Advice for Women in Leadership (Gina Cocking Interviewed on the Advanced Principles Podcast)

Gina Cocking is the CEO of Colonnade Advisors and represents the 2% of women who are CEOs at financial institutions. She brings 20+ years of experience in investment banking and executive leadership to the table including experience as a CFO in multiple companies.

When Gina was recently interviewed by Ryan Nelson of the Advanced Principles Podcast, Ryan asked Gina what advice she might have for other women looking to enter the competitive and male-dominated industries like automotive, technology, and investment banking.

Gina (23:00)

“I think 15 years from now, 20 years from now, the guys better watch out. Women are going to college at a higher rate than men. Something like 60 to 65 percent of the incoming college class is female.” 

The pandemic was extremely challenging to the women’s leadership movement. With schools closed and much of the infrastructure for working women disrupted, many families had to make tough decisions and compromises. Homeschooling became the norm, and many women had to shift their schedules.

So what is Gina’s top advice for women that want to make it to the top echelon of the career ladder?

Gina: (28:00):

Marry well. And I don’t mean marry wealthy.

Find a partner who supports you, who gets that your career is just as important as his career. 

Throughout your lives together, know that you’re going to have to make trade-offs. There are some things that are not going to be fun, but you do them together.

If your partner supports you, you can get through it. It’s important that your partner does not feel like their career path is more important. That is the number one key to success.  

Interesting in having Gina talk to your company or audience?  Please take a look at Gina’s onesheet and reach out to us to connect about mutual timing.

About the podcast episode featuring Gina Cocking

Advanced Dealer Solutions is a premier F&I development agency specializing in the automotive, RV, and powersports industries. Advanced Dealer Solutions works to maximize the purchasing experience as well as increase F&I sales and profits as well as increase service sales and retention.

Advanced Dealer Solutions has assembled one of the most sought-after F&I training platforms in the industry. They have a passion for increasing dealer profits by providing industry-leading technology and implementing an F&I selling system that is guaranteed to elevate performance. Advanced Dealer Solutions is driven to provide dealers with products and solutions that result in increased production, profitability, customer retention, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.

Advanced Principles Podcast was created to be an outlet for like-minded individuals to share in the broader conversations on leadership, retail market updates, and incredible success stories.

Colonnade Advisors has deep experience in the automotive dealership services industry. Please see the pre-event interview series here for more information about Colonnade in the industry, M&A drivers, and more.

Colonnade Securities is a leading investment banking firm that has completed over $9 billion in M&A transactions for clients in the business and financial services industries.

Our firm has deep expertise in the automotive F&I industry and has advised many companies in the sector on strategic transactions. Please see our Quarterly Updates on the F&I industry here.