SPRING 2008
Editor: How did you begin your career?
Stewart: In high school, I knew that I wanted to go to the Harvard Business School. At Wellesley College, I majored in economics. Following
graduation, I went to Goldman Sachs. I was unmarried and had no children. I loved the work. I loved the people. I loved the excitement. I worked
all the time because it was fun.
After two years as a financial analyst, I went to business school. After earning my MBA, I returned to Goldman Sachs in 1982. For several rea-
sons, I joined the real estate department rather than the corporate side where I worked before going to business school.
One reason was that I’ve always been interested in real estate because my father had been in the real estate business. Another was that the real
estate department was new at Goldman Sachs and seemed to me to have more opportunities than the more traditional departments..
My husband (at the time my fiancé) was at Goldman Sachs on the corporate side. It was another reason to be in a different department although
no one told us that we had to do that.
While working at Goldman Sachs, I had a great deal of independence and flexibility in running my own deals. I enjoyed developing an expertise
and growing into a senior position.
In 1988, I had my first child. In 1990, I had my second and in 1992, I had my third. Finding it very difficult to balance my work and home life, I
left Goldman Sachs. I had two more children. If I had stayed, that probably would not have happened.
Editor: Being the mother of five children, how have you focused your career?
Stewart:
I would encourage women who have children (or want to have children) and a strong interest in business to think about what they
can do that does not require a tall office building and a corporate environment with many subordinates and superiors.
I’ve always liked real estate because it has myriad career opportunities that do not require institutional support. For example, you could be a real
estate broker selling houses. You would have your own s