The Suit Magazine

Jane Fershko, President of Cygnet Consulting Group, Inc. in Alpharetta Georgia, lives by the words of her mentor: “Soft on the people, hard on the issues.”
While working for the Royal Bank of Canada for 16 years and becoming a senior vice president, Fershko was transferred to Atlanta during the dot-com bubble. There, she established the marketing and sales teams for RBC’s newly acquired Security First Network Bank, the first of its kind and the #1-rated Internet bank.

Today, Fershko uses her understanding of market trends to help small local businesses expand and accommodate the needs of consumers. The processes she uses are based upon her experiences in manufacturing, banking and credit cards, and the theoretical constructs from her Wharton MBA. Cygnet’s goal is to support small businesses to grow into strong, efficient companies, just as the young cygnet grows into the sleek swan of its logo.
 
Local businesses often succumb to knee-jerk demands based solely on observation without solid data to validate it, Fershko explained. This inspired her to develop ways to help them operate based on quantified facts instead of assumption. “If the road isn’t paved, I can help you determine where it needs to go,” she said.
Fershko uses casual language when speaking with clients to maintain a friendly environment, and she has been commended for her people skills. “There’s an expression they used to use in the bank, which was ‘The truth with compassion,’” she said. “Nobody can improve if they don’t know what they’re doing wrong, but you don’t have to do it in a way that diminishes them.”

For Fershko, her gender has never hindered her career, but rather forced her to excel. “I think that working harder and bringing substance to any situation are the table stakes,” she said. “And women just need to bring all these goods to the table.”

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