I recently sat down with the Risky Women team for one of their Women to Watch Q&As – here are the questions they put to me:
What makes you a Risky Woman?
It gives meaning and purpose to my life – I want to make a difference by supporting risk professionals to move beyond policies and practices and focus on culture and values. I have lived my own life in a risky way; rarely taking the easy path and always hoping to leave a place in a better state than when I found it. Risky Women is a fantastic organisation that can make a major contribution by networking us together and helping us all learn and grow.
Name your top 3 achievements
Invented and implemented the concept of ethics ambassadors while GC at Borealis and since then assisted various companies to create ethics ambassador networks Learned to speak Italian fluently – not just the language but also the culture Forged an international corporate legal career at a time when it was unusual
What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?
Leaving San Francisco alone as a young lawyer and coming to Europe to make a career without the support of a multinational. In the 1980s there was no established career path, and I was not admitted to practice in any European jurisdiction. Not only did I start in Italy (Milan) but I then spent 3 years working in Cairo. It was a pretty crazy thing to do, but other than from a financial perspective, I don’t regret a thing!
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I love road cycling; both doing it and watching pro cycling. I have the optimal number of bikes (D-1) road, Keiser and folding!
What is the best quality for successful leaders in Risk?
A balance between System 1 and System 2 thinking; in other words the ability to access sound intuition and to analyse issues based on the available data.
Find lots more Women to Watch: riskywomen.org/profiles/
And help add to the list: