push their comfort zone – and later on, they often express their gratitude for it.

“I subscribe to the theory that the best leaders – not only with words but through their actions – encourage and inspire others to achieve their best,” she says. “That is how some of the most influential leaders have impacted me in my career, and I aspire to have the same impact on others.”

Building Connection and Credibility

Many times, Fuselier has been the only woman in the room, person of color in the room, and certainly the only woman of color in the business room. Being culturally raised to believe that she had to be twice as good to earn half as much translated early on into over-preparation and focus. But it’s also gone further at times. Knowing that banking is a relationship business, LaShonda would try to find ways to connect with clients beyond the work. For example, with some clients she would research the highlights of the weekend’s local sport match – even if she had never been to that city.

“We talk within the community sometimes about assimilation and if it’s appropriate or inappropriate,” she says. “Even though I’m not a huge sports fan, this wasn’t an example of me losing my identify. Just like anyone who is new, you’re looking to connect and establish credibility, especially when you’re not like everyone else,” she says. “Once I could establish that connectivity and credibility, I felt like I could combine that with my unique perspectives to drive more meaningful dialogue and impact around the business.”

Once she gained credibility, it became easier to truly connect on a personal level.

“As I talked about things that mattered to them, they started to open up and we started to talk about things that reveal how much we have in common,” she says.

Fuselier has also learned to leverage being a unique voice in the room – whether on a transaction or an organizational decision. For example, she has been an advocate for diversity in recruiting. She also notes that being the only woman of color in the room at times means people will not forget LaShonda, and she’s willing to let that work for her, too.

Impacting Upon Diversity and Inclusion

Fuselier co-chairs the DEI counsel, is an advisor for the Black Connections Employee Resource Network (ERN) in EMEA, and is part of the steering committee of the WomenGoFar ERN.

This year, catalyzed with the idea from Judith Barry, Head of WomenGoFar, Fuselier created an initiative called Double Dimensions that tailors content and opportunities towards women of color within CIB.

“I’ve never been a ‘diversity person’ or someone who is solely responsible for diversity initiatives, but these are important, so I’m always eager to invest the time. However, what’s most important to me is that I’m not viewed as someone who is in my primary role solely because I am diverse,” says Fuselier. “I have always worked to demonstrate that I am a highly talented, hard-working, effective, successful banker who happens to be diverse.”

But with her and Wells Fargo’s passion for DEI, she has found the opportunity to develop and demonstrate her leadership, communication, collaboration and strategic planning skills beyond her client work while also building relationships with colleagues and leaders internally and on a global scale.

“It creates a real connection to the organization that keeps me going even on a day when you don’t get the transaction that you want or it’s not the best opportunity day,” she says. “It makes me feel like this is where I want to be.”

Fuselier’s gift of making people feel comfortable comes into its own in creating a permissive space for brave conversations.

“I think I give people the sentiment they can be themselves and say what they’re thinking. I’m not going to be offended,” she says. “I think people are often taken aback by just how open I am. So when I say ‘candor,’ which is an important value at Wells Fargo, I mean it – I’m going to be really open and so can you. That facilitates the type of environment where we can be collaborative and successful together.”

“Leadership is About Behaviors”

Some years ago, a mentor advised Fuselier to “own your position.”

“My younger mentality and work ethic was I’m going to execute to the best of my ability based on what they tell me to do and I’m not going to ask questions,” she reflects. “But that advice is about feeling empowered to do what you need to do to be successful and also to identify new opportunities and raise your hand to run with them.”

Tying back to creating the role she’s in now, Fuselier is a big advocate of catalyzing agency and ownership. It’s that notion that spurred her to create the Corporate Banking EmpowerHer women’s conference to foster professional development and greater engagement of women across the business. Now in its second year, the conference will be led by mid-level vice presidents and associates. More women will have the chance to step into leadership, develop their skills and be recognized for new contributions.

“You don’t have to be at a certain level or in a certain role to be a leader. Leadership is about behaviors,” she says. “It’s not about titles.”

