Denise Lauber, recently appointed to tax director at Hartford Funds, never thought her career would lead into tax management when she took her first job in the industry as a trust accountant nearly 26 years ago.
“As I evolved throughout my career, I started focusing on the tax aspect of it,” Lauber recalls. “It wasn’t necessarily the same thing day in and day out; whether it’s the tax loss changes or different funds invested in investment security clients are entering into.”
Lauber started her focus on tax management in the early ‘90s while she was still at BNY Mellon, when the sector was commonly referred to as a “functionalized model,” she says.
“I ended up more on the tax side because that’s just the way that the client grew,” she added.
Prior to joining Hartford Funds in 2015, Lauber spent nearly 26 years with BNY Mellon Asset Services, most recently as vice president and senior tax manager.
“In the beginning I started pricing funds, an entry level position,” she recalls. “I went from being an entry level accountant to becoming a manager within a matter of five years.”
Although Lauber says she has recognized the disparity of women in the industry, she adds that it has never stopped her from achieving her goals.
“I definitely wasn’t one of the first women in the industry, but there were times when I was one of the few in the room, if not the only one in the room,” Lauber says. “In my current department I am the only female, but that doesn’t bother me.”
While remembering how much of a challenge it was raising her children in the beginning of her career, Lauber says she could not have gotten where she is today without the support from her family.
“Even with the strict deadlines that come with the tax sector, I was fortunate to always have somebody, and a good support system from a family perspective,” she says. “So, now my role now is completely different than it was over the last 25 years. But I survived.”
