Investing a Step Ahead of Change

By Meredith Rosen

There has been a lot of change in the world since 2017 began. What a challenge it must have been for presenter, Ms. Michelle Borre, to prepare for our event! Our new President had to be mentioned at the beginning of our presentation as we were less than a week into his term. While Ms. Borre did not get political, she did answer several questions because the audience was not bashful about asking them. Kudos to Ms. Borre for educating us and giving us straight talk.

After giving a market overview and projection – which were both positive and thought-provoking, Ms. Borre walked us through the path she traveled to become a Lead Portfolio Manager at Oppenheimer. We were surprised to learn that she began her professional career as an art teacher and then went back to school to get her masters in business thinking she may start a business of her own some day. She entertained us with stories of surviving layoffs and making time for family without abandoning her career dreams – something many of us in the audience could relate to!

Ms. Borre’s presentation ended with a conversation with the audience about the dropping rate of women in business schools and particularly graduate business school. She discussed some current research to illustrate the decline as well as some of the things she personally is doing to try to encourage more women to seek careers in finance. We were thrilled to hear about her mentor group within Oppenheimer as well as several women’s groups she participates in.

The Q&A session at the conclusion of the event allowed several attendees to share their personal experiences as well as things we all can do to support the next generation of women in finance.