Speaking of International Perspectives…

As at work, so it is at home: Fuselier’s entire family loves travel, culture and languages. In addition to her French, her whole family practices Spanish and her youngest daughter is studying Mandarin. They visit a few countries each year and like to seek out the cultural culinary delights – most recently they have been Egypt, UAE, Spain, France, Jamaica, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and Ecuador!

By Aimee Hansen

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Tiffany Fleming: Vice President, Client Onboarding & Trading Documentation, PGIM Fixed Income

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Tiffany Fleming“As leaders, we have to be willing to hear some difficult things and have better self-awareness, which isn’t always easy,” says Tiffany Fleming. “If we do, we can become better leaders by being open-minded to making changes based on what people are telling us. This has enabled me to take pride in the leader that I’ve become.”

Following in Her Mother’s Footsteps

Prudential runs in Fleming’s family. Growing up, Fleming’s mother worked for Prudential while raising three children as a single mom. Fleming dreamed to follow in her mother’s footsteps but wanted to pave her own way by earning a job based on her own merit.

At a career fair at 16-years old, Fleming omitted her mother’s name from her Prudential application and accepted a position in Human Resources as part of a co-op program where she worked after school. Looking back, Fleming smiles when remembering her mother’s excitement, which turned to frustration, when she found out she would not be receiving the employee referral benefits.

After graduating from college and holding various positions within Human Resources, Fleming accepted a full-time position with the Prudential Mutual Fund Investment Management department (now PGIM Fixed Income), after she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.

From Self-Criticism to Self-Encouragement

“Throughout my 33-year tenure at Prudential, I’ve held different roles that have helped me identify my strengths and areas of improvement,” she says. “We all have areas that we feel comfortable and confident in – where we’re on our A game – as well as those areas where we’re not.”

Stepping into those areas has been tricky. Especially once Fleming was asked to take on a new role, with a new manager, after working for the same one for most of her career. In this role, she was given the opportunity to take on a stretch assignment, working with the COO of Fixed Income, doing management fee work, which she thought was totally outside of her wheelhouse.

She went in feeling worried about failing. Months later, when asked if she thought she did a good job, Fleming responded that the assignment didn’t represent her best work. She was asked who told her this, and it was then she realized that the expectations that she placed on herself weren’t always what others expected.

“Even when he told me I did a really good job, I still didn’t feel like I did. However, I must have done a good job because I ended up getting promoted shortly thereafter,” she reflects. “I’ve learned that sometimes the expectations I have for myself are not the expectations others have for me, and I need to embrace that more.”

Fleming admits that sometimes she still puts too much pressure on herself and used to turn to her mom for reassurance and guidance before losing her to breast cancer when she was just 30-years old.

“My mother played a really big role in my life, giving me positive reassurance and building up my confidence. She always acknowledged when I did a good job and that she was proud of me,” she recalls.

Since her mother’s passing, Fleming has worked on reprograming herself to find that voice of self-confidence from within. “When I do find it, it tells me that I can do anything I put my mind to, which is exactly what I always tell my four daughters.”

From Productivity-Focused to People-Focused

As a leader, Fleming is empathetic and encourages the people around her – but it wasn’t always that way. In her early years of leadership, she was so tough that she found out her team nicknamed her, “the warden.”

“When I first started at PGIM, I was very demanding. I was all about getting the work done by all means necessary, and I didn’t think much about the people aspect,” she says. “I had blinders on. I was tunnel-focused on the results I could generate and how much I could do.” It was not until one of her direct reports gave her feedback that they did not feel seen or appreciated that she took the time to reflect, becoming more aware, which ultimately contributed to a change in her management style.

“This feedback made me realize that I was not the type of leader that I wanted to be. It made me realize that you’re only as good as the people that you work with and for,” she says. “I didn’t put the same focus on people as I placed on getting the work done. I wasn’t very aware of how I made other people – the ones I interacted with daily – feel. It takes teamwork, collaboration and partnership – without those things, you can’t get much done.”

The other catalyst in softening her leadership approach was becoming a mother. She notes that even her Myers Briggs personality test results, before and after motherhood, are like night and day.

