Title: Vice president, investment banking division, M&A group
Home base: New York
Mentor:
The practical meets the theoretical: As a student at New York University, Spilkin, who was a math major, often heard classmates talk about wanting to work in the financial services industry, perhaps because of Wall Street being in such close proximity. They helped spark her own interest, which grew naturally the more she explored the idea. “I loved the interaction between practicality and actual markets and theoretical math,” Spilkin said.
Gender imbalance: At Goldman, Spilkin works in investment banking, a notoriously male-dominated sector. But she sees it as an opportunity “to bring a different perspective,” she said. “Everyone has their own individual glass ceiling. Women without question have unique challenges they need to overcome and it is difficult to overcome those challenges. Once they do, I don’t see a limit to how far a woman could go.”
Future vision: Spilkin’s ambition is not linked so much to a title she’d like to have someday. “I would like to leave a legacy no matter what title I have. I would like to say I left my mark on the firm and a whole bunch of people in it.”
Being heard: Spilkin worked with Cohen in the mergers and acquisitions group before Cohen became Goldman’s chief strategy officer. She vividly remembers the first time she heard Cohen in action — during a conference call to discuss a deal. “It was one of those big conference calls with 10 people on it or something,” Spilkin said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who is this woman? She is fearless.’ She made sure everyone heard her ideas.”
Different kind of disruption: Leaders at Goldman are asking the question: Why are there so few women in senior positions? To Spilkin, that question even being asked is not only positive, but also disruptive. “That question shows a shift in mentality, and women have never been better positioned at Goldman and in the financial industry,” she said.
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Get with the programmer: Spilkin had a computer science minor in college and had done some programming in her career. She was previously a strategist, or “strat,” in the investment banking division at Goldman, meaning she helped provide solutions and advice for clients based on quantitative modeling and data science. Because of that, Cohen had a special request for her. “She pulled me into her office one day. I didn’t know why. But she asked, ‘Can you teach my team to program?’ At first I was surprised, but then knowing it was Stephanie, I was so not surprised,” Spilkin said. “That is rather typical of her to have these strategic ideas that are simple in practice but big in concept.”
Code crackers: Spilkin went on to help run a program called Bankers Who Code, the idea being that the programming concepts also are applicable in business. Programming skills also are useful for bankers who are constantly working with data, to make projects more efficient and speed up repetitive tasks, Spilkin said. “It gives you a better way of solving problems,” she said. “It gives you a way to replicate work rather than starting it from scratch every single time. If you have a program already, you can just tweak it.”
What I like about you: Spilkin’s education and background, including her masters in mathematics, is uncommon in investment banking. It may be why she tends to approach problems differently than others, something that Cohen has noticed and appreciated.
Cohen recalled a time working with a large client when Spilkin’s unique perspective came in handy. “You sat right outside my office, and when I had questions about how to think about something differently, you were always there to answer my questions,” Cohen told her. “So it was all about your ability to think differently.”
