By Christina Moss Mayo, B.S. Journalism 1978

When finance leader Rebecca Patterson, B.S. Journalism 1990, first arrived at the University of Florida she was determined to reach for the stars—as an astronaut. But it was during her first writing class that she had her “lightbulb moment” and decided to become a journalist instead. She wanted to educate others, and her journey began.

“I am fascinated by space and thought about aeronautical engineering initially. But when I took my first journalism class, it was clear to me that this came more naturally. I love to learn, to understand the world, to communicate and educate.”

And through a path she calls “zigzag,” she continues to do just that as a top wealth manager, and one of the most powerful women in finance. Along the way, she has helped other women, and girls, understand the importance of learning about business, financial independence, and standing up for themselves.

She served as chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates until the end of 2022. Before that she was chief investment officer of Bessemer Trust. And she worked at J.P. Morgan for 15 years becoming global head of of the private bank’s currencies and commodities, and eventually chief investment strategist for asset management institutional clients.

She is also the Board chair for the Council for Economic Education with a mission to transform lives by giving young people the tools “to make informed financial decisions and create a better life, not only for themselves but those around them.”

Born in St. Louis, Patterson and her family moved to Gainesville, Florida, when she was just three months old. Her father headed up public relations at UF. “I was born and raised a Gator.”

After five years, the family moved again to Largo, Florida, near St. Petersburg where her parents set up their own PR firm, Shoreline Communigraphics, in the garage behind their house. She said her father, James Patterson (not to be confused with the best-selling author with the same name) also self-published four or five books in his lifetime.

“He was a very creative man,” Patterson said of her father who died in 2004.

Switching her major to journalism was unexpected. “Some students know what they want to do with their lives early and are steadfast along those paths. I was not one of those people,” she said.

But her father had been a photojournalist and her mother a journalist, and Patterson said she grew up ready.

“We went to the library, and I always came home with a bag of books. I grew up in a very literary family.”

Writing came naturally to her and she already knew about fonts and design from hanging out at her father’s PR firm. “I loved writing and I took a class writing articles for the Gainesville Sun. Then, the magazine class I took taught layout and design, and I really loved getting to own it,” she said.

After graduation she went to work for the St. Petersburg Times Washington D.C. bureau. “I got to report and write but also cleaned the fax machine and got coffee,” she said. “Paul Tash was my boss at the time and he was the best boss I ever had in my career. He gave me honest, direct feedback. And I have never forgotten my first story on the front page about Social Security.

“Social Security wasn’t gender neutral, and I found several women and talked with them about their experiences. What I learned is how people’s lives are affected. I was proud to have written that story,” she said. “As a journalist you get to educate people. After that, I went to The Hill.”

She was sent to cover Anita Hill testifying about sexual harassment from former boss Clarence Thomas during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his Supreme Court nomination. “I didn’t know what I was doing, but I had to come back with something. So I figured it out. There were hundreds of members of Congress and members of the press there. It was an amazing experience, and I learned a lot about policy and writing.”

Patterson wanted the Paris bureau next, but “they weren’t game so I went back to grad school.”

Again, she figured it out.

She holds an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS and an MBA from New York University.

“While I studied economics and markets in graduate school, the ‘a-ha’ moment for me was when I started writing the daily foreign exchange column for the Wall Street Journal. I realized currencies are the intersection of so many influences – both global and relative across different countries – that are always changing. I got hooked,” she said.

“I love currencies. What moves them? So many things collide.”

She had moved to London and was writing the Daily Exchange column when J.P. Morgan called. “They said, ‘We read your stuff.’” It wasn’t an easy decision, she said, but she took the offered job.

“I always say that journalism is my special power. It’s about being able to learn and think specifically. You have to separate the research and get to the lede. You have to be able to tell people this is what matters and synthesize the information,” she said. “I don’t think I could have done it without the University of Florida.”

And as an advocate through her role the Council for Economic Education and Invest in Girls she is on another journey to help students learn the basics of personal finance and more. “Especially in high school, girls need to be exposed to career choices,” she said.

When she talks to students, she tells them there are a wide variety of careers in finance. “And I tell them you can be flexible too, if you want to have a family. You can do both. If you don’t know what’s out there you can’t make a choice.”

Patterson also tries to help women in finance once they are in the field. “The good news is that more and more people are aware of some of the gender-related challenges in the workplace and that creates more space for real conversation. But women still have to advocate for others. They have to use their voices. Being a ‘PR agent’ for others helps. One thing I try to do is advocate for women in the moment. Let’s say you’re in a meeting and a woman says something and then a man says the same thing. You call it out in a respectful and collegial way. You educate them and everyone benefits.

“Another thing you can do is send a quick email to a woman’s boss when they have done something especially well. You can help them advocate for themselves. If they can’t do it, do it for them,” she said.

Young women who want careers in finance must network, she said. “There are a lot of different paths in finance – research, sales, trading, investment banking, financial writing and marketing, and on and on. A few skills that will serve you well regardless: economic and financial literacy and communication.

“Read the news, read history. Build the experiences that allow you to show a potential employer your interest – economic or stock market clubs are a good place to start. “There isn’t only one path to get to your goal. I changed careers and countries. At the time I wasn’t 100% sure where it would lead me but now, with the benefit of hindsight, I realize that all those decisions and zigzags have made me what I am today – well rounded, with global experience, able to connect a lot of complicated dots and explain them in plain English.

There’s an intersection between finance and journalism, she said. “I get paid to learn and then communicate well. In my job, I have to try to make sense of the world and understand where it’s going in order to build portfolios. All my research skills apply.”

Married with two teenage girls, Patterson spends her time outside of work reading and sharing time with family.

“I have two teenage daughters and realize they’ll both be at college before too long – I want to enjoy them as much as I can,” she said. “I also love cooking, dancing and getting outdoors, exploring. New York City is great for that, though so many places in Florida are as well. A kayak ride early in the morning in the mangroves around Fort DeSoto Park in Florida is heaven to me.”

Her advice for young women is to speak up, take risks, and support other women.

“I network and try to get involved in different organizations where I have interest to broaden my opportunities. You never know where meeting someone will lead you – personally with friendships as well as professionally. So put yourself out there. I also just read a ton. A large chunk of my weekends is catching up on all the reading I didn’t get to do during the week – research, books, current events,” she said.

She loves historical fiction but encourages women who want to be in finance to read Economist Magazine. “That’s my weekly ‘must read’. Next up is history. I eat up anything by Doris Kearns Goodwin. ‘No Ordinary Time’ about the Roosevelts is required reading to understand policies and the economy into WW2,” she said.

“Do one thing every day that scares you,” attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, is her favorite quote.

And maybe it is that early interest in space that keeps her exploring. As for where she sees herself within the financial world in the near future, she said she has no idea.

“That’s half the fun of life. I never knew I’d live in Europe, in Asia, that I would work at the world’s largest hedge fund. I’m so grateful for every experience I have had. That has made me who I am today,” she said.

Posted: March 18, 2024
Category: Alumni Profiles, College News
Tagged as: Rebecca Patterson