Leah Donti, CPA, MBA Founder, and President Advantage Montreal Seminars Inc.

Leah Donti, an internationally recognized seminar leader and speaker in accounting and auditing, has been doing seminars full-time for 32 years through her seminar business. She conducts in-house training at CPA firms and various multinationals and does CPE courses through the CPA societies. As well, she speaks at numerous conferences across North America each year.

Throughout your career what are some challenges you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?

Being a young woman starting my career from day 1 I felt the need to excel to get ahead and offer more to an employer

What is some advice you would give to women who are just starting in careers?

Work hard, never give up and look at failure as a way of getting better.

What was your path to becoming a leader?

I started as an auditor and then moved to a director position in an industry where I supervised staff. This is where I learned how to coach employees, be a great listener and understand what makes people happy.

Christy Demetrakis, President and Founder of The Empowered Speaker,

Christy is the founder of The Empowered Speaker, a company devoted to helping you achieve your dreams through professional development. She is a seasoned business professional with 25+ years of experience in sales and leadership across several Fortune 500 companies, including Procter & Gamble. She is a certified instructor for the SpeakersTrainingCamp®, offering public workshops and customized on-site programs for companies and organizations to improve their public speaking and presentation skills. Christy is passionate about empowering others to achieve their dreams and walk in their purpose. Her empowering and inspirational spirit shines through in her books, Faith to Conquer Fear™: Inspiration to Achieve your Dreams, and her Amazon bestselling book, Faith to Conquer Fear™: The Journey.

Throughout your career what are some challenges you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?
Over the course of my career, as an African American woman, I have been the “first” and I have been the “only” in roles and companies. When you are the first or only, there are often unspoken and unrealistic expectations. In these situations, I ensured I had allies who helped me navigate. Most importantly, I performed to the best of my ability so as to put any questions about my competence to rest.

What is some advice you would give to women who are just starting their careers?
1) Know that you don’t know…yet. Ask questions and be willing to learn. Have a Growth Mindset.
2) Learn to be an effective communicator. Your effectiveness as a leader will be based on your ability to influence and communicate clearly.
3) Get a mentor early. You will not be successful alone. You need the wisdom and insights of those who have “done it before.”

What was your path to becoming a leader?
I have always been a leader. I just didn’t always have a title. One of the attributes of a great leader is the ability to influence…from a place of knowledge and insights. Over he last 25+ years, I have had the pleasure of working for multiple Fortune 500 companies including Ralston Purina, Fort James Corporation, Coors Brewing Company, The Gillette Company, and Procter & Gamble. All of my experiences in those companies have helped me to refine my leadership skills and improve my effectiveness as a leader.

Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA, Managing Partner, AAFCPAs

Carla recognizes the importance of setting an influential tone at the top to inspire AAFCPAs’ cultural environment and core values. In 2011 she launched AAFCPAs’ Women’s Opportunity Network (WON), which serves as a platform to ensure women have a clear path to leadership. In 2017, recognizing the need to achieve further diversity and inclusiveness as a fundamental part of living the firm’s core values, Carla launched the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative. In 2018, she established the firm’s Innovation Lab and Changemaker Challenge, where team members are encouraged to question the status quo and create new opportunities.

Throughout your career what are some challenges you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?

Oh boy, how do I decide which ones to highlight? Lol here are a few (straight talk):

Bias – I purposely don’t use “unconscious bias” because it wasn’t “unconscious”. As I was advancing, I was held back from opportunities because others “perceived” it would be too much to handle with kids. They would come right out and say to me “you have two small children… that would be a lot of pressure for you”.

What I didn’t do in the moment was voice my frustration and opinion. I did learn to use my voice over time, but when there is no support at upper levels it is difficult. I do think our profession has changed for the better and leadership looks much different today. I am very sensitive to this and make sure I call it out if I see it. I make sure we are not making assumptions of others and encourage my team to ask for what they want and deserve.

Dismissive attitudes - Ideas I had and voiced were not given the discussion time deserved because of egos. Years ago, this profession was run by what I refer to as “traditionalists”. They dictated how things were going to be and were not interested in others' opinions. In fact, in one instance they took my idea, suggested it, and implemented it but took full credit as if it were their own.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not shy and voice my opinion often. I also have built confidence knowing my ideas are good and in fact over time, people seek me out for advice. I didn’t give up – I kept going and continued to provide ideas. Once you show success with what you create it builds confidence and trust and others will see what you have to offer.

What is some advice you would give to women who are just starting their careers?

Well, I have written about this and spoke about this. The one question I hate getting is this question. I believe today, young professionals starting their career is on an even playing field. If we feel we have to give women special advice then we are not moving the needle on the bias. Here is the advice I give universally to young professionals:

a. Find work you truly enjoy and build a brand around it

b. Don’t be afraid to explore different options because there is significant diversity of work in public accounting

c. Set goals and go after them

d. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you deserve. Use your voice.

e. Find an advocate, someone who will hear your voice, listen to your ideas, and help amplify you.

What was your path to becoming a leader?

Everyone is a leader if they are working with other people. They could be leading a team, a department, or a company. I don’t like to think of leadership as a destination.

That being said, I have a creative side and I also have a knack for ‘connecting the dots”. In addition, I am not shy and I am not afraid to voice my opinion even if it goes against popular opinion. I have the courage of my convictions. I also rolled up my sleeves and created things I didn’t see. Once people see that you have good ideas, you make meaningful connections, and have success then they start to come to you for advice. When people start to approach you for your opinion, you know you have something special – you are building influence. You need to figure out how to do more of it….

The Women’s Leadership Summit, a Talent Development Insights event, will take place May, 17-19 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This annual event continues a tradition of high-level thought leadership and provocative, frank discussions on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion including Women’s issues in the profession and business world.

For more information about the event, please click here.