Ami Fisher W'00
Email: ami_fisher@yahoo.com
What did you Study and when did you graduate?
I graduated from Wharton in 2000 with concentrations in Finance and Management.
What were you involved in on campus?
I was in Wharton Women and the Wharton Activities Council. I also volunteered as a tutor in West Philly and at the Ronald McDonald house.
What advice do you wish you had known when you were an undergraduate?
To calm down- everything will work out! All the skills that got you into Wharton (determination, hard work, intelligence, etc.) will get you where you want to be in life.
It is also especially important to ensure that you have a balance between academics and socializing while at Penn. When I first arrived at Wharton, I was amazed by so many of my intelligent peers, that I felt I had to study all the time to be the best. This type of a schedule was not sustainable, and I found that once I increased the time that I spent with friends, I became more efficient with my time and ended up doing better academically.
What do you do now and where are you based?
I am based in Philadelphia, and I work at J.P. Morgan in Oversight and Control for their global private bank. I ensure that the lines of business within the private bank comply with the regulations and legal obligations to which they are held accountable.
How has being a woman affected your career trajectory, if it has?
Being a woman did not impact my career trajectory until I had my son, Zach. After he was born, I knew that his happiness and wellbeing were my number one priority. Therefore, I changed my focus to Zach from the sole focus I had on my career when I was single and first married.
Do you think men have to have that same conversation with themselves?
No, not the men I work with in Finance. Men do not have to think about that balance as much.
What is the worst career advice you have received?
That you should not be forthcoming if you make a mistake – try to fix it yourself first instead of escalating to your manager. Errors are going to happen, whether you are a recent graduate or have been working for 20 years, and it’s best to be honest and clear about the situation so that a solution can be reached as soon as possible. A culture of fear, stress, and feeling like you cannot be honest when a mistake is made leads to a toxic work environment, and that is not a place where you want to spend most of your time each day.
How would you manage it today when somebody makes a mistake?
It is always best for everyone to be honest and detailed about the situation that led to an error. Having the facts in a complete and timely manner will allow me to work with my team member to best remediate the mistake. The best next step is to meet and discuss what happened – what can we learn about and from the error, is more training needed, does the process in which the mistake occurred need to be revised, etc. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. It is the skills that you learn in how to address, resolve, and take ownership of your actions that will help you grow in your career and be seen as an excellent employee.
What has been the biggest challenge of your career?
Working with difficult managers. One manager wrote in my annual review that I did not get enough work done and was not in the office enough when I was on maternity leave. The issue was quickly resolved with HR, but it made for an uncomfortable work environment until the manager was terminated due to numerous incidents, of which mine was just one.
What is one thing you look for when you are interviewing people for positions?
Honesty and the ability for the candidate to be themselves – colleagues, clients, stakeholders, etc. will see through a fake person. I will be working with this individual many hours each week, probably seeing them even more than I see my family, so I want to know that I am partnering with someone with whom I can trust and build a relationship with. Excel proficiency, data analysis, organization, efficiency, and critical thinking are skills that I can work with someone to improve, but other attributes can be more difficult.
Favorite TV show?
The Real Housewives of New Jersey because it is pure entertainment and gossip. I spend so many hours of the week being professional and on point, that the complete mindlessness and ridiculous situations they get themselves into are total enjoyment for me! Fun fact, I have met Teresa Giudice three times.