Hi, I'm Mary Ann Harrison. I'm the CEO of John Hancock. I'm started actually as an English major many years ago and got my CPA and now I'm running John Hancock

here in the U.S.

I thought I was going to stay in public accounting and wanted to be a partner in the public

accounting firm.

So that was sort of my ambition and my goal and everything was leading up to that until

this slight transition that changed direction quite substantially.

This is Secrets of Wealthy Women from the Wall Street Journal, helping women empower themselves financially.

Now, Veronica Dagger.

Marion Harrison is the first female chief executive of John Hancock, one of the largest life insurers in the United States.

She explains how she learned to run a business and how she asked for opportunities as a working mom.

So Marion, how did an English major end up with an accounting degree?

A very strange combination indeed.

Well, I really enjoyed English, but I also knew that was not necessarily a career for me.

So when I was in college, I did a lot of business courses at the same time.

And it wasn't actually until I finished college that I sort of figured out what I wanted to do and that's when I decided to go for my CPA.

I had read that your dad had quite an impact on your career. How so?

He really did. When I graduated at a college I really didn't know what to do and he introduced me actually to somebody in a public accounting firm and that's how I sort of made that initial connection and he's just always been a great role model,

you know, very committed to his job and work

and always a very strong influence on my life.

And as a result of that, I really feel I owe a lot of my career success to my dad.

Several successful women on the show who have come on the podcast have said, have pointed to very strong father figures

and I'm wondering if there's something there in terms of a woman's

...