Speakers at first Canadian WiOB meetup discuss trade-offs and leadership ‘allies’

Female leaders from Mastercard, CIBC and Atlantic Edge Credit Union shared what leadership means to them, alongside their experiences of navigating their respective careers, at the inaugural Women in Open Banking Meetup for Canadian members on June 11.

Donna Galloway, vice president marketing at Portfolio+ moderated the Fireside Chat titled ‘The things I’ve Iearned on the way to becoming a leader’, in Toronto.

She posed questions about the trade-offs the speakers have had to make along the way, and how to balance professional responsibilities and personal lives.

She was joined by Ellie Zolghadr, director, solution architect for big tech and fintech at Mastercard, Shanti Samaroo, chief financial officer at Atlantic Edge Credit Union, and Shruti Awasthi, director, Open Banking strategy at CIBC.

Samaroo, who was asked about the challenges she faced on the way to becoming a leader and how she had overcome those, acknowledged those she looked to as leaders and who had recognised the potential in her.

She talked about the role of allies and how important peers and mentors are in supporting the “leadership journey”.

When asked about the trade-offs she had to make on her route to leadership, and how they had impacted her professional and personal life, Zolghadr discussed overcoming her own insecurities and about the “disconnect” between her personal and work “self” at one stage during her career.

She also talked about different styles of leadership and concluded that “every style of leadership matters”.

Galloway asked Awasthi about the mentors and role models who had shaped her leadership “journey”.

CIBC’s Awasthi talked about the “social conditioning” that is behind the feelings of “imposter syndrome” women experience and about “finding people who believe in you”.

She passed on a piece of advice she had received which is to “make sure your actions reflect your hopes and not your fears”.

Galloway also questioned the three speakers about how important it is for leaders to bring their authentic selves to work, and how they practice this, as well as their advice for “aspiring leaders”.

The Fireside Chat was followed by networking drinks at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, during which members carried on the conversation about leadership.

Main image L-R: Donna Galloway, vice president of marketing at Portfolio+, Ellie Zolghadr, director, solution architect for big tech and fintech at Mastercard, Shruti Awasthi, director, Open Banking strategy at CIBC and Shanti Samaroo, chief financial officer at Atlantic Edge Credit Union.