One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of this, as well as lend our support in solidarity. Sharing our knowledge and encouragement with others is key, as showcased in our conversation between two powerhouses of the finance world, Janie Wittey our Natixis CIB Australia CEO and Miranda Zhao, our Head of M&A for Asia Pacific – moderated by Raghu Narain, our Head of IB for Asia Pacific.
Raghu
As a firm supporter of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts, it’s inspiring to see how much Janie and Miranda both do for DE&I progress in our own Natixis CIB gender equality network, WINN, and for the wider industry as key female role models and leaders in the region.
Today, I’m going to be asking them about their career development, the challenges & opportunities they’ve faced, as well as the progress of DEI in financial services and across the M&A industry in our region.
Janie… could you kick us off by sharing a bit about your career journey so far… what first inspired you to work in financial services and what attributes do you feel you need to hold the P&L position of CEO?
Janie
For me, as I think back on my career journey, one of the key motivations of joining our industry was the dynamic change. And when I came into the industry, I started in global markets and I led the sales business in markets across foreign exchange, interest rates, commodity risk management.
One of the things that really motivated me was the globalization of our financial markets and being across the international stage. As we saw the markets expand and open up, we were able to do cross-border transactions, which led to my curiosity around mergers and acquisitions. It also led to my curiosity on debt capital markets as well as equity capital markets and structured products.
I was able to work in the UK early on in my career, which was a wonderful opportunity to see how European markets are operated, the size of the transactions that were being done, and getting in the minds of the people involved. The real motivation for me was always around that global IP and the globalization of the financial sector, especially as the large cross-border transactions that are driving M&A transactions typically come from outside of your home market.
When I think about the career that I've had, which has been from strong product backgrounds, heavily content driven, advising clients on risk management, their M&A transactions, their capital structuring, even their payments and cash management, I've always led large P&L businesses and I think as a growth leader, you need to be very open minded.
We see the pace of change and we've always looking at something different. And right now, with the pace of what's happening in technology and the use of AI in our businesses, it is changing the way we do things and do things differently.
To be strategic in your outlook, you have to be curious. It's important to have strong financial acumen across the financial industry, with a strategic vision. These are the key ingredients to success when you're holding these P&L positions.
Raghu
Thanks, Janie, for sharing with us your path to achieving the great success you have had at Natixis CIB. It’s very impressive to see what a fantastic journey you've had. The things that resonated to me are curiosity, open mindedness, strategic vision and of course, the adaptability that you've shown, of working across different products and also different geographies. It truly translates into being an amazing leader like yourself. Miranda, you lead our M&A business across APAC, what motivated you to choose this aspect of the finance world, and did you have any female role models or mentors guiding you along the way?
Miranda
As Head of M&A for Asia Pacific, I am responsible for leading the M&A team, and working closely with our coverage team, as well as our M&A boutiques in the APAC region and globally, to support our clients’ strategic M&A needs.
I really enjoy the M&A side of the business because you have to be very technical but also creative. Every deal is different, and it is exciting to learn something new in every transaction.
APAC is also a very dynamic market – this is the only region with a unique combination of promising growth engines, such as China, India and South East Asia, alongside established economies like Japan, Australia, and South Korea. We like this kind of diversified dynamic for our M&A business.
In terms of a role model and mentor, I have to say that we are very lucky to have Janie in the region, who really cares, supports and mentors our female colleagues. She is indeed a real role model for us! Thank you, Janie. It is an honor to work and learn from you every day.
Raghu
Miranda, thank you for sharing that. And Janie, it's amazing to see what a fantastic journey you've had, the things that resonated to me are curiosity, open mindedness, strategic vision and of course, the adaptability that you've shown of working across different products but also different geographies. Janie, what are some challenges that you have faced as a female in the financial services industry – which is traditionally seen as very male dominated? Do you think you are seeing more female leaders in Asia Pacific, and do you think the development of AI technology will have an impact on DE&I?
Janie
Thank you, Raghu, for that question. And Miranda, thank you for those lovely kind words. For females coming into our industry, it has been a challenge and early on in my career I overcame some obstacles. The hard part is early in my career, there weren’t a lot of female role models, so we were role modelling ourselves and building our networks in different ways.
As we look at the industry today, particularly across Asia Pacific, but also globally, there are so many wonderful leaders that, as male and female, we can look to and strive to become.
It's all about looking for where you find that motivation and who inspires you. For me, I've always believed that diversity, equity and inclusion must be owned by the business. Having diverse teams brings you great diversity of thought, and that is really at the essence of what we're trying to achieve - better innovation and being smarter than the competition. You can only do that when you have great diverse teams, not only by gender, but also experience, culture, and that's the key ingredient for success.
As we mature in our careers, it's our role and responsibility to give back to the next generation. I've been very fortunate to have some amazing male mentors along my career and sponsors, and I've been able to learn from them as well as some fantastic women leaders that are in the industry.
When we were growing up, we didn't have access to all the technology we have now. With technology, your research time gets reduced so that you can adopt new skills and learn from others quicker. This is all enhanced by the leveraging of AI. AI will change the way people in finance approach their analysis when they're pulling together their pitch books. It will free up time to go deeper into the content, the advisory and the strategic thinking, which will ultimately all feed back to the client.
Raghu
Thank you, Janie for those insightful comments and certainly agree with you wholeheartedly on DE&I being a source of competitive advantage for businesses. I can personally identify with that point because I grew up in India and moved to the United States on Wall Street, in the finance scene in the late 90s, early 2000s and since then the DE&I focus and effort in financial services has increased and we can see the positive impact of that, certainly in my experience when I see women leaders negotiate deals, where their high EQ is required in complicated M&A negotiations. Miranda, I’d like to ask you about the M&A industry, what advice would you give to aspiring young girls looking to join the M&A space?
Miranda
I think the key career advice that will help you succeed in M&A, is probably the same whether you are a man or woman:
o Number One - Stay curious and committed to continued learning with a growth mindset,! Embrace your career as a journey of learning, you will appreciate it and enjoy it so much more.
o Number Two - Try to always put yourself in your clients’ shoes - see things from your clients’ perspective with a strong sense of empathy and listen closely.
o Number Three – we are in a changing environment: leverage these changes to transform yourself. Support your clients through the changes through their corporate journey and be their trusted partner.
Another point which I would add is – try to find a deeper purpose to your work and make it a joyful and meaningful journey through the ups and downs: Grow into a getter and stronger person through your work, try to see how your work is helping people and having a meaningful impact on the world – whether it is for your clients, your teammates or partners!
So far, M&A is still a very male dominated world. We look forward to welcoming more passionate and talented young ladies into the industry. Whether you are a man or a woman, believe in yourself!
Raghu
I must say I've seen both of you, Miranda and Janie, show the values of high empathy. You know the value of being curious and being trusted partners with clients and those are tremendous sources of competitive advantage for a business, but also great life advice as well.
It’s important to keep having these discussions to progress DE&I initiatives within our industry. I truly believe that having a diverse team has a whole range of positive impacts – it drives innovation, fosters engagement, and improves collaboration. Diversity is also a performance enabler and a transformation driver.
If you have a comment or a question don’t hesitate to reach out to Raghu, Janie, or Miranda on LinkedIn.
