In honor of Women’s History Month, we interviewed leaders and trailblazers of the WIN (Women In Nasdaq) network, discussing their roles, diverse backgrounds, and what it means to be a role model for young women looking to pursue a career in business, tech or finance. We spoke with Lauren Dillard, EVP, Head of Investment Intelligence at Nasdaq.
As Head of Investment Intelligence, what are your biggest goals in your role?
Our mission at Investment Intelligence is to empower the investment community with actionable insights and technology to drive better outcomes. And we truly deliver for the entire investment community- from our next-gen suite of data to enable individual investors entering the market to ensuring pensions, foundations and endowments have tools that enable investment decisions and drive returns for their beneficiaries. Our goals are all around expanding our capabilities to provide our clients with richer data, with easy to consume APIs, analytics and intelligence that produce better outcomes, and workflow tools so that our clients can be better equipped to better serve their customers.
Talk to us about the need for diversity in top-level positions like yours.
Diversity and inclusion matter at every level throughout an organization! Leadership, Boardrooms, and our teams at all levels should reflect what society looks like today. The studies and data are clear that diverse teams deliver better results. I also believe authentic, empathic leadership is important - recognizing the value of belonging, being aware of unconscious bias, and actively creating an inclusive workplace. I am motivated daily by being part of Nasdaq’s purpose of championing inclusive growth and prosperity. Purpose and action matter.
What is unique about working at Nasdaq?
Never a dull moment! Nasdaq has the unique position of sitting in the center of the financial ecosystem, at the intersection of economy and society. Nasdaq’s reach is so broad- from capital formation, serving the trading community, powering technology for markets around the world and providing valuable analytics and intelligence to the investment community. True global financial market expertise!
What is your advice for young women looking to pursue a career in tech and business?
I usually share two key pieces of advice: 1) say yes to new opportunities and 2) have a growth mindset- be constantly learning. I also have a friend and mentor that says Fail Forward. I love that concept.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Lyanne Alfaro
Nasdaq
Lyanne is a producer, host and social media strategist at Nasdaq. Her team helps reimage the way Nasdaq tells stories about Nasdaq’s role in the future of technology via video, podcasting and social content. You can find her on social media @LyanneAlfaro
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