Beyond the title: A conversation with two women leaders in Finance
Laura Fan and Lucrecia Ledesma walk us through their journeys and tell us what moves them to keep going forward
What does a yoga enthusiast from the United States and a ping pong and tennis fan from Argentina have in common? Other than living a healthy lifestyle, they are both leaders in the Finance Department at the biggest development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean.
We sat down with Laura Fan, our Head of Funding, and Lucrecia Ledesma, Head of Loans and Corporate Accounts, to know about their journeys and to understand how two women with completely different backgrounds got to where they are, and how they built two high performing teams with the same attributes: innovation and determination.
As Head of Funding, Laura is responsible for overseeing the IDB’s bond issuances and derivatives operations in the international capital markets and Investor Relations Program.
Lucrecia, on the other hand, oversees the management of the loan and guarantee portfolio servicing for public and private clients, including the monitoring of loans in arrears. She manages the corporate accounts payable, administers capital subscriptions and contributions of the Bank and other funds administered by the Bank, as well as the billing and collections processes for both loans and corporate accounts.
For this interview, we decided to add a twist. We asked Laura and Lucrecia to be both the interviewers and the interviewees. We wanted them to get to know each other better and to share the experiences that bring them together.
Laura, with the excitement that characterizes her, was the first to ask a question: “what brought you to the IDB and what influenced your decision?”
Lucrecia did not take too long to answer. It was clear for her.
“I come from Santiago del Estero, which is a province in the north of Argentina. I decided to go to study in Buenos Aires both my undergraduate and master’s degrees. Then I started working in Arthur Andersen and then EY, both big auditing firm.”
After years of excelling in the private sector in her home country, she was looking for a change. She wanted to find new challenges and that’s why she decided to apply to a position at the IDB. “I was curious to explore different cultures and different places”. It was always a dream of her to work in an organization that would have a positive impact in society. “I got the job and then suddenly I was moving, from Santiago del Estero to Buenos Aires and from Buenos Aires to Washington, D.C.”
As she laughs, Lucrecia says that she told her mom that she was leaving for just three years. It’s been over 14 years now and she is still here. She married, built a family and created a fantastic network of friends and co-workers. “I think my mom already knows I might not be coming back home anytime soon.”
As Lucrecia finishes her story, she turns to Laura and asks her “what was your journey? How did you get to where you are?”
“For personal reasons, I came to the Bank over 20 years ago. I was working on a trading floor of a securities firm and living in New York City, so it was a bit of a culture shock when I first came to Washington DC. The streets were a lot less crowded; people were less hurried; and they actually say -hi! - to you.”
Laura had a fun anecdote to add; when they called her for an interview, she was on holidays. “Needless to say, they called, and I never responded. I had several messages on my answering machine. When I returned the calls, they said that they were pretty much done with the process, so I needed to come to DC right away.” It was meant to be for Laura since she got the job and has been growing at the Bank since then.
After getting to know each other better, they talked about their passions. Laura mentioned her love for yoga and how she is teaching it at the Finance Department to raise funds for schools in both the United States and El Salvador. Lucrecia talked about playing tennis and ping pong and how she got to the IDB ping pong championship. Overall, they talked about the importance of having a good and healthy life and how it is important to have work-life balance.
For Laura, the Bank has provided a lot of flexibility and given many people the type of work-life balance that they seek. “For example, I mentioned yoga. I take a yoga class every Tuesday night and so I leave the Bank by 5:30. Team members with family commitments either work earlier hours so they can pick up their kids in the afternoon or later hours if they need to drop off their kids in the morning. Or we work from home when we are issuing sterling bonds during London time or Australian dollar bonds during Sydney time. This flexibility allows us to get the job done while maintaining personal commitments.”
“I agree with Laura” said Lucrecia. “The Bank and particularly the Finance Department have been very keen on communicating these flexibilities and offering them to all employees. You can have flexible work, compressed work week or teleworking. We are measured by delivery. We know how much a person works, we don't need to track where the person is sitting or what time they come. We know when someone is delivering or not.”
Laura and Lucrecia are all about their teams. They are looking for innovative people that are not afraid to speak their minds and challenge the status quo. “We need inquisitive people that always ask why” says Lucrecia with determination.
“My team is as diverse as the Bank’s member countries and the IDB’s bond issuances. It includes a Japanese speaking woman; a French speaking Canadian; and nationals from Brazil and Peru who speak French, Portuguese and Spanish”, says Laura.
They agree when they say that one of the things that they enjoy the most about working at the IDB is the vibrancy of their teams. “It is this diversity of opinions and ideas what makes our group outstanding,” Laura continues.
Working for Finance at the IDB goes beyond the work. Is about allowing talent from all parts of the world to improve both in their professional and personal lives. Lucrecia and Laura focus on transmitting the knowledge that they have learned throughout the years and is what motivates them to keep growing and continuing their journey.
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