Four panelists discuss women's role in business

Four female panelists at the "Women in Finance" talk agreed that they were not limited because of their gender Wednesday evening in the Robins School of Business.

"I don't feel that I'm being limited because I'm a woman," said Amanda Montgomery, managing director of UBS Investment Bank.

Two of the four panelists, Amanda Montgomery and Chelsea Babcock, are University of Richmond alumnae working in New York City. The other two panelists, Palmer Garson and Katherine Busser, work in Richmond at Cary Town Partners and Capital One, respectively.

"You really have to be prepared if you want to climb to a certain level in your careers," Busser said. "I don't know what free time is."

Busser works as Executive Vice President, Chief Operational Risk Management Officer at Capital One.

"If you want to be in corporate America, you have to get really comfortable doing a hundred things over the course of the day," she said. "You have to focus on the thing at hand, let it go and pick up the next thing."

College is an incredible time to practice juggling a lot of different things, Busser said.

Montgomery said that she also had not relaxed.

"Some people don't like business, but I thrive on it," she said. "It's very satisfying for me to complete a task.

"If I'm just sitting there watching TV, I don't feel like I've done something."

Garson, managing director and partner at Cary Street Partners, emphasized the importance of flexibility.

"You have to be flexible and just roll with it," she said. "If I have a bad day, the next day I'm up, have my helmet on, and I'm back in the game."

The panelists said that when entering the finance industry, it was beneficial to have strong debate skills.

"If you can't speak publicly, and you want to be fairly senior in your career at some time, these two things are a collision waiting to happen," Busser said.

Babcock, fixed income analyst at Morgan Stanley, mentioned the importance of following the news.

"You have to be a news junkie," she said. "As soon as a headline comes out, everyone at work is talking about it."

Dean Nancy Bagranoff hosted the four-panel talk because she wanted the Richmond community to see role models who can present what career paths are available, she said.

"You can have what you want, but it's up to you," Bagranoff said.

Contact reporter Jessica Racioppi at jessica.racioppi@richmond.edu