“I remember my first day at my law firm. There were 30 of us first-year associates in a room for onboarding and orientation. I knew they only made one or two partners at the firm each year and I looked around and said to myself, ‘I wonder what the other 28 associates are going to be doing in eight years?’ That’s how certain I was that I was going to continue on the path I had come to believe was expected of me – good schools, good grades, good opportunities.
But I soon found myself in unfamiliar territory. I quickly realized that large law firm culture was not for me long-term. If I was being honest with myself, I realized that my favorite part of my job was dealing with the clients. The companies I assisted and people that worked at them were fascinating to me. How the companies were structured, the business models that succeeded and failed, who was responsible for what decisions and outcomes – I always wanted to know more. I continually found myself curious about what came next for those companies and those people after whatever deal I’d been working on for them came and went.
I took a leap of faith after two years and went to work in-house at Salomon Brothers, a well known investment bank at the time, where I got to work directly with the business lines and executives and become immersed in the corporate culture. I learned a lot about companies and how they operate and I knew I was in the right place. I also realized what a diƯerence corporate culture makes to the success of an organization. As opportunities presented themselves over the course of my career, I moved more and more into leadership roles focusing on corporate governance and working to provide a good foundation for success for the companies for which I worked. Thirty plus years later, and I still find it fascinating. In an ever-changing world, what good governance looks like also continues to change. I can’t wait to see what happens next. If I can assist you with your corporate governance needs, please reach out.” – Robin Elkowitz
