Reshma M. Ballie McGowan
Reshma Ballie McGowan is Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer at 1919 Investment Counsel, LLC, where she leads the firm’s compliance program and serves on the Operating Committee. She is also a member of Stifel’s Compliance Executive Committee. In this role, she oversees regulatory matters and ensures adherence to the Investment Adviser’s Act and broker-dealer regulations.
Reshma brings over two decades of compliance and public policy experience across global financial institutions. Prior to joining 1919 Investment Counsel in 2021, she served as Senior Compliance Officer at PIMCO and held leadership roles including Associate Director of Compliance at The Abraaj Group, Vice President of Central Compliance at Barclays, and Assistant Vice President of Legal & Compliance at GSO Capital Partners. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly nine years with The Carlyle Group as Manager of Legal & Compliance and gained policy experience as a Public Policy Research Officer for oneLondon, a subsidiary of Greater London Enterprise. Her career began in program and grants roles with the Association for Women in Science and Women for Women International, where she focused on initiatives in post-conflict regions like Kosovo.
Her professional journey is complemented by a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law from the University of Westminster and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations from American University.
Outside of her professional work, Reshma is deeply involved in community service. She serves on the Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens Board of Advisors and the Buckley Country Day School Board of Trustees, and volunteers as a therapeutic riding instructor with Gallop NYC. Her interests include running marathons, yoga, horseback riding, knitting baby blankets, making homemade pasta, and spending time with her husband and son.
• American University - BA
• University of Westminster - LL.M
• Stifel’s Compliance Executive Committee
• Hillwood Estate
• Museum & Gardens Board of Advisors
• Buckley Country Day School Board of Trustees
What do you attribute your success to?
I did a lot of work others thought were beneath them and I did every job duty I could in any 24 hour period to show my investment in the team's success, and to prove I was willing to work hard. It also proved important not to keep doing things "the way it had always been done" but to inject improvements - big or small - wherever I could because it all added up in the end. Grit and stamina go a long way, but being open to learning new things all of the time and educating yourself in your own time is the other key component (even when you're exhausted and feeling dejected).
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I started working, my dad always reminded me to remember that people are watching what you do whether they say something or not. He was right because it wasn't the big , flashy things that I thought would be my biggest boons. It was the things that I thought no one would notice and that I just did to make things a little better that helped the most. And when I became a manager, the best advice I got was, "remember, that you're a topic of conversation at dinner". Though I may not be discussed in the most positive light, I didn't want to be spoken of as someone who was making that person's life harder or taking them away from their family.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Find your "why" and use that as your compass. It will keep you authentic, which counts for a lot, because the people you work with can see if what you're projecting is b******t much easier than you think and are holding it against you whether you know it or not.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I'm incredibly concerned that the full return to office isn't accompanied with enough re-balancing of the workload at home and women will be right back where we started pre-pandemic.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Every decision I make is based on making sure that whatever complaints my son may have about me when grows up that he never thinks of me as a hypocrite. So, if I tell him to be brave and pursue what he most wants, then I have to do the same too so that he knows that he can.