Laura Woop
Tiffany & Co.
New York, NY USA
"Don’t be risk averse—be risk aware."
Career Roadmap
Laura's work combines: Business, Numbers, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
When I first started in risk management, I knew nothing about insurance and the industry. I took the position mainly in an attempt to stay at the company and learn something new. I committed myself to learning all I could by reading our insurance policies and connecting and collaborating with colleagues that knew more than me.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Accounting
Montclair State University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Financial Risk Specialists:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Insurance
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Was raised in a middle-class blue-collar family—her mother was a nurse and her father was a police officer.
2.
Because of how she grew up, going to college was never really pushed on her, so it was a challenge figuring it all out.
3.
Attended Montclair State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
4.
Was recruited by Tiffany & Co. right out of college and started working in their internal audit department.
5.
Thought that the audit department were seen as the “bad guys” and didn’t want to be part of a department no one liked, so she made the switch to the tax department.
6.
Worked in the tax department at Tiffany & Co. for over five years before deciding she was ready to do something new and making another switch over to the risk department.
7.
Admits that when she first got involved in risk management, she knew nothing about insurance beyond her own personal auto and home policies.
8.
Looking back, she says working in risk management is when her career really began—has been working for Tiffany & Co. for over 20 years now.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I don't know anything about insurance.
How I responded:
When I first started in risk management, I knew nothing about insurance and the industry. I took the position mainly in an attempt to stay at the company and learn something new. I committed myself to learning all I could by reading our insurance policies and connecting and collaborating with colleagues that knew more than me.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My parents were blue collar workers and college was never really pushed on me growing up. I had to figure out a lot of the details myself.
I've had colleagues that I didn't get along with which impacted my career advancement. I've also experienced moments where I was being forced into a role that I didn't want and my resistance was met with a lot of opposition.