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Bryan Walker
Three year career path
Assistant Relationship Manager, Multinational Corporates, Client Relationships, Dubai, UAE
Business Development Manager, Client Relationships, London (including a one-month attachment to the Group CEO''s Office and Group Corporate Affairs)
Credit Analyst, Client Relationships, Uganda
Graduate Associate, Client Relationships, London
Before Standard Chartered
I graduated in 1999 with a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Sheffield in the UK, following which I spent two years working for AIESEC (www.aiesec.org), the international youth exchange organisation. I had been a member of AIESEC during my university studies, and after graduating I was selected to join the National team of AIESEC in Venezuela, based in Caracas, and later worked for AIESEC in the UK before joining Standard Chartered in September 2001. I had also undertaken a marketing internship in a plastics company in Bursa, Turkey, through the AIESEC programme during the summer of 1998.
Why Standard Chartered?
Standard Chartered appealed to me because of the potential to work abroad at an early stage in my career as well as the excellent opportunities for learning and development. Most other companies seemed to offer a very rigid programme, with a defined path laid out for the first few years. Standard Chartered struck me as a much more dynamic organization and I have not been disappointed so far. I find myself doing things I would never have considered doing before joining the Bank. The opportunities really are endless if you have the initiative to make them happen.
A diverse and close team
I started my career with the Bank in London. During my first year, a training programme took me to Malaysia where I met my year''s Graduate Associate intake. This group of people is truly diverse, traveling principally from the countries where the Bank has its biggest presence; Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These are rapidly changing, contrasting places, where the decisions and actions the Graduate Associates take have a real impact. A year after first meeting my year''s intake I had a chance to compare notes with them again at the International Career Development Programme in Bangkok, Thailand – the range of experience is really inspiring.
A first for the Bank as well as me
I spent six-months on attachment in Uganda only one year after joining the Bank. It was a real eye-opener to see how business is done in a completely different market from the UK. A highlight was my involvement in the closing of a USD 20m term financing deal for Uganda Telecom to help finance their GSM network expansion - the largest deal ever done by Standard Chartered Uganda. Also, on a personal note, the time I spent there was very enjoyable; my colleagues in the Bank were always ready to show me the nightlife of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and I saw first-hand why Uganda is known as the ''Pearl of Africa'' during weekend trips around this beautiful country.
Cross-cultural awareness
My move to Dubai has been the most challenging for me so far. I had spent time living and working abroad before, but Dubai is incomparable to any other place I have been, mostly because it’s such a rapidly growing and extremely multi-cultural city. With over 30 nationalities working in the Bank here, cross-cultural awareness has to become a way of life in order to achieve business success. In my team alone we have people from Japan, the UAE, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka as well as the UK. The market environment is also very competitive, with a number of local and international banks having a presence here, which means that you have to constantly fight for business to stay ahead of the game.
And my future?
Client Relationships Sales, where I have spent my time so far, has given me a good background in general banking skills and potential roles for my future development. There are a number of different options that I see for the future, perhaps moving to another business area, or continuing in Client Relationships in another role. My longer-term aim is to move into a management position and the experience I am getting at the moment is certainly helping me on the way to achieve this. In Standard Chartered there is no shortage of exciting opportunities if you are the sort of person who is always willing to take up a new challenge.
Source: Standard Chartered Campus Recruitment Website