“Becoming a mom was a life-changing event that required me to step back and really look at myself. It changed how I viewed work, the world and life in general,” she says. “Today, I ask how I can be a better manager, provide opportunities, coach and develop my team. People first. Work, second. When people feel supported by their managers, it tends to increase how fulfilled they are by the work they’re doing.”

Looking back, Fleming’s biggest regret is that she did not realize sooner how important it is to support people – but now it is her passion. When she moved into a new role in 2020, she didn’t realize how much her team enjoyed working with her. In fact, many members of her team mourned her departure – a testament to her growth as a leader.

Champion of Inclusivity

Fleming never appreciated how much being a Black woman in a senior leadership role inspires others. To her, it was where she was always headed.

“Although My mom would encourage me to do a good job and work hard, she didn’t stress that I had to work harder or differently than others to be recognized, rewarded and valued. She taught me to be a good, caring and kind person to get ahead, so, I didn’t have the awareness that I think others did.” Fleming added, “It was much later that I started to realize the subtleties of being a woman – and being a Black woman – and how, in some cases, I would feel excluded, not considered or given the same opportunities as my peers.”

With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) continuing to increase in importance and visibility, Fleming has made it her mission to lead with a “people-first” mindset that is inclusive of all backgrounds when growing talent. “There are so many areas of diversity that I’m continuing to learn about. My children are teaching me things about diversity that I had not been exposed to,” she says. “I’m so motivated by feeling like I am a part of something bigger than myself, and it’s important that others have the opportunity to share that same feeling – the feeling of being part of the team.”

Currently, Fleming is a member of the Culture Council, in which she was a founder and co-head, a sponsor of PGIM Fixed Income’s Black Professional Alliance affinity group and a member of the Black Executive Leadership team at PGIM Fixed Income. In addition, she is proud to serve as an ally to other affinity groups. “I’m an ally of every walk of life. I enjoy meeting new people, learning about different cultures and forming connections about how much we have in common.”

Stretching Her Comfort Zone – Again

In January 2020, Fleming decided to step out of her comfort zone again. She accepted a role in Client Onboarding after having spent more than 25 years in Operations.

“I kept saying, ‘Why would I do this to myself? I have another eight to ten years before I retire. Why would I take on a new role, possibly not do well and risk my reputation that has taken so long to build?’” she says. “My husband said to me, ‘Why wouldn’t you?’”

It was then she realized that this role, although challenging and outside of her wheelhouse, would enable her to learn and grow. “I can’t be someone who preaches to my kids about how you can do anything if you put your mind to it, work hard and take chances, and that the worst that can happen is it doesn’t work out. How could I not take my own advice?” she says.

So, Fleming took the plunge, taking on a new role right before the pandemic hit. More than three years later, she is still judging herself for being out of her comfort zone: feeling like she always has more to learn and is not performing at her true best. Yet, she is getting the same feedback that she is doing great. She has a supportive manager and is encouraged that her team members admire how easy she makes it look to excel in her role while juggling her husband, three younger children (who are highly involved in high school athletics), grandchildren and her 80-pound super doodle, Oreo, who is the love of her life.

“I’ve realized that others look to me as an inspiration, and I have that influence,” she says. “If they see that they too can be successful as a mom, a wife and a grandmother, it makes me feel good. I am learning not to downplay my capabilities or others.”

Not Counting Herself – Or Others – Out

One of Fleming’s daughters taught her a lesson in not underestimating yourself or others. Recently, at a track meet, Fleming assumed her daughter wouldn’t make it to the finals, although she did not share this with her. After all, she was up against a lot of girls who were much older than her and had faster times –they were stiff competition. However, her daughter defied Fleming’s expectations, and not only made it to the finals, but took home bronze and won a school grant. This taught Fleming that all things are possible with hard work and when you believe in yourself.

“I tell my children not to count themselves out, so how could I?” she reflects. “I need to remember how strong that voice that I dig deep inside of me is – that voice that empowers me to accomplish my goals is the same one I am teaching my daughters to use to accomplish theirs.”

