Here are the two Crystal Ladder Award recipients for Traders Magazine’s inaugural "Wall Street Women: A Celebration of Excellence."
An independent advisory committee of women chose the winners from nominations by the industry. The 16 awards will be presented on Nov. 10 at the New York Academy of Sciences.
The Crystal Ladder Award is presented to women who began in an entry-level job in a financial firm and climbed steadily through the ranks to reach senior management.
Other winners will be announced here throughout the week.
To See Slideshow of All Winners: http://bit.ly/tFKh0G
Christina Kelerchian
Firm: Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Years in Industry: 27
Previous Firms: Deutsche Asset Management (formerly Scudder Investments), Chancellor Asset Management
Status: Managing Director, Head of U.S. Fundamental Equity Trading
For Christina Kelerchian’s career, it was trial by fire. Yet she survived and prospered.
Two years out of school, working in the back office at Scudder Stevens & Clark, Kelerchian in 1986 was suddenly thrown into the chaos of a trading desk that was swamped with orders as assets poured in.
"I was tapped to sit on the desk, and I had no prior experience in trading. The only prior experience I had was the two years in the back office," she said.
Yet her intense desire to learn the business, combined with a fortunate pairing, gave her advantages that would grow into a successful career.
Scudder hired a new domestic head of trading. He was Peter Jenkins, who was to become Kelerchian’s mentor. They would work together for 20 years.
"He basically taught me every aspect of the business as a partner," Kelerchian raved. Jenkins, she added, ran a first-class desk. He believed women traders should be treated as professionals. But just as important, she said, was the trading education he provided.
"I learned from him all the trading rules of engagement," she said. "I learned how to negotiate trades with brokers. He taught me everything I know."
Jenkins and his new trader worked so well together that they came to be regarded as a team, Kelerchian said.
What should women do who want to repeat Kelerchian’s success?
She said young professionals need at least three qualities: commitment, integrity and patience.
"Don’t be in such a hurry to climb the corporate ladder," said Kelerchian. "The more credible and believable you are, the more people will support you."
Savyona Abel
Firm: Investment Technology Group
Years in Industry: 20
Previous Firms: Inference, Electronic Data Systems
Status: Managing Director of Global Client Support Services
Savyona Abel has risen through the ranks, literally.
She entered the Israeli army after high school, exchanging her interest in civil engineering for boots and a rifle. It was there that she learned firsthand what it was like to be a woman in a predominantly man’s world.
"I was a secretary to multiple generals," Abel recalled. While not seeing actual combat, she did get her first taste of life in a male-dominated profession, preparing her for a life on Wall Street.
"The army prepped me for my journey throughout the years. People have always looked at me differently, knowing I’m assertive due to my army service and country of origin."
And it was her stint in the Israeli army that earned her a job at software company Inference, which would later lead her to work in the United States at Electronic Data Systems. Upon arriving in the U.S. in the early 1980s, she became fascinated with computers, data management and communications.
Focusing on computers and data led Abel to become familiar with rules-based computing and mathematics, which made her a prime candidate to work on developing trading systems in the early 1990s, when ITG hired her. "I didn’t know anything about trading, yet I was brought in due to my background for understanding rules-based language programming, my database background and user interfaces knowledge," she said.
It was then that she learned about trading and the business side of the equities markets. She helped develop Quantex, ITG’s first execution management system, in 1990. Fast-forward to 2003, when she helped produce Triton, ITG’s order management system.
Not content to stay still, Abel is already looking to move into different special projects as part of her "three-year philosophy"-staying in place for three years before moving upward and onward.
"I’m always looking for the next thing coming," she said.
