Leading with Heart: Marcella Ceva of Microsoft’s WE Ventures On The Power of Authentic Women’s Leadership

In today’s dynamic world, the concept of leadership is continuously evolving. While traditional leadership models have often been male-dominated, there is a growing recognition of the unique strengths and perspectives that women bring to these roles. This series aims to explore how women can become more effective leaders by authentically embracing their femininity and innate strengths, rather than conforming to traditional male leadership styles. In this series, we are talking to successful women leaders, coaches, authors, and experts who can provide insights and personal stories on how embracing their inherent feminine qualities has enhanced their leadership abilities. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Marcella de Alencastre Ceva.

Marcella Ceva is the Chief Investment Officer for Microsoft’s WE Ventures venture capital fund, the first VC fund in Latin America dedicated to investing in women founders. Marcella has over fourteen years of experience in investment banking, M&A and fund raising in global firms such as Evercore Partners and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP. She began her career in corporate law, has a Bachelor of Law Degree from Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, studied International Relations in Michigan State University, specialized in Human Rights and Women’s Health in Stanford and holds a CFA certificate in ESG Investing. Marcella is among LAVCA’s top women investing in Latin America, was voted among the 100 most innovative women in Brazil by a local magazine, loves running, is an active volunteer and board member for NGOs and a proud mother of two boys.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about authentic, feminine leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I always dreamed of being a diplomat and ended up becoming a corporate lawyer working in finance. I am aware that this industry has a reputation for being too harsh, but I really did enjoy it. I traveled the world, met amazing professionals who became true friends until this date and learned a lot about many different industries. For these reasons, I strongly believe that investment banking is a fantastic school for so many career paths. It is surely tough, and the hours are long, but the environment builds strong and resilient professionals. But this same environment made me miss social impact work which I’d previously been involved in, so I took the hard decision of quitting, took a fantastic soul-healing sabbatical and started volunteering with some NGOs and studied Human Rights and Women’s Health in Stanford. That course was at the same time extremely enlightening and devastating because it shed light on all the absurd and injustices that women face around the world. Back then I joined groups of women in finance; movements that were starting to blossom in Brazil. This combination of factors steered me into becoming the Chief Investment Officer of WE Ventures — the first VC fund in Latin America to invest exclusively in women in tech.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

I have had so many interesting stories, but I would choose the one of how I got hired into this position. I was knee-deep into breastfeeding during my hard-earned sabbatical, and I had no intention of getting back to work. When my son was three months old, I was invited to the launch event of the fund which took place in Microsoft headquarters in Brazil. It was beautiful and impressive and filled with very successful women. After I left the event, the fund manager called me and told they were looking for someone to lead this fund. Naïve as I was, I told him I had quite a few women to suggest for the position. That is when he told me he actually wanted to offer it to me. I really did not see this coming and was not ready to get back to work, though. I was deeply honored, but equally shocked. It took me like two months to really consider the opportunity and feel ready for it, and it was definitely the best decision I’ve ever made. I have come a long way from breastfeeding to feeling like myself again at work, and through it all I have learned to be more vocal about the struggles of working mothers. I’m so honored to listen and learn from our entrepreneurs and to learn from their journeys and from other women in finance that today are finally able to speak up about all of this.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I think most of all we are human beings taking humane decisions regarding other human beings and businesses. Naturally, we are extremely conscious of the financial, regulatory and compliance aspects of our business, but we always keep in mind that we are humans taking care of other humans. I think that’s what makes us stand out — we look at our businesses and our entrepreneurs as human beings and not only as numbers and metrics. We are very excited to prove to the Brazilian industry that it is indeed possible to associate positive social impact and financial returns. I could give a million examples of these humane decisions that we make every day, but one good example is: when looking at potential investments, most VCs will rule out any company that has cap table issues. What we see here dealing with women entrepreneurs is that there are many women-led businesses that are growing steadily and have a hard time raising institutional capital. This leads to multiple angel rounds and messy cap tables. The reason behind this is a systemic problem we are actually attempting to combat: since there’s only 8% women ahead of decision-making positions in investment institutions, that means that every female entrepreneur that is fund raising will pitch to 92 men out of every 100 meetings. So to be a part of the change we want to see, we analyze every cap table carefully, listen to the entrepreneurs and understand the decisions that led to such situation, invest in the company and come up with a plan to help them reconstruct a healthy cap table so that they will be able to raise funds in the next rounds. This will obviously benefit the entrepreneurs, but it also benefits us as a fund and hopefully helps create a healthier, more equitable VC industry.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I would definitely go with the soft skills of being a people’s person, having emotional intelligence and empathy.

These character traits are fundamental in any negotiation or when making decisions on a daily basis. By showing empathy and understanding people you can have a good idea of what your counterparts want out of a deal. By having emotional intelligence you can choose the issues in a negotiation that are truly essential and avoid getting caught up in unnecessary arguments. You don’t take things personally. You keep a cool mind to make decisions.

