23 October, 2024
#55 Portret van een vrouw in de financiële sector: Marie Herbiet
Can you briefly present your role today in the organization (in one sentence)?
I am the head of deal management for Europe with a team of 17 people. We manage all customer business agreements, meaning negotiating financial conditions for customers to partner with Mastercard across all European countries.
What brought you to finance?
A great economics teacher when I was in secondary school. I took economics as an option, and the teacher was so interesting that I thought maybe this is what I want to do. I was good in math, so when I had to choose my studies, I said let's go for commercial engineering. I wasn't sure if I would go for it, but I was successful at university, so I continued.
What did you learn recently regarding gender equality?
In finance, we have a lot of women in prominent roles at Mastercard and in my previous company, I have always worked with women in finance. Yet, we still have some work to do. I recently saw some cases where I thought it could be better in some aspects, there is still a gap to cover. From a personal standpoint, I think women want to tick 1000% of the criteria when they search for a job, we need to change that and work on ourselves, be prouder of what we do and not be shy. You can fail, but you need to try.
What was one of the decisions that had the most impact on you/your career?
First, this role of deal management to the point that: I applied when I was pregnant with the second one, and I knew it was going to be a challenging role, but I didn't want to have any regrets. It was a great decision because I got a bigger team, more challenges, more visibility, it took me out of my comfort zone, and made me realize that I had great potential.
Second, people management changed my career as well. I had the opportunity to lead a bigger team, make them happy to come to work, and help them to give their best and to get new opportunities… that is what makes me wake up every morning: knowing that I am useful to someone.
Key take away from my career so far:
- Let it go, don’t try to be perfect, and don’t be too hard with yourself. Do your best, always and don't blame yourself if not all things can turn well
- Leading a team is a wonderful experience and a great way to add value. It is not easy every day, but I am grateful to have that opportunity.
What would you tell your younger self?
Trust yourself; you are going to make it. Don't be too demanding and perfectionist with yourself. Sometimes I have the feeling that it's not for me, I won't make it. But in the end, I make it. To get the trust of others, you need to trust yourself. Never give up; if it’s not for today, it will be for tomorrow.
Any message to share with female students interested in finance, or with young women starting their career?
Finance can be fun and creative. I am a finance person, but I have always been interested in the business. I am interested in the story behind the numbers. You can go with traditional finance, but you also have the opportunity to join other areas like deal management where you can bring creativity. Finance does not have always the same path; we can be creative. You can do a nice job in finance, and all the knowledge you gather there can open the door to other functions, if you are interested.
