I had the opportunity to be introduced to Tina Powell a few years ago at Invest NYC. We immediately felt synergies between us that I knew would lead to Tina having an impact on me, my profession, and our friendship. I have watched Tina over these past few years grow to one of the most inspirational and positive thought leaders in our industry. I’m so very proud of all that Tina does and certainly all those lives she leaves a positive impact on. We are truly proud to share Tina’s story.
– Maree Moscati, CEO, Copytalk
Tina Powell
CEO
C-Suite Social Media
Tell us something about yourself that most people aren’t aware of.
Tina: Wealth management is actually a second career for me. I was always in the vertical of marketing. I’m a business school major and have a master’s from NYU in marketing and technology, but I wasn’t always in the wealth management industry. That happened in 2005, after my father’s passing when financial planning became a priority for me. I was able to get my foot in the door when I landed a part-time role at Northwestern Mutual Life Financial Network, scouting the movers and shakers and working on prospecting. I loved the field of finance so much that I made a complete immersion into financial services in 2010. I said, “Okay. That’s it. I’m only working in one industry, and financial services is it!”
Share how your career path positioned you to be where you are today.
Tina: What’s always intrigued me is that the world is constantly evolving, and the idea that so should you. I’m a lifelong learner and fascinated by the rapid pace of technology, particularly since the late 1990s when the Desktop Publishing and home computer movement began. My most recent certification is in Data Analytics from General Assembly where I studied Tableau, SQL, and Excel. The way that I’ve positioned my path is that I never, ever stop learning or take classes. I have been classically trained, but supplemented that knowledge with experiential learning, especially with regards to Social Media. I’ve positioned my career through my own curiosity in a variety of subjects, online classes, books and podcasts.
If you had one wish for a “do-over” in your career, what would that be and why?
Tina: There’s a lot of things in hindsight, but the number one thing is, I would have come to the industry a lot quicker. I wish I would’ve had access to a mentor already working in the industry, people who were already working in the industry who could have told me that financial planning is a very exciting place to be, and you don’t have to be in advanced calculus to get there! I think it was my own myopic vision when I started my career that created a form of cognitive bias about skills I thought the profession called for.
What I discovered were soft skills, like communication and relationship-building, were the actual pillars. This career is also one that’s hugely based on caring and helping people, and that isn’t talked about enough. This is a career that calls for empathy and understanding and guiding people through different stages of their lives, particularly all of life challenges that we all experience.
So that would be the major thing. But it’s okay. It all worked out like it was supposed to.
Tell us about your history with martial arts.
Tina: I’m a black belt in HeihoShinDo. I studied for over eight years after my kids started taking karate classes. Initially, the dojo was a client of my first company, and when the invitation came for me to join, I said yes. I immediately fell in love with it. It’s an eclectic style of martial arts, and I learned a lot of cool stuff. The martial arts experience, by far, is right up there with my master’s degree and TEDx talk. Martial Arts is a lifelong discipline that continues to help me throughout different stages of my life and business.
Bio:
Tina Powell is the CEO of C-Suite Social Media, a full-service digital marketing and social media marketing consultancy for leaders in financial services who want to stand out. She is a TEDx Speaker and host of In the Suite – a podcast that explores contemporary themes for mid and senior women leaders in the financial services and wealth management industry. Tina is a member of TD Ameritrade’s President Council and a judge for the WealthManagement.com Industry Awards.
Tina earned a Masters in Graphic Communications Management and Technology from New York University where she received the Prism Award and taught Integrated Marketing and Leadership in the Graduate Program. She also earned a B.S. in Business Management, magna cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and holds a Series 65 license.