Careers City Rising Star Laura Jones takes some time out of her busy day as a Financial Services Consultant at Capco, to share with us her career and current role.
Laura is a managing principal at Capco, a financial services consultancy, specialising in programme management and operations, risk and control (ORC), specifically client money and assets (CASS). She started working in financial services nearly ten years ago when she joined Accenture as a graduate, after which she moved to Bank of America Merrill Lynch to work in the Equities Chief Operating Office. Her love of consulting bought her to Capco in 2011 and she has spent the last two years working very closely with her key clients in ORC, enhancing robustness of the control environment.
The people I work with are fantastic. I feel supported, challenged and respected. And a little in awe of some of the inspiring ideas that our innovators come up with…
Tell us a little bit about a day in the life of a Financial Services Consultant at Capco?
A day in the life of a Financial Services Consultant can vary massively from day to day. My time is split between client facing delivery, account management of financials and resources, opening opportunities with new clients through meetings and workshops or meeting my proteges for coffee and a catch up.
What did you study or what experience did you obtain in order to get in to your current role?
I studied business at Lancaster University and on graduation joined one of the big 4 working in consultancy. From there I spent 2 years in an Investment Bank after which I returned back to my roots and continued on with my consultancy career.
What do you most enjoy about your role?
There are many things I enjoy about my role, but I think the stand out thing for me is the variety and with variety comes the opportunity to learn new things and continue to stretch my capabilities. Over the last 2 years I have worked for the same client, but my role has changed every 3-6 months, I have been able to take on new and interesting challenges which have really helped advance my personal development and has allowed me to develop others.
Can you tell us a little bit about why you like working for Capco?
I knew Capco was the place for me as soon as I joined. The people I work with are fantastic. I feel supported, challenged and respected. And a little in awe of some of the inspiring ideas that our innovators come up with…
Do you network either internal or externally?There is lots of internal networking at Capco. We have Caps for just about anything including SkiCap, RugbyCap and CyclingCap to name some of the ones I am involved in although I am not currently involved in any external networking.
Tell us about your own career aspirations?
My career aspirations are to spend time doing work I enjoy doing, working with people I enjoy working with. You are never more creative and productive then when you are part of a great team and who all feel like they are achieving something. If I am doing that, then I am pretty confident the rest will come. It seems to have worked so far.
What advice would you give to someone wanting a career in your profession?
I won’t pretend that its not hard work – there can be long hours and additional demands outside of client facing delivery, but the upside is worth it. To work with a highly performing, enthusiastic bunch of people is very rewarding. You just have to find your balance.
