We discuss: 

• The power of leading with empathy and compassion and supporting other women.
• Tips and tricks surrounding finding a balance between fierce leadership and empathetic management.
• How to “take the stage” and own your own voice in your career. 
• How these practices lead Liz to receive the 2021 Woman of Year Award from DiversityQ and InvestmentNews’ Women in Asset Management Awards—USA Edition.

Resources: InvestmentNews | Christine Shaw | BlackRock | Elizabeth Koehler | 

Guest Bio:

Elizabeth (Liz) Koehler, CFA, has been in the financial services industry for 19 years and is currently the head of BlackRock’s Advisor Insights team, which partners with financial professionals as they grow their businesses and serve clients. Her team is responsible for developing and delivering educational programs for financial professionals and investors, focused on practice management, portfolio construction and financial market insights. 

Prior to her current role, Liz led the US Wealth business strategy for BlackRock’s Multi-Asset Solutions platform, where she was responsible for product management, business development and brand-building. Liz also led Product Marketing where she oversaw the development of content for BlackRock's open-end mutual funds, separately managed accounts and alternative investments. 

Liz earned a B.S. in Business from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.

We discuss: 

• How the pandemic has impacted the caregiving industry and how this will impact your financial future choices.
• Tips on how to be best prepared for retirement for yourself and your loved ones.
• Advice for women in caregiver roles and how to ease those tensions with proper planning and strategy.

Resources: InvestmentNews | Christine Shaw |Voya Financial | Voya Cares | Jessica Tuman

Guest Bio: 

Jessica Tuman leads the Voya Cares® Center of Excellence, which serves the special needs community — including those living with disabilities and special needs and their caregivers — offering access to tailored financial wellness and retirement planning solutions. She led the development of the program from the ground up into a strong brand that has been recognized by caregiver.com, Wealth Management magazine, Disability:IN and the Disability Equality Index as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. Under her leadership, the Voya Cares program has developed into a strong brand and market differentiator for Voya Financial.

Jessica brings over 20 years of experience in investment management strategy and solutions. She is committed to helping employers create a more diverse, inclusive and supportive environment for employees with disabilities and their caregivers. To help inform the program, she led groundbreaking propriety thought-leading research with global marketing research firm LRW on caregiving and the effect that it has on individuals and employers that helped raise awareness of and address the unique challenges faced by the special needs community. 

Jessica led the founding of the CEO Commission for Disability Employment, dedicated to leading the way to an inclusive workforce, and continues as a steering committee member. She also has advocated for the ABLE Act and other legislation that is designed to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and provide equal opportunity and access to employment, recreation and education.

Jessica has appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box, and her writing has been featured in The Street Retirement Daily, U.S. News & World Report, THRIVE GLOBAL, Market Watch, Investment & Wealth Monitor Magazine, Money Management Institute Journal of Investment Advisory Solutions, ThinkAdvisor, Barron’s and InvestmentNews. She has authored a white paper on the unique elements of funding a special needs plan.

Prior to joining Voya, Jessica worked at SunTrust Bank in Wealth and Investment Management and Deloitte Consulting (Banking and Capital Markets). She has a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry (Hons) from the University of Southampton and a Masters degree in Computation from the University of Manchester in the UK.

Episode Notes

We discuss: 

• Advice on how to achieve a healthy work/life balance in your career.
• Choices and the importance of choosing risk and not being afraid to take necessary risk in your career.
• How to overcome risk-aversion.
• How to not only “talk the talk” but also “walk the walk” in your management style.

Resources: InvestmentNews | Christine Shaw | Kestra Financial | Kris Chester | 

Guest Bio: 

As chief operating officer, Kris is responsible for ensuring that Kestra Financial offers advisors the latest technology and highest-quality service while overseeing the continued simplification and streamlining of business processing. In this role, she leads the client service, onboarding, operations, program management, sales supervision, and technology departments.

A strategic, innovative leader, Kris has extensive experience in merger integration, business transformation, product development, and client delivery. Prior to joining Kestra Financial in January 2018, Kris worked at Wells Fargo Bank for 18 years, most recently serving as executive vice president and head of treasury management implementation and delivery. In that capacity, she led a team of more than 750 people that implemented and integrated the bank’s treasury management solutions, among other responsibilities.