Carole Hambleton-Moser majored in French at Gettysburg College. She later earned a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy from Tufts University and a diploma from the Graduate Institute (1984). She spent over fifteen years in the international banking sector in Geneva and then strategically built and managed Credit Suisse in Cape Town, South Africa for almost ten years.

Having left the corporate world, she has merged her enthusiasm for business with her love of philanthropy and now spends time giving back to the community around her. As she thrived in the corporate world, she continues to thrive in her early retirement as a member of the Board of several non-profit organisations.

How do you bring ideas to life?
Talk about them with others, convey enthusiasm for the ideas, try to interest others in joining hands with me if that is required to make an idea a reality and be persistent in making an idea happen.

What’s one economic trend that really excites you?
Social enterprise. I think it is the best way to do business for a profit but, at the same time, address a social, economic or environmental need in a community or group.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive?
Regular exercise and some meditative practices.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Never make an important decision from a place of weakness.

What is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do to further their career?
Network!

What is one strategy that helped you grow your career as the former head of Credit Suisse in Cape Town?
Networking was extremely important in my career when I had to establish and grow a brand new office for my company. It is also important in my philanthropic work. We all need connections and resources, so we must continually widen the circle to keep our databases alive and growing. If one person we approach for help on a proposal or an idea cannot help, ask that person for names of others whom they believe may be able to help or who may be ready for a business proposal. Most importantly, find out if that person would allow you to use his or her name as a reference, or even better, be willing to actually set up the initial contact with the person or people you would like to meet.

What is one failure you had in your career, and how did you overcome it?
When Credit Suisse decided in 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis, to close the Representative Office in Cape Town I had helped establish and manage for the group since 2000, I saw it initially as a partial failure on my part. However, this event gave me the opportunity to pursue new opportunities in the area of social enterprise and public benefit organisations, which had become of growing interest to me, and to use the experience I had gained in the corporate world to become a productive member of the Board of Directors of a number of these kinds of organisations.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“Winners Take All” by Anand Giriharadas because it exposes key players in our society who try to whitewash their images and the damage they actually cause to society, the environment and the world through so-called philanthropic initiatives, which are ultimately self-serving and without integrity.

What is your favorite quote?
New dawn, new day.

Key Learnings:
Never make an important decision from a place of weakness.
We all need connections and resources, so we must continually widen the circle to keep our databases alive and growing.
If one person we approach for help on a proposal or an idea cannot help, ask that person for names of others whom they believe may be able to help or who may be ready for a business proposal.

For more information, visit: http://www.carolehambletonmoser.com