How Creativity Helps Kristina Walsh Thrive in Finance

Kristina Walsh is Co-Head of Consumer and Retail Investment Banking at Young America Capital, a New York-based FINRA/SEC-registered broker-dealer/Investment Bank. She has a long and illustrious career in senior management roles in the hedge fund and financial services industries, having spent nearly two decades on Wall Street.

Kristina is not your typical Investment Banker. Kristina’s career has been built on her background in psychology, a degree she obtained from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She says her psychology background has provided invaluable insights to her career as an Investment Banker and Executive. In particular, Kristina says, the “creative” side of psychology has helped her think “outside the box” when it comes to finding clients and solutions for them.

In terms of strategic relationships, she said her background in psychology has allowed her to identify potential partners who may not have initially been on her radar.

“I think, in structuring deals and finding potential investors, for my clients, it’s not always the ones that check the box or that would be obvious.,” she said.

Creativity also played a role ten years ago, when Kristina and one of her colleagues started a women’s family office lunch series, which she has kept ever since. The lunches are a way to bring together successful women from various backgrounds and industries to share their experiences and advice. They try to meet every month or two to talk about everything from work-life balance to the challenges and opportunities of being a woman in business.

“It’s all about sharing ideas, friendly suggestions and introductions. I think the lunches have really created a foundation of trust and sincerity in actively wanting to help each other thrive,” she said.

By Lou Sokolovskiy, Founder & CEO at Opus Connect
January 2022