NOTEBOOK: Great Recession gave her patience a workout
JOE GARDYASZ Oct 3, 2018 | 4:55 pm
1 min read time
182 wordsBusiness Record Insider, The Insider NotebookJulia Lawler says that managing through the Great Recession as Principal Financial Group’s chief investment officer was undoubtedly her biggest career accomplishment. But the biggest accomplishment in her life is raising her two sons, Ross and Graham, she told me. I sat down with Lawler for an interview recently about her new role as Principal’s chief risk officer for an upcoming Closer Look profile.
I didn’t ask her if raising her sons tested her patience, but the questions that arose as the financial world was seemingly imploding were endless.
“The challenge was just day-in and day-out, managing the number of calls and questions and concerns from any number of rating agencies, investors and regulators,” she recalled. “It was sort of a nonstop response to a lot of questioning. A lot of people don’t understand investments, and things like bonds and real estate suddenly became important to them. My patience was tested in explaining what mortgage loans were and why they were still fine. … It was a great learning experience for me; it tested a lot of skill sets — a lot.”