By Aimee Hansen

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Judith Barry: Co-Head of Global Equities, Wells Fargo

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Judith Barry“Women put too much pressure on themselves by thinking they have to walk into a role fully capable and qualified, when the reality is that as long as you have the core of what you need to do for the job, you can build and learn,” says Judith Barry. “As long as you’re willing to be vulnerable enough to admit that you’re going to need help or to learn new skills as you navigate, you can take on those bigger jobs.”

Leveraging Her Unique Trajectory

During her sophomore summer at NYU as a political science major, Barry accepted an operations role with Lehman Brothers, staying on during her junior year while attaining her securities licenses. Graduating a semester early, she switched firms and began her career in trading. Trading suited her perfectly: she thrived on how trading was new every day, both fast and dynamically paced, and that it meant working with very smart individuals. After a few years, Barry moved to the buy-side working for a hedge fund. By 29 years old, she became Head of Trading at a hedge fund, before moving to two other firms also as Head of Trading, eventually returning to the sell-side with Wells Fargo. Now with the bank for five years, Barry is Co-Head of the Equities Division, part of Markets, a role she has held since April 2022, as well as Head of Equity Products Distribution.

“I think my unique trajectory gave me the opportunity to learn and hone a lot of skills and, quite frankly, truly understand what clients need and want,” she notes. “Now I’m in a seat to take that knowledge base and help Wells Fargo address all of our clients’ needs and challenges.”

The WomenGoFar Network: Educate, Elevate and Empower

In addition to her Co-Head and Head roles, Barry is also Chairwoman of the WomenGoFar network within Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) at Wells Fargo. About a third of CIB staff are part of the WomenGoFar network, not only women, but also men who are allies in support of diversity.

The WomenGoFar network seeks to educate, elevate and empower women to navigate their careers internally as well as their personal lives.

“Women choose and have different paths – some are single, some are mothers, some are dealing with elderly parents or siblings. Not everyone wants a senior leadership role, but we’re about empowering women to navigate their own career goals to be effective while also balancing life,” she notes. “It’s important to have the skills to come into an organization and be able to advocate for yourself or to elevate your profile.”

When Barry entered trading in the early 90’s, women were competing for very few trading and sales positions. It was unusual to be a woman trader, let alone a senior trader, and unimaginable to sit at the head of the trading desk.

“It’s still unusual for women to be a co-head of equities at a bank, so I’m very proud of the seat that I sit in and the support I’ve been given at Wells Fargo,” Barry says. “What’s critical is I was able to take my early experience and turn that into sponsorship and mentorship and advocacy for women. Now, rather than all of us running at just one seat, there is the opportunity for women to be successful in any seat.”

WomenGoFar builds collaboration, instead of competition, between women and increases access to senior women leaders, sharing how they navigated to where they are today. In the spirit of ‘if you can see it, you can be it,’ Barry feels it’s her responsibility to be visible in her position and she is intentional about celebrating milestones for women. Sharing her own story – the good, the bad, and the speed bumps – is an important part of how she inspires others. She seeks to excel as a leader, as a mother and as a partner with the people and teams she works with.

Barry is also actively involved in creating inspiring content, understanding the supports women need and elevating awareness around the cumulative experiences of women leaders. One example of programming is a deep dive with McKinsey & Company’s annual Women in the Workplace study. WomenGoFar also hosts internal speaker series on topics like personal wealth and investment management that benefit women, from the early stages of their career. In addition, this past year, CIB hosted their first off-site Women’s Leadership Summit which brought together high-level senior women from the bank and the client side, spotlighting important female clients across the spectrum of Wells Fargo.

Flexibility, Resilience And Communication

“Especially as a trader, or someone in finance, you need to be incredibly resilient to navigate the up and down turbulence of the marketplace,” Barry says. “It takes flexibility to understand how to approach things but also resilience when things don’t go your way. You need to be able to pivot and get back on track so that you can achieve the goals that you set.”

Back on the trading desk, where each decision was being made with heightened urgency, engagement often took the form of yelling. But as she moved to managerial and leadership roles, she worked on elevating her communication skills – whether navigating smaller conversations in managing people or conveying an important message to a larger audience. She’s also realized how important it is to value her own voice.

