Imade Iyamu
Designation
Asset Management and Private Wealth Management
Company
Goldman Sachs
Your career spans both law and finance. Can you share the inspirations that led to such a diverse
professional journey, and how do you believe this diversity contributes to fostering inclusivity in traditionally distinct fields?
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As a child, my parents always nurtured my curiosity, no matter how weird or esoteric. They’ve always been supportive in a ‘explore but here are some guardrails so you’re protected’ way. So I’ve approached life and my career like that - follow your curiosity not any one defined track. And as you follow your curiosity, on your way there, it won’t be straightforward. It won’t make sense to people around you, to the people who love you, even to yourself. Everybody knows the Steve Jobs quote, ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards’ but you truly won’t understand, till you’re at the end, why you passed through that, until you’ve passed through that.
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I have seen that so much of the structures and the frameworks that shape our lives and the world we live in are driven by legal and financial incentives. A lot of things you hear about in the news or that a large company or country is doing and you think ‘that makes no sense’ until you look under the hood and see that interplay of incentives. My curiosity is there - in speaking and understanding that language fluently that we’ve developed as humans over centuries to structure our lives and societies so closely. And my passion is in making that language accessible for people and women like me who have historically been lost in translation.
As a trained lawyer yourself, how do you see the current landscape in terms of inclusivity for women in the legal industry? What challenges have you faced, and what advice would you give to aspiring female lawyers looking to navigate and succeed in this environment?
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I’m lucky to have always worked at places that prioritize diversity, inclusion, and equal access to opportunities for women. But it should never be a matter of luck, it should simply be the standard across the board.
For an industry that prides itself on being ‘noble’ and a cut above the rest, the landscape for women in the legal profession is subpar at best and downright disgusting at worst. The most jarring example of that is the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuses of power by senior lawyers.
These are not the ‘nice’ things we’d prefer to hear about the profession, but they’re far too common - for every young woman in law who hasn’t been a victim, she knows someone directly who has. No wonder women form the majority at law school and in entry level roles, then it thins out as you move through to the top of the pyramid.
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For female lawyers in this environment, we need to lean on each other more than ever. We need our own ‘Old Girls’ Clubs’ of women who have achieved heights in their careers and actually want to change things for the better, not just get by. If you’re younger in the industry, seek out these women as mentors and forge networks with women like you. Beyond competence and excellence, there’s power in community.
Given your diverse roles, how do you engage in mentorship, and what advocacy efforts do you believe are crucial for inspiring more inclusivity and opportunities for women in the legal profession in Nigeria?
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I think of mentorship as giving people the information, support, and opportunities that I wish I had had when I was in their place. I’m fortunate to have had diverse experiences so I can be a resource to so many different types of people - people from literally all over the world send me messages and emails asking for advice on this or that, and I’ve schooled and worked in different contexts and different countries, so it’s a blessing to be able to use that to help others in any little way.
I believe the greatest effort we can make for women in law in Nigeria is forging strong, genuine communities and structured networks that intentionally seek to give credibility and sponsorship from senior female lawyers to women just starting out in the industry. Deliberate efforts towards this by companies and firms (like what Hamu Legal is doing with IWD), are the perfect catalyst for that.
Managing roles as an Instructor at Yale University and working at Goldman Sachs, as well as other roles simultaneously requires effective time management. How do you balance these diverse responsibilities, and what strategies have you found most effective?
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I don’t even know if I’m the best person to answer that because I’m constantly feeling overwhelmed and I have a voice in the back of my head sometimes saying ‘you need to learn to balance things better’. One thing that has worked for me at least this year, is ruthless focus. I mean cutting things out of your to-do list even though they’re ‘good’ so you can focus on the 1 or 2 ‘great’ things. I struggled with that, and I think we all do, because it’s easy to say no to bad things or mediocre things but when you have to say no to even good things too? Now you’re prioritizing, now you’re defining by your actions and your time, what matters most to you.
On a tactical level, planning my day on my calendar and not on a to-do list helps me internalize this and be more effective, because you visually see what’s possible and what’s just a pipe dream within the time boundaries of 24 hours and the physical human limits of rest and sleep. Somebody (can’t remember who) said ‘A calendar speaks more truth than a to-do list.’
You are earning an MBA from Columbia Business School, an Ivy League University. How have your global learning experiences contributed to your professional growth and perspective?
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I’m so happy to be at Columbia because it really has been the perfect place for me. First it’s the Ivy League school of New York, the very center of business. Of course with that it attracts the most brilliant and accomplished people from all over the world as professors, as recruiters, as fellow students. I’m always stunned by the caliber of people I get to be around - it puts your thinking on a whole different level. You can’t afford to think small or play petty games; everybody around you is so ambitious and talented. You can’t accept any less for yourself.
And that’s what I think of when people say oh, traditional or formal schools will no longer exist in 10-20 years. They may very well be right but I just know that whatever takes its place will need to have that core, indelible value of education - being physically congregated with the highest potential people in the world in your field.