She ends the phone call and leans back in her office chair, trying to absorb the unexpected news. Brazil? It鈥檚 quite the offer.
Ann Marie Petach had taken a long time to get into the chair she occupies at Ford Motor Company鈥檚 corporate headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. Her promotion the previous year from the company鈥檚 electronics division took longer than she had anticipated, but the frustrating wait is a distant memory because she relishes her new role as a member of the Ford treasurer鈥檚 team. She certainly isn鈥檛 looking for another position.
But the folks in the electronics division just made an enticing proposal. She could have the lead finance position at their plant in Brazil. She is a single career woman who had always sought adventure, so there is nothing in her personal life holding her back; but then she thinks about the plant鈥檚 location in the middle of nowhere, as well as the work itself, which doesn鈥檛 sound as challenging as what she does now. Still, it鈥檚 a chance to live abroad, which makes it reminiscent of a choice she made in college.
Petach鈥檚 father was a math teacher in the Rumson, N.J., public schools, where the family lived. Her mother taught home economics, but she also loved statistical research. So, it was no wonder their daughter excelled in math at Muhlenberg College. One of her professors recommended that she make it her major. But Petach also loved business and Spanish, and her analytical bent belied a strong sense of adventure. Choosing math meant she鈥檇 have to forfeit her semester abroad as a language/business major. 鈥淚 decided I鈥檇 rather go to Spain,鈥� Petach smiles. 鈥淚t was a very sophisticated choice!鈥�
As her 1982 graduation approached, the country was in recession. Unsure of her direction, she applied to graduate business schools and the Peace Corps. Her first-choice school was Carnegie Mellon鈥檚 . Aside from the fact that it was a 鈥済reat school,鈥� her parents both grew up in the Pittsburgh area and many family members still lived there. Fate intervened to tip the scales. As her deadline to decide approached, an acceptance letter arrived from 麻豆村. At that point, the Peace Corps offered only more interviews. She was off to Pittsburgh.
On the first day of graduate school, she made her way to the welcoming assembly, hoping she鈥檇 made the right choice. She sat next to another woman, Patricia Little. When they looked around, they realized they were in the minority, only 20 or so women were among the class of 120. As if that weren鈥檛 intimidating enough, the opening remarks to the class warned that 鈥渆ach of you will be tested here!鈥�
Afterward, the two women walked together to their nearby apartments, discussing their next moves. 鈥淲e decided to go out that night,鈥� Little quips, 鈥渁nd call it a 鈥榣earning to network鈥� exercise!鈥� They quickly became friends and, ultimately, second-year roommates.
Along with the camaraderie, Petach says, she embraced the business school鈥檚 skills-based approach, rapid pace, and particularly its technological emphasis. In an era when most students relied on typewriters and notepaper, she and her classmates used computers. 鈥淚t was really leading edge,鈥� says Petach. 鈥淭he technology [for 1982] was phenomenal.鈥�
As graduation neared, Petach and her classmates were busy interviewing. , a longtime 麻豆村 recruiter, was ending a two-year hiring freeze and evidently eager to pick up young Tepper graduates. Petach, Little, and four other classmates accepted job offers from the auto company. Soon after earning their diplomas in 1984, they began work in Michigan, rotating through various assignments.
Five years later, Petach felt like she was in a career rut, lagging behind her classmates. She wanted to move from the off-site electronics building, with its linoleum floors and ancient metal desks, to the 鈥済lass house鈥� in Dearborn鈥攃ompany headquarters. Little, working at headquarters in treasury, knew of her friend鈥檚 frustration. While talking with her boss, Malcolm Macdonald, she pointedly mentioned Petach, highlighting her strong skills and fluent Spanish, prized in a global organization. Mac, as everyone called him, was then assistant treasurer. He was the kind of boss who advocated for talented employees鈥攚omen and men鈥攊n a male-dominated industry and the type to cap a stressful presentation with a trek to a burger joint. Spurred by Little鈥檚 endorsement, he contacted Petach and was impressed with both the language skills and analytical abilities she鈥檇 honed at Tepper. He offered her an open analyst position in treasury, where she sits on the day she receives the phone call that has a Brazilian destination. What to do?
She makes her way down the hall to Macdonald鈥檚 spacious corner office and sits down.
鈥淢ac, I鈥檝e been given this offer from electronics that would transfer me to Brazil. I don鈥檛 know what to do.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檇 go to Brazil, Ann Marie?鈥�
鈥淵es, I鈥檇 really love to go!鈥�
鈥淲ell, don鈥檛 take it! I鈥檒l get you the job you want.鈥�
Stunned, she returns to her office, mulling over the turn of events. And it hits her: 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 tell people what you want, they鈥檙e never going to guess. They鈥檒l make a lot of assumptions about you that may or may not be true.鈥�
Sure enough, in less than six weeks, Macdonald finds the 鈥減erfect鈥� position. She鈥檚 on her way to Brazil鈥攁s senior treasury executive of Autolatina, a 鈥渉uge鈥� joint venture between Ford and 鈥攁nd still reporting to Macdonald. Rather than staying squirreled away in a remote plant, she鈥檒l lead treasury strategy in Sao Paulo, at the division headquarters for Ford鈥檚 entire Latin American business.