“When I first was on a trading desk, I was often attempting to embrace or to emulate what my male peers were doing. I thought that in order to be successful, I had to be them,” she reflects. “Then I realized that it was incredibly important to have my own voice and realize that I didn’t need to do what they were doing in order to be successful.”

Being Confident and Finding Your Voice

“I walk into every new thing I do with an understanding of ‘I know what I know’ but ‘I know what I don’t know,’ too,” says Barry. “I’m comfortable about being vulnerable enough to ask people to help me.”

She continues, “Women put too much pressure on themselves by thinking they have to walk into a role fully capable and qualified, when the reality is that long as you have the core of what you need to do the job, you can build and learn. As long as you’re willing to be vulnerable enough to admit that you’re going to need help or to learn new skills as you navigate, you can take on those bigger jobs.”

Citing the famous study that women apply only if 100% qualified (while men apply with 60% of qualifications), Barry notes: “I think it’s important to have self-awareness and be self-reflective but, more importantly, you have to have confidence.”

Barry feels being an extrovert helped her to find her voice and to self-advocate, and everyone needs to learn that. She is conscious of the introverts who are incredibly talented and make significant contributions but often aren’t as adept at being cheerleaders for their accomplishments.

“Find someone who is both a sponsor and a mentor. A lot of my success comes down to finding those people who see your contributions, see the things you do and see the skills that you offer,” she notes. “It’s having that opportunity to go to them for advice, but also make sure that someone is speaking on your behalf in the rooms that you aren’t in. You can learn to advocate for yourself, but it’s important that you also have people advocating for you.”

Get the Feedback You Need to Grow

Barry brings empathy and vulnerability and confidence and candor into any room and is commanding. She feels “a compliment is nice, but feedback is a gift” and is tougher on the women she is closer to. Barry feels managers have shied away in recent times from giving critical feedback, especially to women, but it’s critical to growth. So also relies on a good dose of humor.

“If you’re not getting feedback from your manager, go ask for it. Make it so that they are given permission to give you feedback because you’re only going to get better,” she advises. “Feedback isn’t personal. It’s professional and possibly data-driven feedback.”

“Be Intentional and Be Exceptional”

Barry would advise women to take more moments to sit back, pause and reflect before taking the bigger steps, personally and professionally, and to constantly check in on their capacity and ability to do more: think in terms of one, three and five year plans. Barry also emphasizes women be mindful of the people they are connecting and working with, their experiences and their background.

She advises women, “Be intentional and be exceptional. It’s incredibly important for women to understand that if you want to hit a certain level of success, you are going to have to really lean into things,” she says. “That phraseology has become commonplace for women, but it’s not a woman thing and it’s not a man thing. It means that when you are going to do something in life, you should want to be exceptional at doing it. And you should be intentional about how you get there.”

Barry enjoys a couple of trips a year with her family and teenage children. She loves disconnecting from work and immersing her family on city trips in Europe. She says her family is into learning trips, as culture and history buffs, far more than beach trips. Recently they visited Northern Ireland and Portugal. She also values ‘me time’ in helping her to show up whole for her family and at work.

“It goes back to that word intentional – I’m intentional in what I do and how I work and I have to be intentional about carving out my spare time.”

Fitness is a top priority for her, including long hikes often accompanied by great conversation with a friend. She also ‘confesses’ that she teaches a bootcamp class based on karate to women every Saturday morning, so it’s women’s empowerment over roundhouse kicks, too, for Barry.

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Amber Hairston: Agency Underwriter, PGIM Real Estate

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Amber Hairston“For this moment, while employers are asking you to bring yourself to work, do it. Do it now. Do it today,” says Amber Hairston. “The hope is that this is a movement, not a moment. But time is of the essence, so do it. It will pay dividends.”

In honor of National Coming Out Day on October 11th, we share Hairston’s experience on freeing yourself into authenticity. 

Seeing the Hurdles Before They Come

Graduating during the global financial crisis and determined to exit the social confines of her rural Virginia hometown, Hairston took a position in marketing and communications. But “in typical Millennial fashion,” she made a network connection on Twitter who saw her as suited to commercial real estate finance and directed her towards an opportunity. In 2015, she then moved to PGIM, where she ascended across four positions within six years.

