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> Continued from Page 2728Q: Is there a technological issue that keeps you up at night? If so, what is it?A: [sighs] Well, there are many, but I have the advantage of being a senior person in the industry and thus I’m able to in some degree [take] comfort that very smart people are tackling these issues.The issues range from cyber-security to disaster recovery and business resumption to counterparty exposure protection to fraud aversion and to customer service and protection of customer assets.I do know firsthand that the leadership of the industry is aligned for the right goals, aligned for the benefit of the end investor.Q: Let’s talk about you. How come you moved around so much as a child? What happened?A: My family was in the military, and my parents were younger and they were pursuing advanced education. And that took us to different places.Q: What did you learn from that experience?A: I think I acquired an interest in many different cultures. I enjoy meeting new people, playing in different sandboxes, if you will, and understanding different approaches — same subject, different classroom. And I’ve enjoyed retaining many relationships over the decades.Q: How did you get into the financial business? Are you primarily a business person or a technologist or a financial professional?A: [My] areas [include] infrastructure, strategy, technology, operations, risk management.I started as a technologist, [and] my first job was as a programmer in the derivative products group. It was an immediate combination of technology and finance. It stuck with me all these years. It must have been in my DNA from the beginning.Q: Were your parents technologists?A: No, but they are problem solvers in their own worlds. My father is an orthopedic surgeon and my mother is a professor of anthropology.Q: I’m afraid I need to ask you the “woman” question.A: [chuckles] OK.Q: The question goes something like this: Has being a woman in the financial services industry been a detriment or a help? Have you run into the kinds of issues we hear about? Or do your skills and competencies allow you to be treated as an individual, without regard to gender?A: I think most people in your 360 stakeholder world are evaluating a given person’s ability to fit in, as well as their skills and competences. So, in general, I’ve felt that three things matter: It’s can-do, will-do, and fit. Ability, motivation“I do know firsthand that the leadership of the industry is aligned for the right goals, aligned for the benefit of the end investor.”and willingness to fit in and partake in the give and take of decision making.Now, it’s true that there aren’t that many women working in the field of risk, ops, technology, or even finance, at the senior level. But that’s changing.I would say that my gender has not had an impact on people’s impressions of me. People haven’t judged me one way or the other.But I would say it can be challenging if a person is also a mother, which I am. (I have three children.) So in terms of juggling the responsibilities of motherhood with the responsibilities of a big career, it did present a challenge in the late ’90s and early 2000s for me because it was just a feeling of the divided loyalties.The modern workplace is a little bit more flexible now [than it was then]. And I am glad for that.Q: You were quote-unquote “downsized” during the financial crisis in 2008. Did the experience of being let go change how you viewed anything?A: I didn’t take it personally. The industry was in a period of crisis. What I was surprised about was that all of the hard work I’d put into my skills and all of the relationships I’d developed over the years were beneficial so quickly because fortunately I was able to find another job quickly.Q: And you went out and got a degree too, an MBA from Duke.A: I did. If a person has worked hard, it’s important to retain your sense of self-esteem and energy. That’s why receiving this award is such an incredible honor: You never know that other people appreciate your work until you know.I had no idea that other people would nominate me or vote for me, or that other people appreciate the work that I’ve done. ★AWARDS SUPPLEMENT 2014 | FTF NEWS MAGAZINE