Olivia Albrecht
Senior Vice President at Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO), The Head of Environmental Social and Governance Product Strategy Group
Being a soccer player was a major part of my identity until about age 22 when I realized I probably wasn’t going to make a career out of it. That shift in self-identity was a destabilizing time in my life and I learned a lot from going through that transition. Over time I learned how much growth and learning comes from going through such transitions and self-reflection. They taught me how to cultivate grit and determination, and to rely on those strengths to guide me through momentary stages of change.
Being a competitive athlete definitely helped me prepare for a life in corporate finance. It is a great environment for people who are tough, and a little competitive; competitive in the sense that you strive for excellence and always push your own limits. Every day you look to relentlessly add value to the organization.
“I realized that if I am going to stick around for a while and enjoy being a part of the team, I needed to be my authentic self”
Managing Through Tough Transitions
Transitions often feel like a very negative experience. In many cases, particularly early in our careers, we are actively walking away from one experience (job, function or industry) and toward an uncertain future. Many times, we don’t know where we are going next; we just know we need to make a change. This feels very negative because we focus on what we don’t like. But rather than thinking of it in a negative light, I like to think about transitions like the process of sculpting. You start with a big block of marble, and you chip away. You chip away material that you don’t want, and slowly, over time, you stand back and realize you’ve created something pretty awesome. Sculpting is built off a negative exercise, but produces a very beautiful and positive outcome in the end. In much the same way, navigating through tough transitions helps you determine what ‘material’ to keep and what to slough off.
By going through that process and testing out possibilities, I believe we end up with a body of knowledge that we carry with us so that with any new transition you are not really starting from scratch. Even if you’re moving into a new industry, you’ve accumulated so much prior knowledge that, although it may not be directly (or even obviously) related, you can still figure out a way to apply it and the transitions won’t feel as daunting.
Being a Woman in a Man’s World
It’s funny because after almost a decade in finance, I still don’t feel like I fit in; and that is a good thing. Whether it’s being a woman in a male dominated industry or being more of a creative type than corporate. But it wasn’t always easy standing out. In fact, earlier in my career I simply wanted to fit in rather than stand out. Being one of only a handful of women made that challenging. I used to wear black suits to follow the unstated dress code. But then I realized that if I am going to stick around for a while and enjoy being a part of the team, I needed to be my authentic self. I am much more comfortable wearing colors, dresses and jewelry to express my creative self. And sometimes, I am going to respond to tough situations by saying, “That makes me feel…..” – using emotive words instead of analytical words. And if my eyes get a little watery, that’s ok because that’s how I express anger and frustration.
Olivia at home with her family celebrating the day her husband received his U.S. citizenship.
“We don’t have to be thinkers and not feelers just because that’s what men want us to be.”
The Journey or the Destination
Before I became a mother, which was a defining experience for me, I felt like I was on a journey and looking for a destination point, and each of the success points that I had along the way didn’t make me feel like I was ‘there’ yet. I didn’t always enjoy the journey.
Becoming a mother has put things into perspective for me in that I realize that my successes of motherhood are all encompassing. They are a culmination of all my past experiences including academic success, career success, and athletic success. Because of those pieces of my life that happened along the way, I am now able to look back and find inner happiness and peace with what I have accomplished, what I am currently accomplishing, and what I hope to accomplish in the future.
All of this allows me to continue evolving, growing as a person, and delivering more back to the system as opposed to taking from the system. I’m now giving back to the world through my children, and finding ways to help others answer the big questions: Who you are? Where have you been? Where are you going? What are your big challenges? What hasn’t been solved yet, and how can you dive in, get your hands messy, and try to solve those important issues? All this will lead to finding peace with who we are as individuals within the larger world. To me that is the real success in life.
Olivia Albrecht
Senior Vice President at Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO), The Head of Environmental Social and Governance Product Strategy Group
Being a soccer player was a major part of my identity until about age 22 when I realized I probably wasn’t going to make a career out of it. That shift in self-identity was a destabilizing time in my life and I learned a lot from going through that transition. Over time I learned how much growth and learning comes from going through such transitions and self-reflection. They taught me how to cultivate grit and determination, and to rely on those strengths to guide me through momentary stages of change.
Being a competitive athlete definitely helped me prepare for a life in corporate finance. It is a great environment for people who are tough, and a little competitive; competitive in the sense that you strive for excellence and always push your own limits. Every day you look to relentlessly add value to the organization.
