CATEGORIES
Education and Life Skills | People We Admire | Women EmpowermentOverview:
- Alexandra is an enlightened follower who keeps leadership in check.
- With her experience treading across diverse professional fields, she imparts life to the title of Chief Knowledge Officer.
- Her unprecedented and adventurous career trajectory is a testament to her resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
- For Dr Lajoux, hard work and the ability to adapt are essentials for every success story.
1. Could you share with us what your childhood was like? How did that make you the person that you are today?
I had an ideal childhood. My father was a provider in the traditional sense, and he worked hard to provide me with the opportunity to dream. We had a house with a stream flowing behind it. It was next to a farm and had woods in its periphery. Often, I would escape to the woods with my friends, and we’d dream of our futures together till nightfall. As a child, I shared a deep bond with nature, and I cannot reminisce about my childhood days without it.
Another aspect of my childhood that I feel blessed about is that my mother was a librarian for children. My grandmother, who lived with us, had an affection for books. My father was enchanted with books and poetry. We always had a lot of books at home. At family get-togethers, we’d read or recite poetry. There were days when my dad, sitting at the head of the table, would say “Who had the most influence on the 20th century?!” And all of us— my two sisters, my mother, my grandmother, and I— would go around giving our opinions.
Beyond the usual dysfunctionality, arguments, drama and trauma— I just feel grateful for my parents, for who they were, and how much they believed in culture and knowledge.
2. Could you share a bit about your early academic journey and how it shaped your career interests?
I grew up with an inclination towards performing arts. When I went to college, I majored in music and drama. But, around the 1960s, a socially and politically radical movement challenged my beliefs. So, I switched my major to literature.
Given my family’s background in the field, I aced all my exams. I devoted my life to literature. Be it studying the lives of saints and their influence on European native fiction or indulging in comparative literature across languages. I travelled down this route for quite a while: I got into Bennington; went to Princeton University; and once I walked on the path of my PhD, I didn’t look back for five years. I even spent a year in France studying medieval manuscripts and received a French government fellowship at the Centre des Etudes Supérieures Médiévales. I felt like I was in heaven!
3. How did you transition into business and M&A from your background in literature and performing arts?
The shadow of economic reality loomed over me. I realized that there were no jobs! Especially for those born in the 1950s. It seemed that everyone with privilege had a PhD in humanities and was competing for a handful of jobs. Therefore, I felt the urge to turn my back on the fields I love and switch to business.
Meanwhile, I had sent an audition tape to La Scala Opera in Milan and was accepted to study opera there. I had even found a job there with my father’s help and was all set to go. But I encountered the most fascinating twist of my life— I met Bernard. He’s my husband today. We’ve been together for 46 years and married for 42!
Leaving behind the glories of Milan, I started working from my father’s basement on his publications. He started a magazine about mergers and acquisitions. As a teenager, I used to work on it during the summers. But I had absolutely no interest in it. I looked at the Wall Street Journal, and it was Greek to me. I wanted to change this perspective. Thus, at age 28, I enrolled in Loyola College for an Executive MBA program. In fact, my father, who had missed college in the Depression era, was also allowed to enroll with me. We were in the same class, and we got our MBAs on the same day.
The economic necessity, my love for Bernard, and my desire to stay in Washington led me to work for my father’s business. When he sold his business, I went along with it and found myself working in Philadelphia as the Editor-in-Chief of Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine. I was thriving as an editor.
Another pivotal moment for me was the investment banker roundtable held at the World Trade Center. I created the agenda for this event and invited all the investment bankers. But I did not sit at the table; I tried to be low-key and lingered on the side. Hearing them speak about deal-making sparked an interest in me. Around this time, I had been editing two of my father’s magazines: Mergers & Acquisitions and Directors & Boards. As the editor of the latter, I met the founder of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He had kept me in mind. In the early 80s, when he needed an editorial advisory board, he invited me to join in. Moreover, when the editor of his association’s newsletter left, he asked me to do the task on a turnkey basis.
The beauty of the story is: I began as a freelance turnkey newsletter editor for $12,000 a year, and eventually I got hired as a staff. Later on, I became the Editor-in-Chief and then proceeded to earn the title of Chief Knowledge Officer with a 35-year career at the association.
My return to M&A stemmed from a panel discussion on Wall Street scandals. My father was on the panel, and I was in the audience. Around that time, I was still freelancing with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as the editor of Director’s Monthly. After the event, a couple of lawyers and my father started discussing ideas for a book entitled The Art of M&A that would house the insights of lawyers, business owners, and experienced entrepreneurs. This conversation concluded like every conversation about great ideas does: “It’s great, but who will do the work?” That’s when I stepped up and grabbed the opportunity. I accepted a one-year job at the law firm, Lane & Edson.
