Women of IFA Network (WIN) USA Newsletter

The Women of IFA Network (WIN) represents and connects professional women working in international tax. IFA strives at being a dynamic international tax community and encourages the participation of women.

Our Mission

• Develop networks, visibility, and participation within IFA.
• Advance the careers of women international tax practitioners and empower women attorneys, accountants and other professionals to develop fulfilling careers.
• Advocate for issues that improve equality, inclusion, and representation.

WIN Leadership

WIN Regional Leaders

Welcome to our newest regional members

New WIN Committees

We are happy to announce the WIN has three new committees:

• Communications / IT Committee – led by Neelu Mehrotra, Jennifer Sklar, Brooke Bodziner, Ora Grinberg
• Events Committee – led by Kathleen Gregor, Anna Soubbotina, Natallia Shapel
• Newsletter Committee – led by Lily Garcia-Roberto, Alexis Bergman, Larissa Neumann

WIN Recent Events

• IFA USA New England Monthly Drop-WIN Session
• WIN Northeast Webinar

WIN Upcoming Events

• January 27, 2021: IFA USA DC WIN Event at 12:00 PM ET
• February 1, 2021: IFA WIN North America Webinar at 12:00 PM ET

Get To Know Them

The more we all know about all of the WIN members, the better we can connect and help one other advance our careers. This month we are featuring Anna Soubbotina and Lily Garcia-Roberto!

Hobbies

Sports have always been a big part of
my life, and a wonderful way to balance
a busy work and business travel
schedule. I am an avid cyclist,
race for my local club, and
really enjoy the cycling community
with many friendships built over
the years and across the world.

Anna Soubbotina

Anna works with companies and their counsel across the life cycle of controlled intercompany transactions: from international expansion, business and regulatory change, through compliance, and effective controversy resolution. She has advised Fortune 100 public and private companies, which typically face additional scrutiny and are most actively engaged with tax global authorities, on transactions involving the transfer and use of intangible, tangible and financial assets, as well as services, effectively balancing local regulatory requirements across over 200 jurisdictions.

In her current role as the East Coast Transfer Pricing Leader at Charles River Associates, Anna leverages her experience working with Fortune 100 companies to guide clients through business change and disruption, such as an IPO, global supply chain expansion/contraction, market shocks, profitability and cost changes. Companies going through business transformation need to consider the cross functional implications of their transactions. Anna’s advisory approach allows flexibility to customize every project and team to bridge the gap between regulatory constraints and business needs.

Kids

We just welcomed our son, who is 4 months
old, and are in the throes of adjusting to
life as a family of 3 people and two dogs.

Pets

The dogs were our kids before kids! My
14-year-old mini Schnauzer is currently
busy training my 5 month old German
Shepherd.

Childhood Career Choice

I have always been curious and had to
find out how everything works. Few
household appliances survived my
childhood disassemble/reassemble phase!

Publications

• “Taxation of Cryptocurrency.” Charles River Associates and Steptoe & Johnson LLP webinar, June 30, 2021.
• “Understanding the current tax landscape.” International Tax Review, presentation at the Leading Women in Tax Forum, New York, NY, March 2021.
• “New OECD Data—Practical Insights for Managing Transfer Pricing Risk—Part 1.” With Gary Chan. Bloomberg Tax, September 2020.
• “Cross-border transactions: Lessons learned from the last recession.” With Robin Hart. CRA Insights, April 2020.

Any advice?

Never stop learning! I found some of my favorite people and best experiences when I dared to jump into a new industry. Early on, it was as the co-founder of the Technology, Media and Entertainment industry group at my prior firm, Deloitte Tax. Now it’s through working with emerging companies in crypto, helping them navigate a regulatory landscape that was not designed for their business models.

Favorite Place to Visit

Anywhere in Italy! This summer I was
able to visit Lake Como and the Amalfi
Coast which was lovely after 16 months
in quarantine. It was great to practice
my (very rusty) Italian from my study
abroad days.

Hobbies

Traveling, boating in the Florida Keys,
college football

Childhood Career Choice

I wanted to be a journalist / investigative
reporter. How I went from that to tax I
am still not quite sure!

Lily Garcia-Roberto

Lily Garcia-Roberto is Vice President Global Tax for the Royal Caribbean Group, which delivers the world’s best vacations through its cruise brands Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea Cruises and TUI Cruises, which visit approximately 1000 destinations in all seven continents. Based in Miami, Florida at the Royal Caribbean Group’s corporate headquarters, Lily oversees all aspects of the tax function globally: legislation, tax planning, business enablement, regulatory and SEC compliance and reporting, and controversy. Lily also serves as Chair of the Global Tax Committee for the Cruise Lines International Association, the cruise industry trade association.

Before joining Royal Caribbean Group in 2015, Lily spent close to 11 years in a Big 4 public accounting firm focused on international tax consulting. While in public accounting, Lily assisted her clients manage all aspects of their global tax posture. Lily’s experience includes serving both inbound investors into the United States as well as US multinationals investing abroad across a number of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, technology, consumer products, shipping and travel and leisure.

Lily graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Masters of Taxation.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I thought I might be bored being in-house after a career in public accounting, but working with the commercial teams and learning every day about how the business operates, while helping enable the operational objectives, whether its entering a new market or a new strategy, is really rewarding.

Any advice?

Get comfortable being uncomfortable! Some of the best experiences of my career have been the projects or roles I was least comfortable with! Whether it was learning ASC 740 or taking on projects outside of tax within Royal Caribbean, such as a short stint leading the Forecasting & Planning department or directing the implementation of special corporate projects, I have grown the most when I was most uncomfortable.