Freya

Vice President, Global Finance
Year of Hire: 2010

I currently manage the SCPM (Strategic Credit Portfolio Management) Product Control team which consists of 18 members. The SCPM business manages a number of legacy structured and credit positions. As a Product Control team, we work with the business and other infrastructure areas across the firm to understand and facilitate transactions and products, as well as substantiate and control the resulting balance sheet and P&L.

SCPM is a high profile area within Product Control that is very transaction driven and does not fit the mold of a regular flow business. This makes it a challenging and interesting place to work for all team members. In addition, due to the specialized nature of the business, we constantly interact with different groups ranging from Finance to regulators to senior business heads.

Our team is comprised of intelligent, driven individuals who work together to deliver on our objectives. Most have a background in product control, but others have backgrounds in investment banking and other related finance fields. What everyone has in common is their ability to contribute great ideas, self motivate and work as a team. This results in many people within the team having exposure directly to senior management.

Both my team and I have already experienced new opportunities with more responsibility. All team members are encouraged to continue learning which can involve participating in our internal mobility program or progressing upward in their own role. Since joining, I have moved from a VP role within the team to assuming the overall management of the team. This has been an exciting opportunity within my career, and I have pushed myself to develop and excel in it.

I would describe Barclays Capital as a flat organization that believes in meritocracy and teamwork. Within Finance and SCPM Product Control in particular, we believe in team work, effective communication, and exchanging ideas. Through this I believe that we improve our overall efficiency, but also make the team a rewarding place to work that enables all team members to develop their full career potential.

I graduated from Bristol University, United Kingdom with a BSc (Hons) in Zoology. I had originally planned a career within research and academia. However, during my time at university, I realized that working in business would better fulfil my personal career objectives. Following graduation, I joined the audit team of a Chartered Accountancy firm in London and after three years received my ACA qualification.

After qualification, I joined a competitor in London in order to embark on a career within banking, where I worked in Finance and Product Control. During this time I gained invaluable experience and enjoyed my role, but after seven years I decided to pursue new challenges and opportunities.

During 2009, I made the decision to pursue a new career in New York, which I expected to be a challenging move, but I was determined to succeed. This opportunity arose in 2010, which I think was made a possibility by the strong relationship between the London and New York Barclays offices. I interviewed with the New York team and was offered a role, which I immediately accepted.

I am very glad that I made the decision to relocate - living in New York City has been a personal goal of mine for several years, and it has certainly lived up to many of my expectations – it really is an exciting place to live and work!