Growing Professionally in Finance

The International Center for Finance, in partnership with the Women in Management Club, invite you to attend a panel discussion held on Thursday, February 21, 2019 in classroom 4430 from 11:45pm – 12:45pm.

This will be a sharing session in which distinguished SOM alum, Andrea Levere ’83 and Heidi Pearlson ’96, will share their insights and experiences on growing professionally in the finance sector, moderated by ICF Advisory Board Member, Andrea Baumann Lustig ’86.

Lunch will be provided.

Speakers

• Andrea Levere '83

  President, Prosperity Now
  Panelist
  

  Andrea Levere has led Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) as its president since 2004. Prosperity Now is a private nonprofit organization with the mission of ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to gain financial stability, build wealth and achieve prosperity. Prosperity Now designs and operates major national initiatives that aim to integrate financial capability services into systems serving low-income people, build assets and savings, and advance research and policies that expands economy mobility for all. It operates the Prosperity Now Community, comprised of nearly 24,000 members who advocate for asset-development and protection policies It operates the Racial Wealth Divide initiative to strengthen the capacity of nonprofits of color and advance policies that promote racial equity. In 2013 President Obama appointed Ms. Levere to the National Cooperative Bank’s (NCB) Board of Directors to represent the interests of low-income consumers. In 2017, Ms. Levere was appointed to the Community Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve System and served as Vice Chair in 2018 and will be Chair in 2019. She has been the Chair of ROC USA (Resident Owned Communities USA), a national social venture that converts manufactured home parks into resident owned cooperatives since its founding in 2008. She is also member of the FDIC’s Committee on Economic Inclusion, and Morgan Stanley’s Community Development Advisory Board. Ms. Levere holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and an MBA from Yale University.

• Andrea Baumann Lustig '86

  President, Stralem & Company
  Moderator
  

  Andrea serves as president of the firm and leads Stralem’s wealth management business. She is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and a director of Stralem’s UCITS fund. Prior to joining Stralem in 2003, Andrea was a vice president with Bernstein Investment Research and Management, where she spent five years as a financial adviser working extensively with private clients. She joined Bernstein after 11 years at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc., an international management consulting firm, where she was a principal in the strategy practice and the director of operations for financial services in the United States and Europe. She was a financial analyst in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., and an associate in investment banking at Jefferies & Co. Andrea is a recent vice president of Park Avenue Synagogue, where she chairs the capital campaign. She also is president of the Association for the Restoration of Jewish Works and Institutions in France. She is a former trustee of the Horace Mann School, where she was president of the Parents Association. She is also an advisory board member of Yale SOM’s International Center for Finance, chair of annual giving for the Princeton class of 1980, a member of the scholarship committee for Le Rosey and a steering committee member of the Socrates Society of the Aspen Institute. Education: BA, MPA, Princeton University; MBA, Yale University; fluent in French

• Heidi Carter Pearlson '96

  Founder & Managing Partner, Adamas Partners, LLC
  Panelist
  

  Heidi Carter Pearlson is a founder and managing partner of Adamas Partners, LLC which runs two hedge fund-of-funds that invest in long/short equity and event driven hedge funds for endowed non-profit institutions and high net worth family office clients. Prior to Adamas, Ms. Pearlson worked as an investment consultant at Cambridge Associates. As a consultant she worked with numerous not-for-profit colleges and universities, foundations, other endowed institutions and family groups on all asset classes and investment related issues. Ms. Pearlson was a specialist in marketable alternative assets including hedge funds, risk arbitrage and distressed securities. Ms. Pearlson holds a BA degree in law and public policy from Brown University and is a 1996 graduate of the Yale University School of Management. Ms. Pearlson is the Chair of the Investment Committee of the American Council of Learned Societies and Co-Chair of the investment committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. She is a Director of the Care Group Board of Managers’ Investment Committee and is on the Board of Trustees of The Rivers School and of Facing History and Ourselves. She was formerly on the Board and Treasurer of the Rashi School.

Additional Information

• Questions? Contact: icf@yale.edu

In my field, there are very, very few women, especially in the hedge fund world. You have to have a thicker skin than most men do: you have to be assertive and make sure your voice is heard often, if not more often, than your male colleagues. It takes a while to build respect, and we need to keep at it. You may need to work a little harder than your male counterparts, but it pays off. Women have many advantages, too: we tend to look at the psychology behind investing a little closer, and there are real benefits to those who pay attention to markers that could signal a change in risk. If you stick with it, you might find you have a tremendous competitive edge and will likely have an intellectually challenging and very fulfilling career. Heidi Carter Pearlson ’96, Founder and Managing Partner, Adamas Partners LLC

Before a big meeting or event, particularly if there will be many fewer women, you need to make a plan in advance to change the dynamics. Find your allies: maybe it’s other women or sympathetic men. Tell them to stand up for you when you present your new idea, so that way, after you’ve spoken—or if a similar idea is presented—someone can say, ‘Oh, look. Susie said this and had this great idea…’ It’s not a strategy I’ve had to use much in my career, but it works.Andrea Levere ’83, President, Prosperity Now