“I was redirected to the path that was intended for me,” reflects Hairston, who had planned to study business before diverting towards communications. “I think of myself now as a different kind of storyteller.”

As an underwriter, Hairston pitches deals to loan approvers after careful assessment of a property, who’s operating it, the market, and other financial risks. Attributing her work ethic to her parents, Hairston prides herself on attention to detail: “I’m very thoughtful in assessing what the hurdles are. I don’t always like to call them ‘risks’ necessarily. I call them ‘hurdles’—these are the hurdles, and this is how we can and will clear them.”

The volatility in the domestic and global economy, and the impact on the real estate investment marketplace, has definitely provided challenges to step into—and Hairston finds that exhilarating. While she won’t speak the most in a meeting room, when she does, she has reflected and has something powerful to say.

Time management and foresight have been her boons. “There’s nothing that I haven’t thought about when I’m underwriting a deal. There’s nothing that I encounter that I haven’t at least entertained as a possible hurdle. I’m never caught flat-footed or surprised.”

“Dropping the Weight Vest” To Rise in Authenticity

Reflecting on her desire to stretch beyond home as a teenager, she says, “It was a very black and white space in a literal and figurative sense. There wasn’t a lot of space for a queer woman of color in the town that I came from, and I knew that I could not grow in the ways that I needed to grow in that environment,” says Hairston. “D.C. just made a lot more sense, and it was my dream city in the United States.”

But while having left the confines of her small town, Hairston in some ways brought the burden of constraints within her to D.C.—until the pandemic.

“I kept the queer part of myself under wraps for so long. I tried to be something else and it was exhausting. And it’s not because of PGIM – this is the box that I grew up in, a limited view of what a woman can and should be, what they should look like,” says Hairston. “But the pandemic changed everything. We were at home and there was nobody to see me. There was only the work. It felt like I had been walking around with a ‘weight vest’ for years.”

Hairston recalls a moment when she was overwhelmed with work while colleagues were away and she needed all of herself: “I think that was the moment that everything changed because I didn’t have a choice. I had to take off the vest at that moment to power through.”

She continues, “Then as we started to return to the office in late 2021, I just told myself I wasn’t putting it back on. I decided I was done with it.”

“In a virtual setting and with all the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, I was ready to bring the breadth and depth to my experience to bear as a queer woman of color.”

That choice has impacted her relationships across the organization and the industry: “My relationships wouldn’t be as meaningful personally or impactful professionally had I not brought everything to the table.”

And it’s impacted her performance and visibility: “I’ve never been a stronger performer. I draw so much power from all the things that make me different. I used to view it as a disadvantage, but it’s so essential to how I’m able to show up, how effective and efficient I am, and the impact that I’m able to make. I draw from everything, and to have not done that for so many years was a detriment to my performance.”

Reflecting overall, she says, “It sounds sad this box that I, in part, put myself into, the unnecessary weight that I carried for so long, but the upside is maybe I can run faster and jump higher than I ever thought I could.”

Evolving Her Work Relationships From Within

As Hairston has become more comfortable in taking up space in a way that is authentic to herself, she’s feels she’s allowed others to do the same.

“Historically, I’ve been really hard on people. I could be pretty demanding and have really high expectations,” reflects Hairston. “I’m not sure that’s changed, but with the pandemic and everything, the way that I approach it has changed. I’ve had to take it easier on myself and that’s translated to other people.“

Reflecting deeper, she shares, “My harshness was a reflection of how I was talking to myself. Now that I’ve reined in my own self talk, I’m more patient, compassionate and thoughtful in how I get the best out of others, because that’s ultimately what I want.”

Empowering Others Beyond Yourself

Hairston feels blessed by an abundance of mentors and sponsors who had her best interests at heart, even when it meant losing her: “I think a lot of people see those who support them, whether consciously or unconsciously, as tools for their own growth and advancement and production. But there have been many people, at many turns, who let me go even when it was going to make things uncomfortable for them. They wanted to see me rise.”

She wishes to take that with her, “There are people in this organization, and across the industry, who have altered the trajectory of my career by presenting me with an opportunity or a challenge. That’s the type of impact that I want to have,” she says.

