Louise Zenasni is a Senior Lead Developer within the Client Intelligence department that sits as part of Advisory and Corporate. Louise has a Computer Science BSc. from Royal Holloway University.
Tell us a little bit about a day in the life of an Associate in Technology
I’m a senior developer in the Client Intelligence group, Advisory and Corporate Technology. I am currently the technology lead for the frontend applications across my department.
My day consists of many different tasks. I manage an offshore team in India and have catch-up sessions with them on daily basis to ensure we are on track with development. I also ensure the projects that I own are being maintained, architected and designed to a high standard while meeting the deadlines for the business. Another part of my day consists of development work, innovating with new technology and designing new solutions for our applications.
What did you study or what experience did you obtain in order to get in to your current role?
I graduated from Royal Holloway University with a BSc in Computer Science in 2008. A year prior, I attended a ‘Women in the City’ event where I heard about Summer Internships at Morgan Stanley. I applied and secured a Summer Internship during the summer break where I worked on a real-life application for Trade Flow Analysis. This provided me with invaluable experience and helped when applying for the graduate training programme a year later.
When I joined Morgan Stanley, I went to New York for the graduate training programme which was very intense but an amazing in-depth learning experience. Since joining a team in London, I have been developing frontend web applications in Flex and more recently projects in HTML5/JavaScript. During my time at Morgan Stanley I have taken on more responsibility and am now leading several projects across multiple regions.
What do you most enjoy about your role?
I mostly enjoy the variety, challenges and interacting with teams across different regions. Every day is unique and comes with it many different opportunities to learn something new. The daily problem-solving constantly keeps me engaged and on my toes. The learning is especially enjoyable with new technologies that I need to study, learn and experiment with.
Working on the frontend of high-profile applications such as the Matrix platform has been a special highlight, alongside working with the talented experts in the field across the industry. I have also recently been involved in the development of a bleeding-edge technology product which is very exciting and fulfilling as it provides significant business impact.
Can you tell us a little bit more what is great about working at Morgan Stanley?
I have worked at Morgan Stanley for 7 years now and what attracted me then still attracts me now. Morgan Stanley has an outstanding brand and culture, along with strong values such as ‘doing the right thing’ which makes me feel very proud to work here.
Morgan Stanley also attracts very talented individuals and it is a pleasure to learn and work alongside them. Commitments to diversity, giving back to the community and work-life balance also make Morgan Stanley a great place to work and to establish a long tenured career.
Do you network either internally or externally?
I network both internally and externally. Morgan Stanley provides great opportunities for networking through lunches, training and guest speaker events.
I am currently a member of the Morgan Stanley Women’s Business Alliance where I attend many events and network with other like-minded people.
I am also actively working with my university to help their female students learn more about careers in financial services technology, specifically at Morgan Stanley. Big Data is a core part of the university’s MSc programme and I am hoping to help the students understand how Big Data is applied in our industry.
Tell us about your own career aspirations
Day-to-day, my main goal is continuing to lead my department’s frontend application development. I aspire and am working towards becoming a Vice President; which is my next career step. In the future, I aim to take on more technical responsibility and management of larger teams. Hopefully this will put me on a path to become an Executive Director and beyond.
What advice would you give to someone wanting a career in Technology?
If you are a student then my advice would be to dedicate time to your studies while at University. Build upon what you have learnt during your lectures by studying offline. Make sure you fully understand all the concepts since these will be needed when you graduate and look to gain employment. Your expertise and knowledge will make you stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive market. I would also strongly advise to take part in a summer internship/industrial placement – apply for it and prepare well in advance. The skills and experience I gained from my internship were absolutely invaluable to me. It gave me the experience and confidence to apply the skills I had learnt at university to the workplace on a real-life project, which in turn helped me with my third year dissertation. It also gave me the chance to show my talent and apply for an Associate position at Morgan Stanley ahead of my graduation.
For professionals and those looking to start a career in Technology; it’s a rapidly changing environment and in order to excel, you need to be talented and passionate about technology, with the willingness to keep on learning new concepts, taking on challenges and adapting to new situations. If you have these qualities, then you will have a fulfilling and incredibly rewarding career.
