Walking Through the Doors of Expert Journalism with Chelsea Emery, Senior Editor at Deke Digital


It’s an honor to welcome accomplished journalist and highly respected editor, Chelsea Emery to In The Suite this week. Chelsea Emery is Senior Editor at Deke Digital, an expert news solutions company that powers national, business, and trade news pieces with expert insights, data, and intuition. The company takes its namesake from the word “DEKE” – an ice hockey technique used by a player to get past an opponent. 

“Financial journalism is the surest thing we have in a really unsure world,” she says. This expert approach to creating quality journalism, free from bias and other forces, helped guide her path to Deke. She also joins an award-winning, extraordinary leadership team consisting of Dave Maney (Chairman), Nicole Volpe Miller (CEO), and Greg Moore (Editor-in-Chief). 

Chelsea Emery’s work in financial services and wealth management is impressive not only because of her experience and seniority but because of the sheer variety—from teaching Japanese, to running an award-winning trade news platform at Financial Planning, to accepting her current role to work alongside a visionary founder and innovative news engine platform at Deke. 

As you’ll discover in this episode, Chelsea has the magic of movement, of keeping her eyes open to undiscovered opportunities, and then charging right into the door to absorb what awaits.

“Walk through the open doors. They’re there all the time, and you don’t necessarily see them,” Chelsea says.

Perhaps that’s how she shifted and steered her roles over her career, with eyes and ears open, always listening for that soft whisper of the winds of change, and opportunity.

Her start into the world of financial services has a surprising and humble origin—that of becoming a Japanese teacher. Segoi!!! The Japanese word for amazing. The next door to swing open was at Bloomberg and after that, at Columbia University where Chelsea earned a Master’s Degree in International Affairs and wrote an article that ended up going what Chelsea calls “the early 90s version of viral!” This began a 12-year, exciting career at Bloomberg. 

She shifted to Correspondent at Thomson Reuters and worked her way up to Editor before another door opened, Deputy Editor at BBC Capital (now BBC Worklife). During her career as a financial journalist, editor, and reporter at Bloomberg, Reuters and the BBC, Chelsea covered a wide variety of beats–including financial services, wealth management, markets, restructuring, corporate governance, and others. 

“Just be willing to throw yourself through that door,” says Chelsea.

Whenever she was offered the chance to try something new, to cover a new beat, to explore a new path, Chelsea would show up and go for it. Saying yes to new challenges and approaches to storytelling and media, set the stage for another door to swing open at Financial Planning.  

As Editor-in-Chief at Financial Planning, a trade news platform focused on the wealth management industry, Chelsea guided the organization to receive the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand in 2017 and 2018. She was also named Folio 100 list of influential magazine editors in 2018 and won Folio’s Best Website award in 2019, SABEW award for General Excellence in 2019. 

“Events are changing, media is changing, social media is changing,” says Chelsea. “And we have to be fast, we have to be adept, we have to be willing to ask our children what’s happening and how they access media and what they read.” It’s all about being willing to move quickly and taking those leaps of faith when you’re not 100% sure of an outcome.

Chelsea’s personal stories about digital, media, and news, reminds us all about the importance of curiosity and finding new opportunities and running with them. Even if it means buying Mattel stock for your kids because they love Monster High dolls to help them understand finance. 

We discuss topics such as embracing change, what qualities make for a really good reporter? the best thing you can do as a leader, and so much more. This episode is ideal for anyone who wants to dive into financial journalism or understand more about finance, tech, ROI, and breaking news.

Don’t miss Chelsea’s tips throughout the episode!

1. Walk through the open doors. The open doors of opportunity are there all the time, and you don’t necessarily see them, but they are there. Sometimes it’s with a person on a Zoom call, sometimes it’s your seatmate on a plane, sometimes it comes when you least expect it. “Suddenly, all kinds of open doors exist,” Chelsea says. “You just have to be constantly asking yourself, is this something I could do? Is this something that excites me?” 
2. Be open and try new things. Chelsea’s tip is to be enthusiastic about trying new things constantly. You won’t be good at everything and that is okay. When it comes to walking through those open doors, you might not magically excel at everything you attempt. Experiment, learn, and get comfortable feeling uncomfortable.
3. Consume media carefully. The way we distribute and consume media is as important as it’s ever been in the history of the disseminated word. Content gets spewed out and regurgitated at an alarming rate. “The more we can use critical thinking, respect, and even technology to get the most influential voices in front of the people who need to hear the unvarnished truth, the better,” says Chelsea.

In The Suite podcast shares amazing stories of women in business in the financial services and wealth management industry. The podcast features interviews with inspiring, top women leaders in business and some of the biggest names in the wealth management industry. In The Suite is where you’ll discover their best secrets and top strategies to grow a great business, build a strong brand, and lead teams in the 21st century. In The Suite podcast is hosted by Tina Powell, TEDx Speaker, former NYU Professor, Marketing Consultant and CEO of C-Suite Social Media.

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