About my current job
I am responsible for business planning and operational management of the Treasury function at Barclays (approximately 450 people globally), including inter alia oversight of an £80m budget, human resource and talent management, communications, driving colleague engagement and leading functional projects.
Something important I learned during my time at EP
I learned many things during my time in EP, but something that I've found to be particularly important in my life and in my career is to be curious, especially about people. My career has always required me to interact with a wide range of people, whether collaborating with them, influencing them, negotiating with them or managing them. By asking questions (and importantly, listening to the answers!) you challenge your assumptions, gain new insights and really start to understand why people behave as they do, what their values are, what motivates them and how you can achieve the best outcome for everyone.
How did my education influence my career path?
I think in the early days of my career, EP didn't really have much influence. I joined an accounting firm then moved to the City to work for a series of banks and EP was a fond, but distant, memory. However, as I've progressed and taken on new challenges, upon reflecting on the aspects of my career that were most enjoyable, I realise that much of it revolves around people and understanding or anticipating their drivers and behaviours. Therefore the roles I have taken in the latter part of my career have shifted from being very technical to these areas, which are more aligned to my natural interests. I feel more fulfilled as a result.
With the benefit of hindsight, do you have any advice you'd give your younger self?
I would tell my younger self that it's not all about money! I was desperate to get out into the wide world and start earning and this urge was even stronger than my desire to do a Masters. So I joined Ernst & Young as a trainee accountant and my 20 year career in Financial Services started from there. Whilst I don't regret my career path, I do sometimes wonder what I might be doing now if I had gone on to do a Masters instead. An organisational psychologist perhaps? I think that would be a hugely interesting role.
Other reflections
I actually started at Oxford studying Chemistry. It didn't take long, though, to realise that the passion for Chemistry I had at school did not translate into the same level of passion at university. I wanted to remain at Oxford, so I started to explore other subjects that I could study. As soon as I spoke with an EP student, I knew immediately that it was the degree for me and spent a wonderful three years studying it at Magdalen. When people find out I studied EP, I'm occasionally still asked (only half jokingly) whether I can read minds but I consider this a small price to pay for the privilege of studying such a fascinating subject.
