Reece Tomlinson of RWT Growth On How We Should Increase Female Representation in Investment Decision-Making
An interview with Vanessa Ogle
Change Corporate Cultures: We need to redefine corporate culture in the finance industry. This requires detaching from the “finance bro” mentality and shifting towards more inclusive cultures that take into consideration the realities for women in the workplace. This is particularly true for women who are pregnant, have young children or who are caregiving for their families.
Despite progress in many industries, women remain significantly underrepresented in investment decision making roles. This lack of diversity can lead to missed opportunities and less inclusive financial strategies. How can we increase female representation in these critical positions? What impact would this have on the investment landscape? I had the pleasure of interviewing Reece Tomlinson.
As thefounder and CEO of RWT Growth (a Canadian based boutique corporate finance advisory firm) and founder of Saone Capital, Reece has extensive experience in corporate finance, M&A, investment banking and strategic planning.Reece has advised on over $1bn of transactions in 12 countries across a multitude of industries.
She considers it her calling is to utilize her experience in corporate finance to assist companies and leaders that are working to make this planet better and/or reducing inequalities. As a transwoman, her objective is to bring more awareness to the issues being faced by under represented founders as well as the LGBTQ+ and transgender community. She speaks to the challenges women face in the workplace and how we can create more equality.
Reece is a Chartered Professional Accountant, holds a Masters in Business Administration from Athabasca University and has completed executive education from MIT and Cambridge. She has experience leading teams in multiple continents concurrently, has founded / co-founded over 8 companies with a focus on finance, medical devices and development. Reece spends her time between Kelowna, BC and London, UK.
She is the recipient of the Athabasca University Rising Star Award and has been referenced in numerous publications including Forbes, the Times, the Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan and various business publications. Reece sits on a number of boards and advisory boards.
Outside of her business interests, Reece is a parent to two young boys with her wife, enjoys being outside in nature, spending time with her two dogs, skiing, surfing, reading, fashion, working on her small farm on the outskirts of Kelowna BC, travelling and cooking new recipes.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I always joke about how I am one of the few people in investment banking who didn’t intend to get into this career at an early age. My initial goal was to be a professional CEO, however after getting an MBA followed by a CPA designation and then working my way into the CEO role for a number of companies, I began to realise that what I really loved was the corporate finance and strategy element of business. With this realization, combined with my experience advising on deals, I decided to start RWT Growth Inc., a boutique corporate finance advisory firm. in 2017. I love solving complex problems for clients and helping them achieve life changing M&A outcomes.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
As a transwoman, I have had the unique lived experience of being at the boardroom table, at a high-level, in the world of finance as both a man and as a woman. Operating in a highly-male dominated industry, in both genders, has given me a rare insight into the differences of how men and women are treated in the workplace. As such, I’m acutely aware of the challenges women face, which don’t exist for men. As a woman, I’ve experienced a higher degree of expectation, judgement, demand and bias in all areas of my life, which has been a massive learning experience. As a result, I am a big proponent of lifting women up in business and breaking down barriers.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
This is a tough one! One that really sticks out was my first public speaking event outside of business school. I was asked to introduce a fairly prominent business man at a conference. At the time, I wasn’t quite confident with public speaking and was dreading it. As scared as I was, I thought the introduction would be simple so didn’t bother to rehearse what I was going to say. When I got up to the podium to introduce him to the audience and say a short blurb about his experience; my mind went blank and I referenced where he worked incorrectly! When he came up to the podium to do his bit, he ended up having to correct me, which was incredibly embarrassing for a whole host of reasons. This taught me a big lesson, which was to be prepared at all times. Be ready to do your job well.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve been blessed to have many mentors and coaches throughout the years — both formal and informal, but ultimately I try to view every interaction as a way of learning. I have learned the most from women who have earned positions of authority.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Oh, this is a tough one. From a business perspective I love the 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma and Remarkable by Guy Kawasaki. Both of these books highlight the need to focus on continuously being your best, in all areas of life.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
As a woman, I believe my success in finance and investment banking offers representation and hopefully inspires other women and visible minorities to believe they can have a successful career in finance as well. By reaching new heights in my own career, I hope other women and minorities will observe that it’s a real possibility for them. This is my main way of making a difference and breaking down barriers.
In your opinion, what are the key benefits of having a more gender-diverse team making investment decisions?
Diverse teams remove the “group think” that can come alongside having teams of similar backgrounds, but varied lived experiences provide different perspectives on risk, which is a key consideration for any investment. Further, when gender-diverse teams approach investment decisions it helps reduce bias and often leads to more equitable investment decisions.
What barriers do women typically face when trying to enter and advance in investment roles, and how can these be overcome?
Women face a host of barriers in the finance industry. Go to any investment banking conference and you will see the vast majority of attendants are male — we still face a considerable amount of bias. Additionally, when we start to think of building a career and having a family, the two are not as easily correlated. Finance can be unrelenting when it comes to the demands of the job. To overcome these obstacles, we need to rethink how the industry operates and pivot the atmosphere to be more accepting of women and minorities and provide more flexibility. This, of course, requires detaching from historic ways of working within the space. Finally, we need to champion women at all stages of their career in finance and showcase that women can be successful in this industry.
What strategies or initiatives have you found effective in increasing female representation in investment decision-making roles?
Representation is everything — I try to showcase that women can be in a male-dominated industry and still hold on to who they are as a woman without conforming to historical stereotypes.
Can you please share your “5 Things We Must Do To Have More Women Direct Investment Dollars”?
- Representation Matters: We need to showcase and champion women who are in this industry and making a difference…at all levels.
- Change Corporate Cultures: We need to redefine corporate culture in the finance industry. This requires detaching from the “finance bro” mentality and shifting towards more inclusive cultures that take into consideration the realities for women in the workplace. This is particularly true for women who are pregnant, have young children or who are caregiving for their families.
- Early Education: We need to be educating girls from an early age about their abilities to be leaders in this space and why they can achieve success in finance. The potential for women in finance should be prominently promoted in high schools and universities.
- Celebrate Women-led Success: Women-directed investment dollars often don’t get the same amount of attention as those from their male peers. Therefore, we need to proportionately celebrate women-led success to showcase that the stereotypical finance executive isn’t necessarily male.
- Address Bias: There is a real and limiting bias towards women in this industry. We need to address this by showcasing what women can and have achieved in finance while simultaneously showcasing the stories behind their decisions in finance and talking about all their achievements as a whole. The industry glorifies men who have success, but women don’t get anywhere near the same degree of attention. Often women are juggling so much more, which in turn makes them great at what they do. The bias needs to change.
How can companies and investment firms create a more inclusive culture that supports and encourages women in leadership positions?
In my opinion, investment firms can create a more inclusive culture by changing their practices to accommodate women, particularly those with families. This can be done by focusing on performance versus time in the office and by encouraging out-of-office activities that aren’t gender specific. Firms can also provide more mentoring and coaching for women and adopt the five “things we must do” above.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I really want to lift women up and highlight their ability to perform at an equal level to men. In doing so, I love having real discussions regarding men and women in the workplace and how we can understand each other better.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I feel like this list could be long as there are a lot of people whom I would love to meet, but I would definitely love to meet Whitney Wolf-Herde. I have followed her career over the years (and used her app) and am inspired by what she has done for women in business. She has broken barriers by being a big success in an otherwise male-dominated tech space.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’m grateful for anyone who follows my journey on LinkedIn and really appreciate people reaching out directly!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
Reece Tomlinson of RWT Growth On How We Should Increase Female Representation in Investment… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.