“I realized that if I am going to stick around for a while and enjoy being a part of the team, I needed to be my authentic self”
Managing Through Tough Transitions
Transitions often feel like a very negative experience. In many cases, particularly early in our careers, we are actively walking away from one experience (job, function or industry) and toward an uncertain future. Many times, we don’t know where we are going next; we just know we need to make a change. This feels very negative because we focus on what we don’t like. But rather than thinking of it in a negative light, I like to think about transitions like the process of sculpting. You start with a big block of marble, and you chip away. You chip away material that you don’t want, and slowly, over time, you stand back and realize you’ve created something pretty awesome. Sculpting is built off a negative exercise, but produces a very beautiful and positive outcome in the end. In much the same way, navigating through tough transitions helps you determine what ‘material’ to keep and what to slough off.
By going through that process and testing out possibilities, I believe we end up with a body of knowledge that we carry with us so that with any new transition you are not really starting from scratch. Even if you’re moving into a new industry, you’ve accumulated so much prior knowledge that, although it may not be directly (or even obviously) related, you can still figure out a way to apply it and the transitions won’t feel as daunting.
Being a Woman in a Man’s World
It’s funny because after almost a decade in finance, I still don’t feel like I fit in; and that is a good thing. Whether it’s being a woman in a male dominated industry or being more of a creative type than corporate. But it wasn’t always easy standing out. In fact, earlier in my career I simply wanted to fit in rather than stand out. Being one of only a handful of women made that challenging. I used to wear black suits to follow the unstated dress code. But then I realized that if I am going to stick around for a while and enjoy being a part of the team, I needed to be my authentic self. I am much more comfortable wearing colors, dresses and jewelry to express my creative self. And sometimes, I am going to respond to tough situations by saying, “That makes me feel…..” – using emotive words instead of analytical words. And if my eyes get a little watery, that’s ok because that’s how I express anger and frustration.
Olivia at home with her family celebrating the day her husband received his U.S. citizenship.
“We don’t have to be thinkers and not feelers just because that’s what men want us to be.”
The Journey or the Destination
Before I became a mother, which was a defining experience for me, I felt like I was on a journey and looking for a destination point, and each of the success points that I had along the way didn’t make me feel like I was ‘there’ yet. I didn’t always enjoy the journey.
Becoming a mother has put things into perspective for me in that I realize that my successes of motherhood are all encompassing. They are a culmination of all my past experiences including academic success, career success, and athletic success. Because of those pieces of my life that happened along the way, I am now able to look back and find inner happiness and peace with what I have accomplished, what I am currently accomplishing, and what I hope to accomplish in the future.
All of this allows me to continue evolving, growing as a person, and delivering more back to the system as opposed to taking from the system. I’m now giving back to the world through my children, and finding ways to help others answer the big questions: Who you are? Where have you been? Where are you going? What are your big challenges? What hasn’t been solved yet, and how can you dive in, get your hands messy, and try to solve those important issues? All this will lead to finding peace with who we are as individuals within the larger world. To me that is the real success in life.
Ms. Albrecht is a senior vice president in the Newport Beach office and a strategist leading PIMCO’s ESG (environmental, social and governance) product development. Additionally, as part of the multi-sector fixed income team, she has responsibilities across the firm’s core fixed income offerings with a particular focus on global bonds. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2011, she worked in private equity at Cerberus Capital Management in Frankfurt, Germany. She has also held positions at Lockheed Martin, Mubadala Development Corporation in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and the U.S. Department of Defense. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School,
along with a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Ms. Albrecht was a member of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Orange County Board of Directors from 2012–2014. She is mother to two little girls, pictured above, and recently gave birth to a son.
Ms. Albrecht is a senior vice president in the Newport Beach office and a strategist leading PIMCO’s ESG (environmental, social and governance) product development. Additionally, as part of the multi-sector fixed income team, she has responsibilities across the firm’s core fixed income offerings with a particular focus on global bonds. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2011, she worked in private equity at Cerberus Capital Management in Frankfurt, Germany. She has also held positions at Lockheed Martin, Mubadala Development Corporation in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and the U.S. Department of Defense. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, along with a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Ms. Albrecht was a member of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Orange County Board of Directors from 2012–2014. She is mother to two little girls, pictured above, and recently gave birth to a son.