I did all the groundwork. I went around interviewing people with a tape recorder, got a team of women to type up the manuscript, and edited the final work for publication. I pitched this book to numerous publishers and picked one of them from the several responses to go with. Today the book is in its sixth edition, and it is co-authored with my community of experts, Capital Expert Services LLC, or CapEx.
4. Tell us more about The Art of M&A as a series.
At the time of first publication, the partnerships at the law firm collapsed and there was no longer any Lane & Edson. On the positive side, they proposed to my father that he could buy the rights to the book. So, my father bought it, and we worked on several editions of it together until he passed away in 2007. I still update the editions every five years or so.
Meanwhile, McGraw-Hill asked me to ponder on the possibility of creating spinoffs of The Art of M&A. This request led to more book contracts. I took every single chapter from The Art of M&A, collaborated with different coauthors, and created books out of various M&A strategies.
The main title of the series relies on the community of experts who are part of Capital Expert Services, LLC, which has recently joined Blue Ocean, as you know. It has been great to join forces.
5. Who has been your greatest mentor, and what did you learn from them?
My first larger-than-life mentor was Mr. Robert K. Mueller. He was on the board of the NACD when I started working there. Without his support and encouragement, I would not have had the self esteem needed to succeed professionally. I dearly recall this: He used to send me little notes of encouragement in the mail that said “Keep up the good work, Sincerely, Bob” and I treasured them. He was an 80-year-old man sending me— a 28-year-old woman—such uplifting notes! I don’t think anyone measures up to him as a mentor.
In terms of female mentors, I did meet several inspirational women in my journey- for instance, Jean Head Sisco, the first chairperson, Barbara Hackman Franklin, who worked for the Nixon Administration. I found a role model and a friend in Dr. Reatha Clark King. She was one of the women behind the launch of the first rocket to the moon. Last but not least, I would also mention Honorable Carrie Dominguez, who was the head of the Equal Opportunity Commission under George Bush Jr.
Judith Duerk was another mentor to me. She is a beacon of feminist writing. I love her works and deeply cherish them.
6. Is there a moment in your career or personal life that you regretted or wished that you acted differently?
Before I met my husband, I had a terrible pattern in love. I used to meet someone, idolize him, and then bolt the moment I saw his flaws. I fell in love as quickly as I fell out of it. If I could go back in time, I would go to each one of those young men and apologize for the way things ended. However, I made reparations for my sins in my own way. When my son was growing up, I coached their little league baseball. I would often celebrate and support those little boys on their victories, and be very nice to them. I did this with the intention of paying back to the gender that I had mistreated the most prior to my marriage.
7. What do you value most in your life?
Honesty—tempered with kindness, discretion, and tact. I am an open book with no harboring secrets. So, I appreciate candor. Another value would be hard work. I watched my parents wake up early and work the entire day to provide a good life for us. Also, I love to work! Sometimes, I do feel that I work too much, too often , and I don’t take enough time to smell the roses. But my strongest value will always be family. I am a big family person. I attended a personal development workshop focused on strengths. All attendees took the Clifton Strengths Test from Gallop. Out of a multitude of personality types, mine was “The Believer – someone who gives her all to causes and serves her family”. This result felt so consoling. I often fret over working too much and unconsciously neglecting my family. But who said family and work cannot go hand-in-hand? I work to provide for my family like my father and mother did, and providing for my people gives me satisfaction.
8. As someone with the experience of having taken on multiple leadership roles, what does leadership mean to you? And how have you redefined the idea of leadership throughout your career?
I am not a leader. I’m an enlightened follower who checks leadership. I pride myself on my talent in selecting leaders with great values to follow. However, I do not surrender to them with blind faith. I retain my voice. If the leader says or proposes something that doesn’t seem right, I assert my truth. After taking a moment, I always convey my concerns to them, and they listen to me because good leaders do that!
That being said, I am also the kind of person who leads when a situation calls for action. As in, if there is an unaddressed problem and nobody is listening, I would go ahead and lead. If there is a vacuum, I will jump in and lead. But I don’t like to compete with current leaders. They are the ones making the sacrifice of time and energy; let them have their glory. I have potential leadership within me but I only exercise it when necessary.
9. How do you balance your work and personal life? And what is something you enjoy doing in your free-time?
My routine is simple. I wake up early and do my prayer and meditation before driving my grandson to his school. Then, I work during the day—creating and collaborating—and resume my time with my grandson as I pick him up. We spend the afternoon together; I ask him about his day and help him with his homework until he goes to his room for his me-time. Bernard and I then have dinner together. We speak about our days and I go back to my work until 10 PM. Before heading to my bed, I wind down with a novel. I am a novelist, and I aspire to publish my own romance novel someday.
