What led you to a career in the deals industry?
I grew up helping to manage my family’s business which peaked my interest in business management including finance and operations. It gave me the opportunity to experience first-hand how strategy, operations and finance have to all align to manage a successful business. I continue to learn from my clients and my colleagues.
Best practices for an inclusive workplace culture...
Creating an environment where people are encouraged to speak up, empowered to make changes, engage with each other, and collaborate with one another. It is a tall order but we must do our best to create such environment because it is the right thing to do and it is ultimately good for business. Providing communication and collaboration platforms and tools, promoting different ideas and opinions, and rewarding those behaviors will go a long way to fostering an inclusive workplace culture.
Advancing woman to leadership positions...
Professional training, coaching, mentorship, etc. programs are some of the ways to help women advance to leadership positions but they are most impactful if senior leadership genuinely “buys-in” to the efforts. Women know when senior leadership is just paying lip service. Consistently demonstrated advocacy needs to come from the top. Accountability is also critical to move the agenda forward.
Advice for achieving success in the industry...
Women must take control and actively manage their careers that best suit their goals. Not your boss, HR department, coach or mentor can do the work for you. As a start, I’d recommend developing a strategic business plan for yourself. Be specific – not only focus on “what” but also on “how”, update when circumstances change, and consult if you feel yourself getting off track. Ultimately, you have to take charge and go after what and how you want to build your career. There are a lot more resources and avenues which women can leverage nowadays. Now, go do it!
Profile:
Christine specializes in restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. She has more than 25 years of experience and has served as an advisor in all aspects of financial and operational restructuring on behalf of companies, lenders, and shareholders. She has led numerous engagements representing companies and lenders in judicial and out-of-court restructurings including advising on recapitalizations and developing and implementing business plans. Christine joined FTI Consulting with its acquisition of the CDG Group, where she was a Senior Managing Director. She began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.
Education: B.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University.
Location: FTI Consulting, New York, New York.
