Growing up in Chicago, Stephanie was a competitive figure skater. She aspired to be in the Olympics, but in college she shifted her goals into becoming a lawyer. After getting an offer to work at Goldman Sachs in investment banking out of school, she thought she would work there for two years and then attend law school. Upon arriving, her trajectory changed, and she has remained at the firm for over two decades in a variety of roles. Currently, Stephanie is the Chief Strategy Officer at Goldman Sachs and a member of the Management Committee. As part of her role, she created Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ $500 million commitment to invest in companies and investment managers with diverse leadership.
When was a time you wanted to give up, and how did you persevere through it?
Following the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs was going through a lot of internal change, and there was a lot of scrutiny on us. Our reputation was taking a hit. I learned a lot about the power of perseverance from figure skating. You try and you fall, but you always pick yourself up. This idea of working from failure came a little more naturally to me because of that. It also helped that I was surrounded by really incredible people. Despite what everyone was saying in the outside world, we were able to come together.
What is the greatest risk you have ever taken?
I remember feeling like it was a big risk to move to New York after graduation without having any ties to the city, since all of my family and most of my friends lived in Illinois, where I had lived my entire life. In hindsight, the move seems more obvious. Importantly, taking the leap back then made me much more open to new opportunities in the future.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I’d give myself three pieces of advice. First, life is a marathon, not a sprint. Second, there is a large difference between excellence and perfection. You do not have to do everything perfectly, but you need to do it well. It is important to understand the difference. Finally, you need to be flexible and be comfortable with changing your goals. It will help you gain new experiences and insight.
When was a time you failed, and what did you learn from that experience?
When I founded the Sponsors M&A group, I originally decided we would not build a large team to start. Our goal was to build up the business and then expand our team as time went on. I felt like we could win business without too many people. It turned out we were able to win a lot of business but that meant we had too much to do and our team was stretched. That was a mistake, and I learned about the importance of building and scaling a team, focusing my time on making the people around me better, and hiring people with diverse skillsets and ways of thinking. It was a hiccup. Luckily we were able to build a strong team quickly and resolve the issue.
How do you cultivate a mindset to accomplish your goals?
I try to think of the ultimate goal and the steps to get there. I have a vision for what success looks like but remain flexible on how we get there and even the specifics of what we are trying to achieve. I prefer to keep retesting and iterating as we go.
You’ve been in finance for 20 years now – why is it an exciting space for women today to go into as a career?
I believe that working in finance can give someone a really important skillset for analyzing the world, business, and opportunities. We are an enabler for helping people achieve their goals. Goldman Sachs is an institution that is constantly investing in the future. By working in the finance industry, you gain valuable insight into where the world is headed and a unique perspective on many issues.
What advice do you have for others who aspire to be leaders like you?
Do not sit around and find your perfect role model. It is almost impossible to find exactly what you want to be in someone else. Find several role models. It’s also important to know that they do not have to look like you. They can be completely different. A lot of women get stuck because they do not see a woman doing exactly what they want to do. If I had waited around for the perfect role model in just one person, I would have never gotten to where I am today!
How do you define the word, success?
You have no regrets. You made the decisions you wanted to make, and you did your best given your specific circumstances. It is a completely different definition than what I would have given when I was younger.
Growing up, what was an assumption you had about the world that ended up being incorrect?
I assumed you could study or work yourself out of a problem. I believed that everything was about studying, knowledge, and intellect. But, I learned about the importance of building up relationships and how critical being part of a team is to solving problems. I also had the idea that the world is something that you could predict and project. Our world has drastically changed in the past decade; the future is not predictable. Flexibility and adaptability are critical.
