Prior to joining Capital.com, Ying Panagiotou served as the Executive Director and Head of Operations at the Saxo Capital Markets CY, the MT4 business arm of Saxo Bank, the leading Danish multi-asset online investment bank.
Ying started my career as a dealer in Finotec Group back in 2006, having spent more than a decade in different areas in the finance industry.
Currently Ying is the Head of Trading in Capital.com, a fintech start-up that harnesses the latest advancements in machine learning and AI to provide the ultimate trading experience.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
No, but after I studied banking and finance in college, it seemed sensible to go into online investment business – what we now call fintech. At the time, there were very few such companies.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Aggressiveness is championed by male leaders and often times women in management positions are considered not aggressive enough, when other better qualities are overlooked.
If you could change one thing for women in the workplace, what would it be?
It would be about building self-confidence. I often see women question their abilities and own authority, especially those newly promoted female managers. Women should believe in themselves to lead.
What advice would you give to someone looking for a career in fintech?
Be a problem solver. Fintech startups are agile and disrupting the way things are being done. We need people who can think outside the box and provide better solutions to problems.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
I think my biggest achievement professionally is yet to come. Personally, I think having a work-life balance has been an achievement, as a working mum I am proud to raise a wonderful daughter. Despite working in a fast-paced industry and constantly being available digitally for work, I have managed to tune out at home and travel with my family at every opportunity.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
This is aligned with our business goal – to contribute to the development of the best trading service on the market and making the world of finance more accessible, engaging and useful.
