Women in Finance: From Potential to Prominent Leaders

Finance and classic cars, not necessarily in that order. We are not talking about cars to just collect and take care of as precious antiques, but cars to drive for competitive and adventurous races such as the historic Costa Smeralda Rally and Montecarlo Rally. At the latter, she was the only Italian female driver to have won the women’s trophy and the only woman to have ranked among the top 10. More importantly, she competed in the Dakar Classic – a race she had already participated in twice with her husband, Marco Leva. The first time was aboard a Panda 4x4, while the second was with a first generation Pajero (ending in seventh place overall). Alexia Giugni graduated from Bocconi in 1993 with a degree in Business Administration, and today she is a successful executive serving as Head of the Client Coverage Division EMEA at DWS. She has spent her career in investment banking at international companies such as JP Morgan, Citigroup and UBS. She joined the finance world neither by chance nor planning – at least not at the beginning. “I studied accounting in high school,” explains Alexia Giugni, “and, as was customary at the time, deciding on your university path was made almost at the last minute, during the period from high school graduation to the beginning of the following academic year. I had opted for sociology, but the exam committee had suggested economics to me, given my excellent grades. At home we talked about it and we were all on the same page – on one condition, though. If I were to study economics, the only option was Bocconi. It was a choice that changed my life, now that I look back on it.” Another reason to attend Bocconi was for the guaranteed possibility of studying or working abroad that was not yet available elsewhere. So, she did. She flew to the United States, and – upon her return – an internship opportunity at JP Morgan presented itself, her first contact with top international finance in fact. “Back then I did not know anything about the work I was going to do,” says Giugni, “Young people today, on the other hand, are very informed and aware; they have a completely different approach. It did not occur to any of us at the time to question what we were being asked to do, perhaps partly because we had grown up in a top-down school environment. It is no longer like that now; they question everything and refuse to perform tasks that do not give value to what they previously studied. They know exactly what they want.” It is a positive thing, one would say, although there are some reservations: “For me it is crucial to approach the job market with an open mind. It is good that young people question everything, but they have to be willing to also question themselves – this is how to grow professionally.” Finance has always had a reputation of being male-dominated. Cases such as that of Alexia Giugni, a woman who was able to reach the top, are few and far between. Is it still this way? “The world of finance is slowly changing, although sometimes we wonder whether it is a real or superficial change. That said, now that there are some women in finance, the challenge is to increase the numbers of those who are able to climb the corporate ladder, creating a pipeline of female talent to nurture,” emphasizes Alexia Giugni. “For example, if I were now faced with having to appoint my successor and had to do so by choosing only from among my EMEA managers, I would be forced to appoint a man.” Given that there are no differences between men and women in terms of 'technical' skills, it is a problem that can be solved with a radical change of mentality only – among those in power, and women themselves. “I have many women colleagues, and maternity leave is not an issue: it is just a few months in the course of a professional career. At our levels, talent is what we want to keep in the company. However, women must understand that they can aspire to top positions,” continues the executive, “and must know, above all, how to communicate their ambitions. In this area there is still a huge difference between men and women: men know how to ask; women do not.”