It sparks an upward career trajectory. 鈥淚n a place as big and complex as Ford, at corporate headquarters, I was always looking at a tiny piece of a very large business,鈥� Petach explains. 鈥淕oing international gave me the opportunity to sit in a smaller pond, be a bigger fish, where I could look at an entire business. For me, that was a really important part of my career development, off on my own, doing things I might have never done at headquarters.鈥�
Two productive years fly by. Then, in 1993, Petach gets a call from Macdonald. Ford and Volkswagen are forming Autoeuropa, a joint venture providing minivans for the European market. Macdonald asks if she鈥檒l move to Portugal to be the startup鈥檚 treasurer. He knows it will be more responsibility for her; she鈥檒l have to build a finance organization from scratch, something she鈥檚 never done. But he thinks she鈥檚 up to it. So does Petach. Just like that first day at Tepper, she isn鈥檛 frightened or intimidated by the unknown. Soon, she鈥檚 all packed, ready for the next 鈥渞eally fun鈥� opportunity.
To Macdonald鈥檚 delight, she delivers鈥攑utting payment systems, insurance, and financing in place as well as building relationships and the organization. 鈥淪he really made her name,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd got recognized as one of the up-and-coming stars on the treasury team.鈥�
Two more years pass; back in the states, Macdonald, now Ford鈥檚 treasurer, sees a need to globalize operations. Who better to call on than Petach? She returns, this time to a higher-level role with exposure to senior Ford management. It isn鈥檛 long before she鈥檚 promoted again, to assistant treasurer, the position Macdonald held when he found her that position in Brazil. She鈥檚 one of the youngest to achieve that level at Ford.
Petach鈥檚 personal life flourishes, too. She marries Jeff Janowicz, an engineer, in 1998, and a year later they have a son, Alex. Petach takes her three-month maternity leave and then gets back to work. But when Alex is just a toddler, the family receives grim news. Jeff is diagnosed with leukemia. As if that鈥檚 not enough, Basil, the brother she鈥檚 been close to since childhood, finds out he has a malignant tumor. Petach is plunged into a medical nightmare.
She keeps going to work while trying to be an attentive wife, mother, and sister. Somehow, she never misses a medical appointment with her brother, even though he lives 600 miles away in New Jersey. But her priorities are tested. Within the next two years, two significant career opportunities come her way鈥攅ach with new responsibilities and a move. 鈥淏oth jobs were important developmentally if I ever wanted to be treasurer,鈥� says Petach. 鈥淏ut given everything that was happening, I knew I couldn鈥檛 go through a learning curve. So I didn鈥檛 accept either one.鈥�
At last, her personal life brightens when Jeff鈥檚 chemotherapy is deemed successful. Soon after, in 2002, Petach becomes pregnant with their second child. She holds out hope for Basil, too, though he continues to worsen. When Petach is five months pregnant, Basil succumbs. She says she can鈥檛 describe the loss. 鈥淎wful鈥� is all she utters. Concerned for her parents on the East Coast, she convinces them to move nearby. When daughter Maggie is born, Petach takes a six-month leave for her and her family to regroup.
She knows extended time off isn鈥檛 a good career move, but it doesn鈥檛 matter. 鈥淚 just thought, I don鈥檛 know if I can live with the consequences of not supporting my family, but I can deal with my decision even if it costs me in my career. You accept tradeoffs because that鈥檚 how life is, right? You accept consequences.鈥�
Her six-month leave ends, and Petach heads back to work and into another troubled environment. Ford is struggling with rising healthcare and fuel costs, declining market share, and shrinking profit margins. Two years later, in 2004, Macdonald is ready to retire. He recommends Petach for his position as treasurer. In her new executive position, the tough times only worsen. By 2005, the company鈥檚 debt is downgraded to junk.
Working with Ford鈥檚 CFO, Petach determines that the company鈥檚 cash-flow position is too weak to withstand a continuing downturn. She becomes instrumental in divesting key properties, including Hertz. As the company鈥檚 debt rating declines, she鈥檚 a key player in establishing a $23 billion finance package, including $19 billion of secured financing. 鈥淓ssentially, we hocked the whole place,鈥� Petach says.
The cash infusion enables Ford to avoid bankruptcy or seek government help鈥攊n stark contrast to its competitor, .
