Lessons of Leadership:
Ana Arsov’s Journey of Grit, Finance and Making Impact

Let’s start at the beginning. You grew up in Macedonia and later moved to the USA. Can you share a bit about your upbringing and what inspired you to pursue a career in finance across two continents?

Ana Arsov: First thanks for inviting me to share my personal and professional story. Coming to the US was an evergreen dream for me since probably middle school. However, what finally propelled me to take the leap was the instability in the region. I was 3rd year of university studying economics. Unfortunately, this was the troubled times of 1999 with war in the neighbourghood, and I felt there is never better time to make the leap. Keep in mind, my decision to immigrate was before the broad availability of online information about universities, visas etc, so it wasn’t easy but I did manage to transfer to a university in the States. Based on my understanding, I was the first student to do this in the middle of my studies at the Faculty of Economics in Skopje. I lost less than one year between the transfer credits and graduated magna cum laude 1.5 years later in NY with degree in business while taking at one point 21 credits a semester and working part time. Wasn’t easy, but for sure worth it and within 1.5 years coming in the states, I landed a job as an analyst at what was at that time, an elite Wall Street institution – Lehman Brothers.

Your journey from Macedonia to becoming a leading executive in the US financial sector is remarkable. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced along the way, and how did your background shape your approach to leadership?

Ana Arsov:  Best experiences in retrospect are usually the ones that feel the scariest at that moment. In terms of a pivotal career moment, for me was experiencing the bancruptcy of Lehman in 2008, largest ever globally to this date. At that time, as a young mother, while also doing part time masters program, I took a career risk, and instead of staying with Barclays Investment Bank, which took over the US operations from Lehman, I decided to take another leap of faith and took a job with the bancrupt estate. I am a credit risk professional at heart and by training, so truly believe there is never better time to get these top skills than in crisis and indeed that was the case, rolling the proverbial sleeves in the middle of the largest ever financial crisis, unwinding billions of complex derivatives which took the world economy to its knees. I followed my instincts and good leaders and saw how they perform in crisis. And my immigrant grit, hard work and resilience is what I believe was critical to my career success and not accepting a failure.

You have held senior roles at global institutions like Moody’s, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and now serve as Chief Investment Officer at Bright Fame Holdings. What pivotal moments or decisions most influenced your career trajectory?

Ana Arsov: As noted above, my experience and observations during the financial crisis was career transformational. These learnings helped me become a stronger analyst and grounded risk leader, both while working for leading global banks and analysing them. But also comes a time in your career, for me nearly 15 years later during the regional bank crisis in 2023, another pivotal time where I took some brave market calls. At that time, I led the banking rating franchise at Moody’s, so it was on me to help my analytical teams to make some tough decisions with strong conviction of what needs to be done, which unfortunately was downgrading the US banking system and number of banks. As a credit leader, but more importantly in a public role, and foremost as a people leader, my teammates needed to see me calm under fire, performing with consistency of who I am internally and externally in order to follow the strategy. It felt as if the financial system was at another cross road, with number of midsize, but also large global banks failing and the market needed timeliness of action and opinion from reputable sources. These are the times, when using well grounded facts, strong analytical presentation and clear communication to the market make all the difference.

You currently serve on the board of TD Bank and two nonprofit organizations. What does it take to be a truly effective board member in today’s world, and which skills do you believe are essential for aspiring board members to develop?

Ana Arsov: It is a true privilege to serve on a board on one of the largest banks in the world and apply my analytical skills in the boardroom. First and foremost I think an industry expertise is not critical, but highly beneficial to understanding the operations of the company at which a board member serves. Secondly, truly listening and as a director exercising on of our primary responsibilities which is duty of care, simply always asking the right questions to ensure the interest of shareholders are protected. This requires entering the board room prepared, pose questions sufficiently probing to the business while being respectful towards management, which then facilitates orderly and productive board meetings. A key difference between my prior executive roles and serving on a board is that the board acts as a fiduciary so proper governance is its priority. Well run boards do not manage the firm, but ensure management is doing a good job doing so by maximising shareholder value in a well governed environment. So in essence, being an effective board member is to ensure first and foremost the firm has right management at its realm, proper governance and strong control functions. Serving on not-for-profit board is not much different in the approach, but instead of maximising shareholder value, its purpose is to maximise the realisation of the not-for-profit organisation’s mission in a most optimal way. It is critical for both, but even more so in the not for profit world, to have passion for the mission and also serving on variety of boards keep enhancing one’s skills and make you stronger contributor in any environment.