“Part of the responsibility of leadership, whether you’re the CEO or have one direct report, is to develop people and I hope I never lose sight of that.” It’s also important to her to be a steady presence that others can call on when they need anything.

Hairston is inspired by leaders who embody vulnerability and transparency. “They have the confidence to give you the latitude for mistakes and really allow you to grow,” she says. That latitude has looked like saying her name in rooms she can’t be in and risking putting their name behind hers while advancing her into new challenges.

She traveled broadly before the pandemic – from Costa Rica, Dubai, and Cape Town to London and Zurich. While more grounded during recent times, she’s explored cultures through food and suspects she’s read about 35 books in the last year and a half.

A sci-fi fantasy and Harry Potter fan, she enjoys V.E. Schwab and sometimes reads young adult fiction to appreciate the diversity of representation that was absent when she was growing up. Though never a “dog person,” she was lovingly coerced into puppy parenting. She and her partner have a seven-month-old Bichon Frise named Artemis.

By Aimee Hansen

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Valeria Vitola: Managing Director, Anti-Money Laundering Region Head – Latin America (Except Mexico), Citibank

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Valeria Vitola“Any difference you think you may have is not a shortcoming. It’s always your springboard,” says Valeria Vitola. “You have to embrace that diverse part of you, because it’s only through diversity that we thrive.”

Born and based in Guatemala, Vitola speaks about why you have to dig even deeper to understand any problem, moving from shame to pride from the inside-out and the true value of bringing your difference to any situation.

Making a Societal Impact

Valeria comes from an Italian family who fell in love with the textiles of Guatemala and began a textile factory and textiles related industries in the country. Coming from a history of family-owned business, she never envisioned herself at a multinational company.

Now, twenty-two years have passed since accepting her initial offer and postponing her master’s degree indefinitely for the experiential MBA of Citi. Before working in anti-money laundering/financial crimes prevention, Valeria had witnessed the consequences of corruption in her country and found meaning in work that helps to narrow the inequalities that it helps to create.

“I am from a country where corruption impacts society – contributing to a gap between those who have lots and those who have not even a dollar a day to live, and denying access of vital services such as health, education and safety,” she says. “For me, to be in the frontline, making sure that the financial institution that I work for is not used by criminal organizations to launder money, or move proceeds, really feels like having an impact on society.”

Getting Way Underneath the Problem

Valeria brings unexpected diversity to the table – she’s a woman, she leads Latin America from Guatemala (even though Guatemala is not a major regional hub for Citibank), English is not her first language and she is part of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Being from a diverse environment allows me to see everybody’s perspective from a different angle, with empathy,” says Valeria. “I’m a good listener, so my leadership begins with listening. I’m really interested in understanding not only the job and the problem that people are bringing to the table, but also the whole situation they’re experiencing when they bring the problem.”

This proves especially valuable when conducting financial crimes risk assessment on client prospects and transactions. Her ability to get underneath a situation, and ask the critical questions, is one of the key skills that has supported both her career and her life.

“I like to take complex problems and divide them into simpler ones, and I like to do that very fast. Every single problem, no matter how big, can be dissected, once you understand the root cause,” Valeria says. “But when you think you know the cause, you have to dig deeper and deeper. Once you have the root cause, everything else gets easier. You can find the paths to resolve the problem.”

Speaking to a skill that applies in all areas of life, Valeria likens this analytical skill to what empathy asks of us – when it comes to understanding why a person is feeling or behaving a certain way, and not jumping to a conclusion.

“The brain works in a way that sometimes likes to trick you into into thinking that you already know what the problem is,” she says. “But once you go layer after layer after layer, you identify there’s always something deeper. You usually have to go at least three layers, to make sure you’re addressing the true causes of the problem.”

Valeria also possesses an instinct for accountability: “I’m that person that when I see the ball being thrown, will run, catch the ball and make sure that I don’t drop the ball until it gets delivered to where it needs to be.”

Being a Leader is For Others

Vitola confesses that as an economist, what drew her into her profession was the notion of working all by herself, at a desk, analyzing numbers, with nobody reporting to her.

