Clara Salvai

I attribute my success to focusing on my own path and working really hard, like the advice I received early in my career about horses with blinders in Central Park. An older attorney told me when I was 27 and feeling insecure about being alone in New York: you need to focus on your own path and move forward, don't be distracted by whatever is going on around you. There are gonna be people who have better connections, better looks, better whatever, but nothing beats hard work. So focus on working really hard and focus on only seeing forward. Every time I achieved something I was proud of, it was with that idea in mind - never a question of can I make it, but more about I'm gonna work so hard that I'm gonna achieve it. I think when you are genuine and when you are really a good person and you are doing the best that you can in the given situation that you are in, people really see it. The people who really align with your vision and with your style will naturally find you and come with you.

The best career advice I ever received came from an older attorney when I was about 27 and feeling insecure in New York. She told me to be like the horses in Central Park that have blinders covering their eyes so they can only see forward. She said: you need to focus on your own path and move forward. Don't be distracted by whatever is going on around you. There are gonna be people who have better connections, better looks, better whatever, but nothing beats hard work. So focus on working really hard and focus on only seeing forward. I also carry with me advice from my friend Amy who has her own company. Whenever I try to pay her for her time and advice, she always says: don't be silly, pay it forward. That really resonates with me - we need to pay it forward and be approachable, kind, and transparent. We're not gonna be less successful because we share what we've learned; we're more successful because if we are able to share with others, we lift everyone up.

My advice to younger generations is: don't do it because somebody else is doing it. Don't do it because it looks cool from the outside, but just do it because you love it. Naturally, when you do something that you love, you're gonna achieve amazing things. I recently came across this quote that really resonates: winners forget they are in a race, they just love to run. You're not doing it because you wanna win - winning happens, maybe - but you're doing it because it's fun. I also want to say that these positions and access to the how-to of making it - there is a gatekeeping situation to these things. I've been lucky to have amazing mentors who I still go to, and I do the same for people who come to me. But not a lot of people want to give you access into what it takes or help you under their wing for no purpose other than to pass the baton and say, hey, I'm happy to show you the ropes so that eventually in the future you can do it for others. We need to pay it forward. This is possible, it's not impossible. You can find your way, and if we give you a word of advice, why not? We're not gonna be less successful because we share what we've learned; we are more successful because if we are able to share with others, we all rise together.

I think fractional is the future, and the biggest opportunity right now is how AI is facilitating a lot of the work we do. AI has really accelerated the pace of our work - not to substitute human leadership, but to make it faster for us. In a leadership position, you always need critical thinking, and that's the value - the balance between what theory tells you that you should do as an executive and the practice of working with humans and measuring how humans are gonna react to anything you want to implement. The opportunity right now, with all the socioeconomic situations we have and the AI changes and what's happening with technology, is that people who oftentimes didn't have access to a full-time executive because our price tag is quite big can now have access to us on a fractional basis, which is temporal or part-time. This is possible because we are using different tools that really make our job go faster and accelerate the work. With the current socioeconomic situation and geopolitics, people are really conscious, or even more conscious, about money and a little bit more nervous about how the future is gonna look. I think it is an amazing opportunity for firms who want to be taking care of their budget to hire fractional versus full-time. Now people are really looking into: if you can do the work that somebody who is full-time and less experienced can do for us, then we have access to people who are more seasoned for basically less money.

The values most important to me are understanding your why - you need to be really certain of why you're doing what you're doing. When you have a reason to do what you are doing in a different way, that passion gives you the energy to push forward through a lot of issues you're going to encounter when you are creating something. I prioritize the human aspect - in the quest for profit, there is often a lot of neglect on the human side. I wanted to create a company where I could prioritize my team's well-being and give them the type of leadership that focuses on their well-being. I value having a good balance between the time we give to our families and initiatives close to our hearts and the work we do for our clients. The people I collaborate with also want to do amazing work and be excellent in their fields, but they also value how we interact with others, the respect we give to people, and maintaining that balance. I think when you are genuine and when you are really a good person and doing the best that you can in the given situation you are in, people really see it. Being approachable, kind, and transparent is essential, and paying it forward - we need to share what we've learned with others.