Industry Leaders on the Path to the Corner Office: Plan. Do Not Let Fate Take Over Your Career.

If you had 5 minutes with an inspirational woman leader what could you find out?

Throughout March, BNY Mellon's virtual mentoring series explores the career insights and candid perspectives of executives who have reached the corner office. These dedicated leader-coaches share many common traits and values, reflecting how BNY Mellon has become the Investments Company for the World.

Stella Lagudis, Managing Director and head of BNY Mellon’s Strategic Partners Group within Global Client Management, shares career tips for those who are just getting started on the path to the corner office:

1. Take more risk. Get out of your comfort zone early. If you are to succeed, you will have to do this time and again.
    
2. Network. It is what you know, who you know, and how you marry the two.
    
3. Embrace diversity. I always liked being the only woman in a meeting. It's a different point of view to add, and people will be more likely to remember who you are.
    
4. Plan. Do not let fate take over your career. You may not know what you want to do, where you want to do it, but think about what you enjoy, if you want to be a manager or individual contributor, and the type of culture you would thrive in, and plan around that.
    
5. Be multi-faceted. Do not stay in one business or one role too long. People will think of you as a one trick pony — even if you are terrific. If you take risks (see item 1 above) and try different things and excel, you will become a very valuable resource for a firm.
    
6. Set expectations — Ask about deadlines, commit, and execute flawlessly on your commitments. Be known for being able to execute at a high level of quality. Be a person of your word and demonstrate a high level of integrity.

Stella Lagudis is head of BNY Mellon’s Strategic Partners Group within Global Client Management. In this role, she is responsible for the growth of profitable initiatives across the company focused on broadening relationships with select clients that supply services to BNY Mellon. Appointed to this position during the second half of 2013, Stella previously served as head of Global Strategic Sales, an internal sales strategy group that empowers BNY Mellon employees to deliver the whole company to their clients. As head of GSS, Stella led a number of activities that exemplified BNY Mellon’s commitment to being client-focused and revenue led, including efforts to select and implement a state-of-the- art CRM system across the enterprise, chairing the company’s Revenue Growth Board, and helping advance the company’s Platinum Client coverage strategies across the firm.

Stella's career spans three decades in the financial services industry. In 2006, Stella joined Global Strategic Sales as the head of Sales Consulting and Strategic Initiatives. She initially joined the company in 2002 as Head of Marketing, Business Origination, and Relationship Management for the Investment Operations Outsourcing business within Asset Servicing.

Prior to joining the company, Stella was a Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer at Smith Barney Capital Management (now part of Legg Mason Asset Management),and Group Vice President at ABN AMRO Bank, N.V., where she served as Senior Banker and Team Leader covering U.S. asset managers. From 1982-1994, Stella held various sales and sales leadership positions at J.P. Morgan.

Stella graduated from Brooklyn College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), is a member of the Brooklyn College Foundation Board of Trustees, and is an active participant on the Brooklyn College Foundation Planned Giving Committee. Stella is a founder and executive committee member of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiatives Network (WIN) and serves as the senior advisor to the WIN Mentoring Initiative. For its success in promoting the advancement of women in the company, the leaders of BNY Mellon's WIN were named a Top Team (2009) by American Banker magazine / U.S. Banker as part of the annual review of the most powerful women on Wall Street. Stella is also a member of the Women’s Bond Club of New York serving on the Community Outreach and Mentoring Sub-Committees.