Today, we spotlight up-and-coming 2012 Wall Street Women award winners: Lisa Cavallari of Russell Investments and Christy Oeth of Knight Capital Group.
The director of fixed income derivatives at Russell and the director of corporate compliance at Knight are this year’s winners of the Rising Star awards.
The Rising Star Award is earned by high-impact professionals who are likely to lead the industry for years to come.
Traders Magazine proudly salutes Lisa Cavallari and Christy Oeth.
Lisa Cavallari
Firm: Russell Investments
Years in Industry: 15
Previous Firms: ZGI Group, Ibbotson Associates, Barclays Global Investors
Status: Director, Fixed Income Derivatives, Russell Investments
Being a specialist has its advantages.
Ask James Imhof, managing director of global trading at Russell Investments what the key to Lisa Cavallari’s success is and he’ll respond it’s her being a specialist.
What does she specialize in? Highly esoteric fixed-income derivatives such as listed futures, to-be-announced mortgage-backed securities and interest rate swaps, to name a few things. And because of her depth of knowledge in these, Cavallari has been able to thrive.
“When I hired her back in 2005, we were just getting into fixed-income derivatives and the business was too much for our staff,” Imhof recalled. Cavallari had just the knowledge that was needed.
Cavallari started at Russell in 1991 as an analyst. She left the firm in 1999 to go to Barclays Global Investors, where she spent about six years as a portfolio manager and trader on its structured products trading desk. She returned to Russell in 2005.
“We were very fortunate to get her back,” Imhof. “She’s very important to the team.”
How important? Cavallari not only trades fixed-income derivatives, but also manages its derivatives team, conducts research, speaks with clients, does her own research and manages some of the firm’s $13 billion in its internal funds. A far cry from her analyst days.
“At the end of the day, everything that is traded in derivatives goes through her – from trading, to settlement to clearing,” Imhof said. “I have a lot of confidence in her.”
During her time at Russell she has thrived during the birth of derivatives as an asset class, endured the credit crisis and thrived during its recent rebound. And that endurance has paid dividends as Cavallari is embedded into the manager’s fixed-income strategy.
So what does Imhof see Cavallari doing next? “She’ll do more on the portfolio management side and grow out her team,” he said.
Christy Oeth
Firm: Knight Capital Group
Years in Industry: 17
Previous Firms: Chase Manhattan Bank, Church Capital Management, Clearbrook Financial
Status: Director of Corporate Compliance
Having a broad skill set is the secret to success.
That’s what Christy Oeth said was integral to her journey from Harvard, where she majored in social studies to the upper echelons of compliance.
“I got into this business through a friend who really took a chance on me – someone with no regulatory experience but some financial experience,” Oeth reminisced. “The transition from school to landing my first job in the credit training program was the result not so much of my experience, but my drive and diverse skill set.”
That was in the early ’90s when she began her financial career at Chase Manhattan Bank. Back then excellent verbal, written and analytical skills were in demand and preferable to the technology and programming knowledge sought today.
“Those broad skill sets are what were desired and have served me so well,” said Oeth.
Harvard’s social studies program helped, as it was an interdisciplinary major – made up of several core subjects, such as economics, social theory and history, all of which prepped Oeth for her career ascent.
After Chase, she moved to Church Asset Management as chief compliance officer, and then to Clearbrook Financial in 2006, where she held the same position. While at Clearbrook, she expanded her reach and became involved in a joint venture with Knight Capital, a firm she would join full time in 2009.
At Knight, she melded the clearing business into the compliance area and helped the group expand from equities and options to fixed-income and correspondent clearing.
And she is still not done. Now fully immersed in compliance, Oeth plans to focus on industry working groups and educating others on market structure.
“I have the unique luxury of being in a role where I can work with very knowledgeable staff and play a pinch-hitter role,” Oeth said.
