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Anne O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CFA Society San Francisco, has travelled the world working in a variety of finance roles, is an accomplished yogini (female master practitioner of yoga), and has now proved herself as one of the most influential business women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here we speak to Anne to find out what has led her to such a successful career.
Providing her advice for career success in less than 10 words, Anne said: “Be bold, speak up, be resilient and be tenacious.”
Anne believes resilience and tenacity are particularly relevant in the current investment world. She explained, “The ground is shifting beneath our feet. Our membership reports show that members are now forging careers in every conceivable sector, including fintech, biotech, data science, and more, which was not the case 10 years ago. Professionals need to be nimble and resilient with their skills if they are to succeed.”
The San Francisco Business Times publishes the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business annually, celebrating well over 100 women business leaders in all industries and professions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Being featured is no mean feat, there is a rigorous nomination and selection process, and Anne was delighted to be honoured in this year’s prestigious publication.
CFA Society San Francisco hosted a table at the award ceremony dinner, with 900 people in attendance. Board members, industry contacts, and Anne’s teenage nieces joined to celebrate her achievement. Anne noted that many other honourees invited young girls to attend the ceremony as their guests; hoping to inspire them with strong examples of diversity and success.
Anne believes it is important to follow one’s passion and balance one’s profession with outside interests. Despite being CEO of the seventh largest CFA Society in the world, Anne finds time to teach yoga workshops and courses and practices yoga at least four times a week. CFA Society San Francisco members benefit from this outlook. In addition to substantive educational events and career support services at the society, members are offered outings that might appeal to their outside interests; such as volunteering at local food banks, taking part in beach clean ups, playing bocce ball, and even attending yoga days.
In the coming year, Anne and the professional staff at CFA Society San Francisco are working to enhance their sponsorship program, create a robust member retention process specifically aimed at newer members, and strengthen career support offerings.
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