, a longtime executive at S&P Global turned mentor for professional women, the most rewarding part of the job was the people.
Ferguson landed in the audit department of what was then one of the “big eight” accounting firms. That was the equivalent of a training role, and eventually led to subsequent roles in financial analysis. But due to a change in personal circumstances, as well as college debt, the primary motivator for a period of time was simply money, she said. That ultimately had its downsides, but along the way, Ferguson discovered that working with people and leading teams was a passion.
Finance “is a good basis for doing anything in business,” Ferguson said. Strong people skills made the difference in bringing critical and difficult projects to fruition, even on very short timelines. “People deserve to know the truth and they deserve to hear it from their own boss, not out on the street or someplace else,” Ferguson added.