I try to stay in touch with the passions I gave up in my early years. I continue my romance with singing, dancing and theatre. Every year, my grandson and I participate in a big production called Scrooge the Musical. I’m also a part of the Senior Theatre Project. All the performers are senior citizens like me. We go into senior citizen communities and perform for them, and sometimes, we put on shows for the general public. Besides my professional and passionate pursuits, I also teach as a catechist on Sundays.
10. What are some of your favorite books?
There’s a book called Women Who Run with The Wolves. I love how it conveys the message of “Be yourself. Don’t worry about what the tribe says”.
Another of my favorite feminist reads would be the works of Judith Duerk. Some of her titles that I recommend are: Circle of Stones and I Sit Listening to the Wind. The former is about women mentoring women, and the latter contains the discourse of the feminine voice. I also love Julia DeCameron’s The Artist’s Way. She says, in essence,“If you’re born as an artist, you’ve got to create your art or you’ll be unhappy”. Then, there is Melody Beattie’s book on codependency. In it, she explores the tendency of a loving woman to wrap herself around and care for people a little too much.
Lastly, I love Gustave Flaubert’s Madam Bovary. Although he was a male author, he captured the essence of the female-lead exceptionally well. The drama that unfolds in the story originated from Emma Bovary’s boredom and her lack of education. Nobody taught her to read or taught her what real love looks like. Therefore, she lived a life of haphazard decisions and her story concluded tragically. That’s why I love being a catechist. I want to teach children what love is.
11. As someone with a long career and who has written extensively, what are your next steps? Are there any new projects or books you’re excited about?
There are two aspects of my answer: one is the immediate past and one is the vast future. In the recent past I went about repairing my relationship with abandoned creative projects. I’ve always procrastinated and sidelined my creative tasks to focus more on excelling as a professional and providing for my family. But in recent years, I have witnessed the passing away of friends—including younger friends. This made me question: “In preparation for leaving this world, what do I really want to be sure that I get done?”. So, I started addressing my sidelined and neglected creative projects two years ago.
I have a collection of 50 poems that I composed over different phases of my life. I want to get that published along with the Catholic romance novel that I am working on, which is set in the 1980s. Then, there is my memoir published under an anonymous name. Also, in junior high and high school, I carried a torch for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s grandson. He was in a boarding school and I used to send him illustrated letters. A few years ago, he sent them back to me and said that he’d treasured them his whole life. But now, he was getting older and was downsizing. So, he sent them back. I turned that collection into a book entitled Letters to Jack (it’s his nickname) and it contains an epilogue from him.
Therefore, my next step includes publication of my creative work. Also, I am excited to work with Sameer Somal and get another edition of The Art of M&A published with him as the co-author.
12. What advice would you give to young professionals who wish to enter the fields of corporate governance or M&A? Was there any particular challenge that you had to overcome?
If you’re an intellectual, and you love to explore different fields, I would recommend two domains: Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance. My reason for this suggestion lies in the essence of the corporation.
A corporation is a set of promises. It involves people, processes, and technology. Its multifaceted nature entices those who like to challenge the boundaries of their ambitions. There are a number of professions that support corporate governance. Young men and women seeking a career down this path gain the opportunity to explore various roles. For instance, a person from the legal field can aspire to be general counsel. Or, if they’re well organized and love details, they can become a corporate secretary to the general counsel. I am a corporate secretary for a non-profit, and while I am not particularly well suited to the role, I put my heart into it. One can even dream of becoming a corporate director on a board, which is a key component of corporations.
As for M&A, the pathways here include finance and HR. If you like math and are good at it, M&A is a great field for you because you can join in as an investment banker and work your way up. Similarly, in mergers, if there has to be mergers of equals, there is a requirement for consolidation and either downsizing or expansion. Here, people with expertise in Human Resources get their chance to shine.
13. Can you share with us any quote or mantra that you resonate with?
There is a personality test called TDF—Think, Decide, Feel. Apparently, every person undertakes these in a different order. Some people think first, then feel, and then they do. I’m not one of them. I tend to go ahead and do things right away because I have confidence in my intuition.
So, a mantra that captures my bias towards action is a quote from Hillel, a first century Jewish scholar, that says, “If not now, when?”.
Conclusion:
When life threw lemons at Alexandra, she turned them into a thriving lemonade business.
Dr. Lajoux’s story inspires hope in dreamers around the world. Although she once made the painful choice to part ways with literature to pursue business, her unwavering faith in hard work and resilience led her to succeed in both realms. Alexandra’s cinematic journey promises happy endings to those who believe in the power of their passion.
