Joining the postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy programme as the Head of Quant Research and Analytics for Mizuho, a Japanese megabank, I ran the business unit responsible for the trading analytics and pricing algorithms. In addition to this I also serve as a non-executive director at a UK grammar school as part of the executive committee, where I oversee school development, financial and academic performance.
I chose to pursue the Executive Diploma in Financial Strategy to grow and develop existing skills as a business leader and non-executive director. In particular, I wanted to deepen my understanding of growth strategies, the balance sheet and language of C-suite executives. The practical experience, academic rigor and the Oxford brand made the diploma a rewarding and exciting experience. The diploma helped me to progress beyond the operational day-to-day demands of running a business to develop the strategic aspects of my career and learn how to engage a broader range of stakeholders. I was able to leverage the ideas from the diploma programme at work to target growth areas to broaden the product offering, client coverage and impact of my business.
The three words that summarise my experience of the diploma programme would be: exciting, growth and opportunities. The highlights of the course included a deep-dive into corporate and enterprise strategies for growth and competitive advantage with industry and academic leaders. The programme illustrated how to value projects, business ventures and provided the tools to help identify where cost savings and efficiency gains could be achieved. These concepts provide rich insight when defending, critiquing and proposing ideas to major stakeholders.
The networks and relationships forged at the Saïd Business School were rewarding and the skills learned were highly lucrative and of immediate use to both myself and employer. Fellow cohort members comprised of highly skilled business professionals, which created a talent network and forum to gather valuable feedback and business insights. Furthermore, it was useful to be able to connect to other parts of the university, such as the Oxford Man Institute of Quant Finance, which specializes in machine learning, quant finance and algorithmic trading.
The professional skills acquired on the course have helped me develop my personal brand, career strategy and the skills needed to secure lucrative business contracts. Currently I am working on high value Quant projects for HSBC global markets reporting to the management team, dealing with high performance trading algorithms, pricing and risk. In the long term I believe the strategic elements of the Diploma in Financial Strategy will continue to help me leverage my strengths, develop new skills, exploit business opportunities and deepen professional relationships.