Of course concrete skills like being analytical, determined, diligent and resilient are fundamental for any professional to get ahead, but I strongly believe that what sets me apart from my peers is this humane side of being really good with people, having emotional intelligence and empathy.

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.

I’d say the early days of setting up the fund from the ground up really stand out due to the pioneer nature of the whole project. This naturally presented lots of challenges because we were treading in new territory. We had many different paths than to choose from along the way all of which were correct and compliant with applicable regulations, but different nonetheless. One of my first big decisions was to engage reliable legal counsel. I knew we needed a reputable firm with a solid track record in venture capital but that would also have women partners and lawyers. That’s a big part of my job here: I’m always bringing the feminine point of view to the table because. Throughout the years, our point-of-view has been missing from key industries and positions in society. We are now finally aware of this problem, but my first big influence here is always to bring the feminine point of view to the decision-making process. For example, back when we were setting up the fund, I held back our entire structuring team while I decided to benchmark with multiple other funds in Brazil to understand what their legal structures and investment processes looked like. I wanted to make sure that we had all the best practices in the industry implemented at WE Ventures. This took additional days of study and effort and wasn’t the obvious path, but my conservative leadership style ensures we are absolutely compliant with rules and regulations and miles away from any issues that sometimes arise with the “do first, ask later” mentality so commonly seen in VC.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a personal experience where embracing your unique leadership style, which might not align with traditional expectations, led to a significant positive impact in your organization or team?

So the WE Ventures was originally designed by men — some really good-hearted, well-intentioned, He for She men, but men who think like men and have all their historic biases in spite of being genuinely intentional. So the way the fund was originally set up, I was the only woman in the investment committee. Once again, I feel like my mission here is to make the feminine point-of-view seen by everyone. So I took on the mission to implement my leadership style and advocate to include more women in the investment committee; this would not only bring much needed diversity to our investment decisions but also make our project genuinely feminine from the inside-out. Also, I invited a group of extremely senior businesswomen in finance to join our board of advisors. We have CEOs, partners in global firms, board members of publicly traded companies… and these outstanding women do this for free. They generously share their time with us very and contribute immensely to the growth, structure and strategy of the fund. All of this as a result of my embracing my non-traditional feminine leadership style in finance.

In your journey as a leader, how have you balanced demonstrating resilience, often seen as a masculine trait, with showing vulnerability, which is equally powerful, but typically feminine? Can you give an example where this balance created a meaningful difference?

Finance is sometimes seen as all resilience and no vulnerability. And a woman in finance is most likely seen by her male peers as the most vulnerable among the crowd. I feel like now I’m finally able to balance these two worlds; I’m finally able to bring the feminine vulnerability, empathy and these humane characteristics I mentioned into the decision-making process, into the sourcing of companies, into all the decisions we make daily in our portfolio companies. I think this only adds more value to what we invest in the companies. Being a working mother has made me the most vulnerable I have ever been, especially working with and for women now. Coming from one male-populated industry into another, I feel like it is my mission to share the female journey and the hardships of working mothers. I do bring my vulnerability into my everyday work and it feels very empowering to be vulnerable, to be able to reschedule a meeting because your child has a fever. It still makes me feel extremely vulnerable every time, but I’m sure I’m helping other women find their voices. We need to join forces and speak up to companies, governments and society so they will become more empathetic to working mothers. This will be the way to make households more equitable regarding childbearing responsibilities, to make corporate benefits better for working mothers, to make companies more welcoming to working mothers.

As a woman in leadership, how have you navigated and challenged gender stereotypes, especially in situations where traditional male-dominated approaches are the norm? What strategies have you employed to remain authentic to your style?

I strongly recommend every woman in male-populated industries to watch curl PURL. It’s a short cartoon available for free online depicting the journey of a woman in finance in a funny and relatable way. At first, you try to blend in as best as possible, so you stop wearing color — you don’t want to stand out wearing pink or red in a meeting. You wear really high heels so you can look you peers in the eye. Some small behavioral changes naturally occur. Human beings are adaptable creatures. And then with time you start to realize that it’s okay to be yourself; it’s okay to be feminine around 30 guys; it’s okay to speak up, even if you feel like you won’t be heard. In time, everything falls into place.

I feel like I’ve always been really authentic to my style. In the past that would mean sometimes seeing men do things in a way that I could think was too harsh for example and later I would come around and set a meeting with the person and try to explain the reasoning behind it, offer myself to help and see how that person was feeling. Nowadays I have a place on the table where I am supposed to bring the feminine point-of-view and temper things so if I feel like an excessively masculine approach is taking form I will usually call it out immediately and reason with the person to collaborate in a way that our message as a team comes across in the best way possible.

How do you utilize emotional intelligence and active listening to create an inclusive environment in your team or organization? Could you share a specific instance where these qualities particularly enhanced team dynamics or performance?

