Outside the Lines with L&L
Conversations with Distinctive Alumni
Larisa Terkeltaub & Lola Bakare
Issue date: 11/17/09 Section: Voices
L&L: Switching gears a bit, how has the economic climate changed the banking world or other changes that you find interesting? In general, not just for women.
KS: The crisis is definitely hitting the banking industry as we well know. But I think that when crises hit, you'll see the stronger companies survive, of course some of whom had a little help from the government along the way. Clearly the entities that are sub-par are just not going to make it or they will either go under businesses, or be merged or turned into other entities. You are going to have a stronger industry that survives after-the-fact…I know that my former employer prior to my retirement last year, BNP Paribas, is one of the few banks, which in this entire maelstrom never reported a loss in any quarter. And knowing the top management as I do, I am not surprised about that. They are very thoughtful, careful, diligent executives who do not cut corners and do not take the easy road. So I think there is a lot to be said for sticking with the basics.
L&L: What are some of the commonalities shared by successful entrepreneurs?
KS: In my experience women can go either directly into entrepreneurship; more frequently they start out in corporate America or corporate International and then using the experience and the contacts that they've build up in that particular part of their career, they then go out and start something, For example a good friend of mine started out at Macy's and rose to VP of Advertising and then started her own advertising agency. I just saw a presentation yesterday by a woman who was an executive at Starbucks who is now starting her own nail salon concept, but with all of the things that she learned at Starbucks that are applicable to this new venture. This is a path that many entrepreneurs tend to follow. So if you have a notion of an area, whether it's retail, consumer products, engineering or what have you, that interests you, you can work at a large company and parlay that into a full-time position prior to entrepreneurship, or you can be there and see if you really like it. See if you have a real passion for something. Test it out and see if that's something you want to do.
KS: The crisis is definitely hitting the banking industry as we well know. But I think that when crises hit, you'll see the stronger companies survive, of course some of whom had a little help from the government along the way. Clearly the entities that are sub-par are just not going to make it or they will either go under businesses, or be merged or turned into other entities. You are going to have a stronger industry that survives after-the-fact…I know that my former employer prior to my retirement last year, BNP Paribas, is one of the few banks, which in this entire maelstrom never reported a loss in any quarter. And knowing the top management as I do, I am not surprised about that. They are very thoughtful, careful, diligent executives who do not cut corners and do not take the easy road. So I think there is a lot to be said for sticking with the basics.
L&L: What are some of the commonalities shared by successful entrepreneurs?
KS: In my experience women can go either directly into entrepreneurship; more frequently they start out in corporate America or corporate International and then using the experience and the contacts that they've build up in that particular part of their career, they then go out and start something, For example a good friend of mine started out at Macy's and rose to VP of Advertising and then started her own advertising agency. I just saw a presentation yesterday by a woman who was an executive at Starbucks who is now starting her own nail salon concept, but with all of the things that she learned at Starbucks that are applicable to this new venture. This is a path that many entrepreneurs tend to follow. So if you have a notion of an area, whether it's retail, consumer products, engineering or what have you, that interests you, you can work at a large company and parlay that into a full-time position prior to entrepreneurship, or you can be there and see if you really like it. See if you have a real passion for something. Test it out and see if that's something you want to do.
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