Liner Notes: Atsi Sheth

I am so excited to kick off our first edition of Liner Notes for 2022, where I reveal the stories of Moody’s colleagues and other guests who are moving the financial industry forward. Up this month: Atsi Sheth .?

Thanks for joining me, Atsi. I have known you for a long time now, but can you introduce your most recent role at Moody’s?

The simplest description of my team’s role would be that we provide house views on global economic, market and policy trends that then inform Moody’s credit assessments of thousands of individual debt issuers and transactions around the world.

?What does that mean in terms of the day to day? Well, we spend much of our time distilling signals from vast, ever-growing pools of complex data so we can offer clear, actionable insights to decision-makers. For example, our research answers questions like

how will geopolitical risk transmit to credit risk, and what will be the channel, magnitude and duration of impact?

Decoding risk for our customers is truly our DNA and what Moody’s stands for since its inception. But I am curious, what drew you to analyzing risk in the first place?

In addition to Moody’s, I’ve worked at an asset management firm, an investment bank and taught at a university.?The majority of my career has actually been right here at Moody’s – during a time when the firm was growing its global footprint, and the products and services we offer. This enabled me to take on diverse roles across the company; for example, covering sovereign risk in different regions to credit strategy across asset classes. I’ve also worked in three different countries. I credit that for giving me a global perspective which is very helpful in my current role (in addition to having been a lot of fun and valuable personally).

The pandemic has transformed the way we work and how we interact with each other. What have the last 2 years shown you?

?There are 3 key things that have struck me over the past 2 years:

1.??????The first is how much our stakeholders appreciate our clear, independent and forward-looking risk assessments, especially when uncertainties are multiplying as they have been. It is rewarding to know we add value with the hard work we put into our analytics. ?

2.??????Second is how important our collaborative culture is in delivering that value. Our products and services are well-honed, because they come from a diverse set of experts working together. During the uncertainty of the pandemic, analytic collaboration became even more important in getting the calls right, and I was proud of how our colleagues, culture and processes rose to the occasion.

3.??????Lastly, the innovation that underpins the resilience of our firm. Disruptions and lockdowns did not stop us from communicating with our customers; in fact, they spurred innovation in how we deliver insights. We upped the ante on podcasts, interactive digital events, and infographics while maintaining a steady stream of in-depth, data driven publications.

I couldn’t have said it better myself! The innovation, collaborative spirit and resilience of our people are what makes this such a great place to work.?What do you love about working at Moody’s?

I love the value we add to people’s lives through better analysis that enables better decisions. I also love that I get to work with people with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. I love that people who work at Moody’s tend to be razor sharp intellectually, which keeps me on my toes - in a good way!

This March, we celebrate Women’s History Month. We’ve highlighted several women throughout the company who commit themselves to #breakthebias. What does breaking the bias mean to you?

To me, breaking the bias means a few things – celebrating that we have come a long way, recognizing how far we have to go and actively taking steps to get us there. It won’t happen tomorrow, and it won’t happen without action.

So as a senior woman at Moody’s, I consider it my responsibility to take those actions. That includes making sure doors and opportunities are equally open to all genders, mentoring colleagues to be aware of and take advantage of opportunities, and cutting down barriers by calling out biases, both conscious and unconscious. ?

Breaking the bias is an issue that is resonating very widely. In fact, we receive a lot of questions from market participants on whether gender gaps correlate to particular types of risk, and we’ve done some interesting research as well to answer that question.

You were part of the group that released the Breaking the Bias research report on International Women’s Day. Can you share a few key insights from the report?

?Certainly. Our analysis of the data found that there is a strong correlation between a company’s credit rating and the gender diversity of its board, the higher the rating, the more diverse its board. And we also found that gender diverse boards have increased over the last two years, at all rating levels. On a more sobering note, no corporate sectors achieved management level gender parity and almost half of all sectors have management teams that are, on average, less than 25% female. So, we’ve come a long way, but still have a long way to go. And doing so is good not just for women, but for society and economies. In fact, as an example, our research also found that increasing women’s workforce participation in the US could add $1 trillion to its GDP over a decade.

That is both sobering and inspiring. Speaking of inspiration, name someone in your life who has inspired you.

My mother is an inspiration. When I was growing up, she was a working mom, a rarity among her peers and in her chosen profession. She has had an incredibly successful career. But what is really inspiring is just how much joy she reaped both from her career and her personal life. I remember her cooking and laughing as she threw large dinner parties on weeknights, while comforting me through whatever teenage angst I was feeling that day. All this after a full day at work.

I may never, ever be able to throw a large dinner party on a weeknight – but I will always, always remember the lesson she taught me about enjoying your work and your personal life to the fullest.?And while this isn’t without some trade-offs and stress, like my mom, I don’t feel apologetic at work for having a family or at home for being a working mom.

?What is the one piece of advice you would give to a woman just starting or restarting her career?

Think of yourself as a professional person starting out or restarting, regardless of your gender. ?But also value the differences in your experiences due to your gender as a source of strength, rather than considering them a hurdle. Be forthcoming about the value that this difference adds, rather than striving to erase that difference.?And if I were allowed a second piece of advice it would be: enjoy the journey, keep moving forward but know that it is never too late to pivot to something else – nothing is permanent!

That’s sound advice, Atsi. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

If you want to build a successful career, pursue your passion, but do it in an industry or field that is growing. In that industry, join a dynamic company that is gaining ground. In that company, work with people who challenge you to do your best. My father gave me this advice when I was starting out, and I am happy to say that Moody’s is the perfect example of all the above!?