Petach鈥檚 achievements don鈥檛 surprise Macdonald, who watched her rise to his every challenge. 鈥淚鈥檝e always found the 鈥榮wimming pool approach鈥� to be a good way to evaluate people,鈥� he notes. 鈥淧ut them in 鈥榩ools鈥� that are a little too big and see how they manage. In every job, Ann Marie performed superbly.鈥�
As Petach is completing Ford鈥檚 secured financing, others apparently notice. She fields an unsolicited executive-level opportunity with another company. Ever the explorer, she consults her inner circle, including family, Macdonald, Little, and trusted colleagues. One of them is an executive at , a global investment management firm whom Petach got to know while overseeing Ford鈥檚 $70 billion pension fund. They all have essentially the same response:
鈥淲hat?! You would leave Ford?!鈥�
To nobody鈥檚 surprise, Petach ultimately declines the offer. Meanwhile, a few months later, in 2006, BlackRock announces its acquisition of Merrill Lynch鈥檚 asset management group, effectively doubling its assets. Both companies are managers for Ford pension funds, so when BlackRock plans its first strategic leadership meeting, they ask Petach and a few other major clients to attend. She flies to New York and heads to the Trump Resort in Tarrytown, N.Y. After participating on a panel, she prepares to leave when one of the BlackRock executives invites her to dinner. It turns out that the dinner conversation is more than small talk:
听鈥淪o, Ann Marie, what do you think about coming to work for us?鈥�
Petach is 鈥渟hocked.鈥� Perhaps she shouldn鈥檛 have been. It鈥檚 a familiar scenario. Just as with Macdonald years before, her colleague wouldn鈥檛 have approached her, an important client, had she not earlier mentioned the possibility of leaving Ford. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 think I would have learned this lesson,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 tell people what you want, they鈥檙e never going to guess.鈥�
As Petach finishes the $23 billion financing that will help keep Ford afloat, conversations with BlackRock continue for a few months until a firm offer is on the table. Although wanting to say yes, she is concerned about uprooting her family to New York City and leaving Ford. In addition, it鈥檚 a gamble. She鈥檒l have a shot at becoming CFO but will have to shadow the interim CFO for a trial period. 鈥淭here was no guarantee. It was more like, 鈥楥ome in and earn it or else.鈥欌�� Her husband and parents tell her they鈥檙e 鈥済ame for a move鈥� East. Not surprisingly, her children 鈥渉ate the idea,鈥� but she knows kids always adjust. Little, too, is all for it, as is Macdonald. The decision is made鈥攊t鈥檚 on to New York.
Once again, to no one鈥檚 surprise, Petach is promoted to CFO not long afterward, overseeing global management reporting, forecasting, treasury, and enterprise risk along with the chief risk officer. Then, three months later, in October 2008, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression hits the United States. As an investment management firm, Petach had to make sure BlackRock was positioned to take advantage of opportunities in a troubled market during the trying times as well as help the U.S. government manage distressed assets.
鈥淚t was terrifying watching everything going on around you, but it was a great time of opportunity,鈥� she recalls, particularly when troubled Barclays Global Investors puts a unit on the block in May 2009. She and her team analyze the transaction and conclude that BlackRock should buy not just the iShares unit but also the entire company. Within months, the purchase is complete. BlackRock, with Petach as CFO, doubles its size to $3.5 trillion assets under management鈥攂ecoming the largest investment management company in the world.
James Raby is a senior member of the finance team at Barclays when BlackRock purchases the company. He witnesses Petach in action through the merger. Like others, he鈥檚 impressed with her drive and ability to make hard decisions, but something else hits home. 鈥淎nn Marie was the person who was more interested in my 5-week-old than anyone else,鈥� says Raby, now a BlackRock managing director responsible for Petach鈥檚 corporate planning and forecasting function.
Petach continues to field calls about job openings, including a memorable one for a Fortune 500 company CFO. Smiling at the memory of how she made it to her Ford treasury position, she recommends a candidate perfect for the job. Little is soon CFO of Kelly Services, which specializes in temporary staffing.
Back at BlackRock, Petach is instrumental in transforming the company鈥檚 stock ownership structure from mostly institutionally held by three large entities to more than 80% publicly held. As a result, BlackRock is included in the S&P 500 in April 2011. In recognition of such achievements, Petach is named #16 in The Wall Street Journal鈥檚 2012 inaugural Best CFOs list. 鈥淪he didn鈥檛 mention it to anyone,鈥� says an amazed Raby. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Ann Marie to a tee. Her award was an extraordinary achievement, especially in what can be quite a male-dominated, challenging environment. And she told no one.鈥�
Maybe, but an old Tepper friend reads about it and grabs the phone.
Melissa Silmore (TPR鈥�85) is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to this magazine.
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