Emotional intelligence and active listening are such powerful tools in creating a safe environment in the workplace. People who feel safe contribute enormously in problem-solving, strategy and product development. I believe the best leaders are those who are able to truly listen to their team. Sadly, leaders that lack these characteristics in finance are very common. Yes, it is true that some people are better motivated under pressure. Others, however, will perform a lot better if they feel heard and understood. Today, I strive to leave the culture of “don’t bring me questions, bring me answers” that was so predominant back when I started in finance in the past. As leaders, we are responsible for keeping our teams motivated and curious. This only happens when we listen. In multiple instances have I initially passed on an investment opportunity brought by my team that later turned out to be a good one. Thankfully, my team feels safe and heard enough to ask me to reconsider. And because of this, we have seized some great investment opportunities that may have been otherwise missed.

What role has mentorship played in developing your authentic leadership style, and how do you communicate authentically to inspire and empower both your mentors and mentees?

I am the hugest fan of mentorship. At Microsoft I learned about the power of reverse mentorship: being open to learning at all times and in all exchanges you have all day just makes you necessarily grow so much. When mentoring, I really like to emphasize the importance of being prepared for meetings and knowing your content well, because as women we face many biases every day. I also wish to inspire and motivate women to show them that it is possible to be a woman and have a family and have kids and work in finance and lead businesses and make investment decisions. I focus a lot on three pillars: education, inspiration and activism. As I said, women need to be very well prepared. Learning and educating yourself can never be too much. Since there are only 8% of women ahead of investment decisions globally, when a woman founder is fundraising she will meet with 92 men and only 8 women. This isn’t right. We need to educate ourselves to beat this bias. And we need to be inspired to understand we belong in those decision-making positions. And to get there, we need to be vocal about our struggles, about all the inequalities women face in the workforce. Starting at home, we need to speak up about our needs. Childbearing responsibilities and household chores need to be to better distributed within couples. Companies need to have better benefits in place for women and mothers. Governments need to pass legislation to ensure women are looked after. Communication is key and as a mentee I have the privilege and honor of learning from so many spectacular inspiring women that have shown me that there are many possible pathways to success. I have made myself open and vulnerable to them and in return received the most insightful and enlightening advice I could possibly wish for.

Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Leading Authentically As A Woman Will Affect Your Leadership”?

1 . Safer workspace: If you are true to yourself, you are true to others. Your team will feel your authenticity and feel safe knowing what to expect from their leader.

2 . Diversity: If you truly listen to your team, they will feel heard. People who feel heard speak out more often, collaborate more and bring new ideas to the table. This is the key to innovation.

3 . Less conflict: Empathy goes all ways when making decisions as a leader — viewing decisions through shareholder, investor and board member points-of-view and through your team’s, peers’, co-workers’ points-of-view. If every decision is taken considering all points-of-view, the likelihood of generating conflict is greatly reduced.

4 . Better profits: More diverse companies in which people feel safe and heard create products that are better adapted to market needs and are therefore more lucrative.

5 . Communication: being open and vulnerable will make your team feel safe and inspire them to do the same. Strong communication and trust are the foundation of a productive team.

Are there potential pitfalls or challenges associated with being an empathetic leader? How can these be addressed?

I believe that empathy is never too much. Empathy is fundamental across all professions. Doctors need to have empathy for their patients just as much as investment professionals for their clients. It is actually part of our fiduciary duty — we must always have the best interest of our clients in mind. However, as a leader, it can be difficult to be present to people’s struggles all the while having to make difficult financial decisions that will impact their professional lives and their personal lives deeply. However, this same empathy that makes these decisions hard will also give you the strength to be confident in what you decided. When you consider all of those around you, you are strong.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Treating others as you would like to be treated. I learned that from my parents and I teach it to my children. If every single person in the world had that in mind behind their every action we would be in a much better place as a society.

How can our readers further follow you online? Linkedin.com/marcellaceva

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Pirie is a TedX speaker, author and a Life Empowerment Coach. She is a co-host of Own your Throne podcast, inspiring women in the 2nd chapter of their lives. With over 20 years in front of the camera, Pirie Grossman understands the power of storytelling. After success in commercials and acting. She spent 10 years reporting for E! Entertainment Television, Entertainment Tonight, also hosted ABC’s “Every Woman”. Her work off-camera capitalizes on her strength, producing, bringing people together for unique experiences. She produced a Children’s Day of Compassion during the Dalai Lama’s visit here in 2005. 10,000 children attended, sharing ideas about compassion with His Holiness. From 2006–2009, Pirie Co-chaired the Special Olympics World Winter Games, in Idaho, welcoming 3,000 athletes from over 150 countries. She founded Destiny Productions to create Wellness Festivals and is an Advisory Board member of the Sun Valley Wellness Board.In February 2017, Pirie produced, “Love is Louder”, a Brain Health Summit, bringing in Kevin Hines, noted suicide survivor to Sun Valley who spoke to school kids about suicide. Sun Valley is in the top 5% highest suicide rate per capita in the Northwest, prompting a community initiative with St. Luke’s and other stake holders, to begin healing. She lives in Sun Valley with her two children, serves on the Board of Community School. She has her Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and is an Executive Life Empowerment Coach, where she helps people meet their dreams and goals! The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal is a dream with a date on it!