BOLANLE WILLIAMS-OLLEY
Portrait courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
Chief Financial Officer at Mancini Duffy
Bolanle Williams-Olley is the Chief Financial Officer at Mancini Duffy, a technology-first design firm, where she oversees the firm’s financial and operational performance. With a strong background in financial analysis and strategic initiatives, Bolanle thrives on building relationships between finance and management teams to ensure the overall financial success of projects and her firm.
She holds a Master’s in Education & Social Policy from NYU, a Master’s in Applied Mathematics, and a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from the City University of New York, Hunter College. She is passionate about service and is the founder of four impact organizations: SheBuildsMoney, SheBuildsWaves, SheBuildsLives, and REACH Nigeria.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
Uplifting Communities: An Insight through Finance, SheBuilds, and REACH Nigeria
With a background in finance and accounting, what inspired you to advance your career in the built industry?
My background is actually in math! I made the architecture industry my home because I was inspired by the projects and the people. I got into the industry straight out of school. I became familiar with the importance of the accountant’s role and how it could ultimately ensure the success of a project. I was hungry to learn more and keep growing.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
Through many of your inspirational efforts in setting a new standard of expectations for professional women, tell us about SheBuildsWaves. What motivated you to create it?
SheBuildsWaves is a collective of women who make waves in the built industry by engaging each other and striving for more, together. The motivation came from me being in this leadership position; I had a longing to make an impact outside of my job. I wanted to make room for the next generation of women coming up in the industry so that they feel like they have a leader and community that is invested in them.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
What inspired you to create SheBuildsMoney? How does the platform help small firms become financially successful? What do the monthly mini-series such as, Get Money: Let’s Talk!, consist of?
My natural disposition is one of service and impact. I was inspired to create SheBuildsMoney to help solve a pain point, especially for smaller firms. I wanted to create a platform for small firms to get their financial health in order.
The platform helps small firms get to know their numbers and understand what it takes to run a business from a financial perspective. The earlier business owners get comfortable from a financial perspective, the faster the business will run smoothly. We provide resources that they can easily implement in their business workflow. Also, we recently launched a cashflow tool to help empower small firm owners to gain insight, implement structure, and overall wellness when it comes to managing and growing their money.
The monthly mini-series has bite-sized tips in under 5 minutes with information to help them as a resource.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
The gender pay gap is a rising concern in the architecture profession. Considering this, how do you hope SheBuildsMoney will help empower small firms, especially minority women-owned firms, to thrive financially?
If you’re managing and growing your cash properly, then you’re setting financial standards within the business. This, in turn, will make the business more profitable and allow women business owners to pay themselves what they’re worth.
Throughout your career, you’ve developed many platforms that serve as support systems for emerging professionals today. As the Chief Financial Officer who ensures that accounting is a strategic part of every project at Mancini Duffy, how do you serve as a support system, especially during the pandemic?
At Mancini, we’ve gone through many different stages of communication during the pandemic. Initially, the entire office did a Zoom twice a week to help uphold our familial company culture, while we were remote. For my direct team, I conduct weekly team meetings and reach out to everyone on the accounting team daily. I’ve always had an open-door policy. My team knows that they can speak to me anytime. I’ve found daily contact has helped a lot throughout the pandemic. We were fortunate to have built such a strong support system company-wide pre-pandemic, which has helped support us through the varying waves of the COVID.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
Expanding your SheBuilds brand to your home country in Nigeria. What has SheBuildsLives and working with communities in Nigeria to benefit children in low-income communities been like for you?
It is incredibly rewarding and eye-opening. One thing that has come out of SheBuildsLives is the incredible potential that all of these children have. There are so many children who need to be given opportunity and access to better education. If they are exposed to opportunity, it gives them a fighting chance. The communities that we’ve been privileged to work in, really care about their children and will do what they can to help them receive an education. In 2019, SheBuildsLives completed our first school building project and we are looking forward to making greater strides in the years to come.
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
As designers of the built environment, we understand the importance of engaging the community. What inspired you to create REACHNigeria, a connector hub that creates awareness about NGOs and volunteer opportunities across Nigeria?
I’m a serial solution seeker! REACHNigeria was inspired by the idea of creating a one-stop-shop where anyone could search for causes and non-profits to support in Nigeria. It’s a connector hub to amplify volunteer opportunities in Nigeria and the work non-profit organizations are doing. We spotlight the founders behind the organizations and interview volunteers to share their experiences firsthand.
SBL School. Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
After establishing many phenomenal platforms and serving as a CFO, what is one piece of advice you’d like to give to the next generation of women professionals?
Allow yourself the agency to become who you fully are in your career. This approach has enabled me to thrive and step into myself. It’s that mindset to decide to make the right connections and map out what you need to do to grow, so that when the right opportunity arises you’re ready to step into it. And don’t be afraid to think big and grow big!
Image courtesy of Bolanle Williams-Olley.
