Barbara Novick: Founder and role model
As BlackRock employees, we are both guided and evaluated by our principles. Our founding partners built these principles recognizing the importance of the company’s culture early on. They acted as beacons, showing us how these principles come to life through our decisions, our actions and our work.
We are a fiduciary to our clients.
We are One BlackRock.
We are passionate about performance.
We take emotional ownership.
We are committed to a better future.
Barbara Novick, one of BlackRock’s founders, exemplifies every one of these principles. And to celebrate her success as she transitions to a senior advisor role, we want to take a moment to shine a spotlight on the impact she’s had not only on the firm but also on the people she worked with, sponsored, mentored and role modeled for every day.
This article highlights just five of the many lessons we have learned from Barbara that will continue to impact BlackRock, our leaders and our culture for decades to come.
1. Barbara taught us it’s not good enough to mentor; we must role model and sponsor those on our team.
“Barbara is not only a mentor, she’s also a role model and a sponsor.”
“In terms of mentorship, she gives frank advice. She pointed out the areas I had to work on and helped develop them. For example, at one point, she thought I had to work on presentation skills, and she helped me find the right resource for that.”
“The thing that sets Barbara apart … is she took me to every senior meeting. I may have only prepared the talking points, but she brought me to the meeting. She gave me a chance to participate and learn that way.”
“Barbara would throw me into things, she’d say, ‘I don’t have time for this,’ and sent me to talk to the head of a central bank or speak at a conference. She put her own personal brand and reputation behind me. It gave me the chance to get those opportunities and show my strengths and talents.”
– Alexis Rosenblum, Managing Director, Chief Corporate Sustainability Officer
2. Barbara demonstrated that it’s possible to excel at our jobs and our lives outside of work.
“I remember her with her kids; she was traveling a ton, totally invested in work but showed up for her kids when it mattered. I have vivid memories of her going to coach her kid’s soccer team. She made me think about the kind of role model I would be for my girls. She was one of those people that can make it work. She gave me a roadmap to follow.”
“People want relatable role models. She’s someone that women can look up to and say ‘I can get there.’ Barbara was a normal person that was really smart, worked really hard, and built something from the ground up. At its core many women like me look at her and think ‘I can do it.’ She’s done that for BlackRock and for the industry.”
– Stephanie Epstein, Managing Director, Global Head of Models Infrastructure in Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions
3. From Barbara, we saw the importance of recognizing and rewarding outstanding work.
She has been instrumental in the trajectory of my career. She recognized talent and rewarded it. She invested more in me than I thought she really had to.”
“She truly rewarded – not only praised – good work. For example, there was an annual trip that [BlackRock’s founders] would host where we would travel to the Saratoga Racetrack. Select employees were invited … I was an Analyst, and I got to go. … That day trip was such a treat, and I went because of Barbara.’”
“She identified young talent, rewarded that, and acted as a mentor to them. Bringing that human aspect of taking an interest me, despite how senior she was, that impact on me was astronomical. It’s one thing to have your direct line manager think you do a good job, but to have the head of the group think that, I was walking on the moon … And it was very motivating to continue to do good work.
– Marvin Tagaban, Vice President, Americas Investment Stewardship
4. Barbara showed us the value of listening deeply, recognizing potential and taking a chance on backgrounds that may not seem obvious.
“In our initial conversation about a governance role at BlackRock], she said, ‘Let me tell you about the work I’m doing in governance because some of the things you talked about in corporate access, align with what we’re looking for and may be transferrable’ … She then said, ‘We have a lot of people internally who are governance experts, but we need someone who can focus on the business side.’”“For me, it was a perfect fit because my core values aligned with the organization, and in addition to that, I was excited about the work I would be doing, and I love learning. It presented an opportunity to learn a completely new area of business . I’m in my third year, and I’m still learning which is fantastic.”
“I learned to value people and to get to know them. I spend a lot of time thinking about what we’re asking people to do in the investment stewardship seats , what are the core skills required and what is the direction of travel for the role … I look for parallel skills; just because someone doesn’t have product knowledge doesn’t mean they can’t contribute and bring value.”
5. Barbara challenged us to get comfortable being uncomfortable and to recognize the value we bring.
“She helped me identify the things I was good at so I was able to pay more attention when those things happened and identify ‘oh that was easy for me’. Then when I was considering making a move, I’d ask for her advice, she’d help me think about what I am stretching into, how much is anchored on what I’m doing today and what value I bring to the role.”
“[She taught me to think] I’ve mastered this role, what if I go to another group…Now I’m the Chief Client Officer of LATAM. I never would have imaged that…I have an investment, retail, institutional and tech background. I never would have felt as confident as I did to make those moves and understand the importance of my experience if I didn’t have someone pushing me to leave the nest and being open to supporting me.”
“I had a thirst to do different things, but she encouraged it. She pushed you to know what you’re good at that can give you at least one foot of foundation while you continue to stretch.”
We thank you, Barbara, for all that you have taught us. You continue to be an inspiration every day.
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