Wealth & Finance International - September 2017 7 Specializing in the financial services industry, over her career Sarah has worked with organizations such as TIAA, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Macquarie Capital, where she has served in various HR Business Partner roles, supporting relationship management and financial consulting teams, corporate and investment banking, consumer banking and home loans, marketing, decision management, as well as operations and technology. Additionally, she has also spent time in various specialist functions, including time in Leadership Development, creating programs to develop the pipeline for International Country Business Managers and an international assignment in developing learning and leadership programs in Sydney, Australia. Further, Sarah gained international compensation experience while in Singapore, working with the regional team to redesign the compensation strategy for Citigroup’s Asia Pacific Consumer Bank. Drawing on this vast experience, as well as her education at Cornell University, Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge to her current role as Senior Director of Human Resources for the institutional investment and endowment services organization and the institutional financial services strategy planning and program management organization within TIAA. She talks us through her role in the firm and how she works to use her experience to her advantage. “I have worked for TIAA for three years, focused on our Institutional business, partnering with both the client-facing distribution team, as well as, our investment products area. I grew up in a family of educators, with both my parents working in education and I went on to marry a teacher. I see their dedication and commitment to serving our society and feel honored to leverage my skills to contribute to their legacy and advance the well-being of those that are giving back to our communities in such significant ways. TIAA’s mission is to “serve those, who serve others” and I have thrived supporting front-line roles that engage with our clients every day and those that directly develop and manage the investment tools that support them.” “My role is to ensure that we are harnessing the collective strength of our human capital and empowering the people within our organization to bring their full capability to the benefit of the institutions and individuals that we serve.” “As part of this I lead a team of HR functions that develop and drive the human capital strategy to position the organization for growth. This includes ensuring our organizational design, talent management strategy, total rewards, talent acquisition, learning and leadership development are aligned to achieve our business goals and best meet our clients’ needs.” It is her financial acumen combined with her dedication to constant self-improvement that has led Sarah to the success she enjoys today, as she explains. “While specializing in financial services, my passion for continuous learning is central to my career philosophy –where I have deliberately spent time partnering with different parts of the business, at varying stages of maturity, tackling diverse challenges. I have spent time internationally, as well as, in a variety of different HR functional areas. Each of the cumulative experiences, have shaped who I am as a business leader and positioned me to be able to bring learnings from each of these to bear going forward.” “My advice to others looking to succeed in the finance arena: hone your skills, seek opportunities to constantly push yourself to learn something new and contribute in new ways, surround yourself with a diverse team that thinks differently and share in successes, recognize the powerful strength of the Sarah Brown has served as an HR Business Leader with experience across several organizations and geographies during her career. She provides us with an overview of her current role at TIAA and how she helps drive the firm to success. Financial Services HR Director of the Year - South East USA 1709WF02 combination and balance of EQ and IQ and show up at the table with confidence.” “Overall, I view myself as business leader who is focused on understanding the business fundamentals and strategy and then overlaying a human capital strategy to be the engine to deliver against the business goals. Success is dependent on knowing your business, and the confidence and strength of relationships you build with your partners.” Looking to the future, there are many exciting developments ahead for both TIAA and Sarah, as she proudly concludes. “Next year, TIAA will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Innovation has been a cornerstone of TIAA as it has developed new financial products to meet the lifetime income needs of the market since its inception. At this point, while our investment products offer unique solutions in the industry, we continue to strive to understand the future financial needs that people will face and develop innovative solutions to be their financial services partner of choice for the next 100 years. I’m excited to work alongside other leaders in our business to define and build the culture, capabilities and tools needed to reach new innovative heights in our industry. “Regarding my own career, I look forward to continuing to learn, grow, build and deliver as I proceed in my professional journey and have the opportunity to work with different businesses and successful leaders along the way.” Company: TIAA Contact: Sarah A. Brown Contact Email:
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