She stared at Citi as a sole contributor and she says that during her tenure she sought positions where she did not have to manage others. Reluctant to be working with and be responsible for so many others, Vitola remembers what her female boss and mentor, told her: “You have to believe that you are enough and more, and that you need to inspire people – and not for your sake, but for the sake of the people that are below you.” And that is how Valeria now leads a group of around 400 financial crimes professionals in over 18 different countries.

Before she speaks in front of an audience or accepts a role with more exposure and responsibilities, Valeria remembers those words. While working with others can be energy-absorbing and disruptive to an introverted disposition, she has come to understand her mission is not about tasks, but inspiring people to achieve their own whole potential, which is part of why listening has become essential.

180 Degrees From Shame To Pride

Within her family and her work, Valeria never felt held back by being a woman. Being comfortable sharing about her family and personal life as a lesbian, however, has taken longer to relax into.

“Back in the 90’s, I don’t think I knew another lesbian, not only in the financial industry but the whole country, so I felt very insecure about letting people inside of my world,” she says. “Citi is an organization that really embraces and encourages diversity, and how diversity brings different views to the table, so it was never about Citi. It was complicated for me because of fears related to my traditional catholic upbringing, my family, my friends and society in Guatemala. Coming out of the closet has been the most terrifying decision I’ve taken in my career.”

Last year, a photo of her family, including her 17 year old daughter and her ex-wife, appeared on the cover of Citi’s annual diversity report. Vitola says that her daughter, Alessandra, has been her greatest teacher: “She’s shown me the path of openness. She’s never been ashamed of her diverse family and has always introduced me as her mother.”

Valeria now feels that pride is the opposite of shame, and the journey towards becoming who you are also includes leaving behind the isolation of shame, which she too long imposed on herself in the workplace. If she has one regret, it’s that she held back for so long, only to suffer stress and fears around her identity, when in the end, it didn’t matter to any of her colleagues, only to her. If she could go back, she’d bring her whole self from day one and hopes that being more visible now shines a light for others, especially those based in countries where it might be more difficult.

In all ways, she’s now come to see her differences as an asset, and encourages those she mentors to do so, too.

“If you have a room full of people thinking the same way, with the same upbringing and same everything, the solution that you’re going to attain is going to be very limited.” she says, “So, you have to embrace who you are. Bring your difference to the table because that is what really adds value to an organization, to a meeting, to a friendship, to anything. That diverse point of view is what makes everything grow.”

Leading and Doing with Heart

Valeria is inspired by how Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi, leads with empathy, giving everybody a seat on the table, and caring about all stakeholders.

“I love having a leader with heart, more than one that just executes,” says Vitola. “Instead of having a chain, like an army, it feels more like a room with friends and family, where everybody is heard and all opinions are taken into account. But someone is responsible, deciding when we’ve all been heard enough and saying let’s move together now, behind this higher vision.”

During the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, and grounded from the three weeks a month she used to spend traveling, Valeria initiated a spare time challenge with her 400 strong Citi team and family, inviting everyone to share their personal interests, as a way of staying connected. The effort was then replicated in other areas and regions of Citibank.

Akin to her fascination of going deep into the mechanics of a problem, one of her own passions is restoring old and defunct machines – from the original espresso machine to a 1960 Vespa (which she rides on the city streets of Antigua, Guatemala on her weekends) – including sourcing all the technical hard-to-find parts they need to work again. As a girl, she watched her father and grandfather repair machines for the textile factory, often with parts imported from Italy that took weeks just to arrive.

“I have a personal satisfaction in bringing something back to its old shine and glory – to see the inside of a machine and how it works, from the time before electronics,” she says. “It’s a tribute to the ingenuity of the people that designed the machine to bring it back to life.”

Valeria is a scuba divemaster and also loves gardening, because it offers many transferable lessons and helps her stay in the present moment, from planting a seed, to waiting for weeks (with trust) until it germinates, to giving it the space to grow, to cultivating the fruit and making marmalade to share with and gift to friends: “Going from the seed to the product, with love, is like sharing a part of me, of my time, of myself.”

By Aimee Hansen

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