Hot 100 career quiz: Apollo Global Management’s Seda Yalcinkaya

What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? 

As a first-year associate in New York, feeling quite confident, I got on a call with opposing counsel to negotiate an underwriting agreement… She turned out to be a ferocious senior associate, and the call was gruelling – she crushed all my (entirely reasonable!) positions. I was shattered. I spent the day studying the agreement and figuring out a negotiation strategy.

Maybe because I was better prepared, on our next call, she was decidedly more collaborative, and we finalized the agreement after one call. I walked away with a lesson on negotiation that law school had not offered: it’s not winning every point on your list, rather it’s a dance, a give-and-take, or as I recently told my five-year-old, it’s identifying what the other side really wants and deciding whether you can give it up to get what you really want.

What is the wisest thing anyone ever said to you (and who said it)?

My law school flatmate told me that the secret ingredient to success was confidence, after she had aced her interview for a summer job. I’ve thought about this advice many times since. Confidence can be the willingness to speak up when others hesitate; or it can be the self-belief that you are uniquely capable of solving a complex situation; or it can be the healthy disregard for the impossible. Whatever your take on it, focus on your objective and shut out the nay-sayers (including that tiny little voice inside your head).

Who (for better or worse) has been the most influential person in your career? Why? 

My father, who instilled in me ambition, resilience and social responsibility, has been a role model through my life. He came from a small village in north-eastern Turkey and worked his way up not only to a remarkable engineering career with patents registered in his name, but also established an international business that operates today.

While he built his career, he paid it forward by supporting the education of many young people. Although he passed away 13 years ago, whenever I must dig deep for strength and guidance, his life provides the wisdom I need.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get to where you are/do the job you do?

Earlier on in your career, work hard and follow your intuition.  Remember that the right opportunity knocks when you are ready for it. As you grow more senior, learn to remain calm under stress, not just externally but internally, too. Crisis is the name of the game, and in an ever complexifying world, mental resilience will always give you the edge needed to get the job done. 

What’s your best friend from law school doing now? 

She is the general counsel of a leading hedge fund, and fortunately, based in London.

We met during the first weeks of law school and bonded over how we had ended up at law school: we had both been lured by its more intellectual path compared to business school (sorry MBAs!). She quickly became my study partner and partner-in-crime! After law school, we worked at the same law firm, which clinched our friendship. We still trade nerdy legal articles and gossip over a couple of Duke’s martinis.