You made a bold move leaving the corporate world to manage your family office as Chief Investment Officer. What motivated this transition, and how has your perspective on leadership and risk evolved since making this change?

Ana Arsov: There comes the time in everyone’s career when working for one self is just most optimal use of one’s time with tremendous lifestyle benefits. After spending 25 years in the corporate and finance world, I was fortunate to be able take a break and focus on investing my family’s capital while also pursuing time for other passions such as my board work. My biggest learnings through this process is that nothing replaces own instincts, curiosity and research and a person needs to always continue developing in the discomfort of the “newness.” For me, the biggest stretch was to transform from risk manager to risk taker, and the same skills of doing proper diligence, reading financial research, attending numerous conference and keeping up to date with investing trends while learning new industries, have been helpful in my new role and so far have been enjoying the process.

As someone who has led teams analysing global banks, private credit, and financial markets, how do you see the future of the financial sector evolving? What trends or risks should today’s executives and board members be watching most closely?

Ana Arsov: One universally accepted truth is that nothing is true as much as constant change. The financial market as well as the world of technology have been always evolving and the for the last 5 years the increasing move from public to private capital investing and so called democratisation of private capital is the latest trend. This means that for bigger portion of the global capital, there will be less publicly available information and less liquidity, which combined create a potential risk of bubbles forming outside of the regulated system which are less visible. Nevertheless, with the record valuations in the public, particularly tech, AI driven stocks, I am not sure there is much difference in the risk quotient, but maybe just in a different form. So this calls for investors and executives to be even more cautious, perform proper diligence, avoid concentration risks and not become a victim of a market hype. Sometimes best risk management is not participating in the trends or not for sake of FOMO (fear or missing out).

You wear many hats. CIO, board member, wife, and mother. Which role do you find most fulfilling, and how do you balance these different aspects of your life?

Ana Arsov: I have truly enjoyed wearing all those hats, but being a mom is irreplaceable. In terms of balance I do believe that if one seeks to excel in certain parts of their life, balance is hard to achieve, and truly believe that one can have it “all” but staged and maybe not at the same time. However, life is usually a long proposition and I personally took the “long view” on many of these matters. That meant skipping a business trip and maybe waiting longer for a promotion when my kids were small, and similarly doing a push in a middle of banking crisis and skipping unfortunately extended college tours for my daughter. My point is, there is a price for everything but if one keeps consistent and focused I do believe achieving your dreams are possible with a sequenced and strategically nuanced approach, over longer period of one’s life.

Although your professional journey has unfolded in the US, you were raised in Macedonia. How has your upbringing influenced your views on leadership? What differences do you notice between the leadership culture in the Balkans and the US, and what advice would you give to young professionals from the region who aspire to global careers?

Ana Arsov: Yes I am a “Balkan person” at heart and that has given me the passionate personality, but also ability to adapt quickly and maybe easer than someone who didn’t grow up with the adversities of my generation and country of birth. In terms of the cultural leadership comparisons, I will just emphasise that nothing replaces hard work, respect of colleagues, lifelong learnings and emotional intelligence. These are universal positive character traits for any person. Practicing these consistently do not guarantee success, but for sure increase your probability everywhere in the world. Also for me critically it has been following the approach of “coach leader” rather than traditionally hierarchical way of management.

For executives and aspiring board members reading this, what’s the single most important piece of advice you’d offer to those hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Ana Arsov: I believe that we are all different and come with individual set of skills, inclinations and qualities. So I urge everyone to invest in their knowledge and self awareness of what those are so they can maximise their potential. Also, never feel pressured to be on anyones timeline or do something in your career, family or any mix of both just because your friend or your colleague or social (media) pressures are bombarding you with, that this means is right for you. Carve your own path, create a careful strategy, stay consistent, be a good person, lead with respect and care as a leader and success will come, success for YOU on YOUR own terms.

Looking ahead, what’s next for you? Are there any new projects or ambitions on the horizon that you’re particularly excited about?

Ana Arsov: I am very excited to see my daughters grow up and shape in wonderful, smart, humble humans and I hope to continue to be a good role model for them. I am excited to also take new board, advisory and investing challenges as I am evolving my second half of life career trajectory and most importantly give back by using my experiences, passion and learnings to both the corporate and not-for-profit world.