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At Schroders, we advocate for the squiggly career approach to progression. There are many ways our people can progress their careers from in-role advancement, to taking a new role in the firm, and harnessing new experiences to grow their skills.
In our ‘Shape your career’ series, we’ll hear from some of our talented people from across the globe on their different career paths. To kick-off we caught up with Noemi Garcia, Head of Compliance, Latin America (LATAM), to hear her experiences and thoughts on career progression.
Schroders in Argentina
Since 1995, we have been managing locally listed mutual funds, and currently we are running 23 open-ended funds. Our business is mainly institutional with around 600 clients, but we also have retail clients from pension funds.
Schroders Argentina also runs the offshore intermediary business covering both Argentina and Uruguay, advising on Luxembourg mutual funds to clients.
How did you get your first role at Schroders?
During a moment of reflection in a previous role, I realised my work life balance wasn’t the way I wanted it to be and I needed a change. Then, I saw an advert in the newspaper for an Assistant to the Financial Manager at Schroders and applied straight away. I was drawn to the role as it was a British company and I could use my proficiency in languages. As they say: the rest is history.
Tell us about your career journey at Schroders?
I joined Schroders in 1998, and in my time here I’ve got married and had three kids (the second was almost born in the office – I got picked up at 4pm and she was born in hospital at 5pm!)
We're a close team here in Buenos Aires that has always been between 17 and 23 colleagues. Argentina can be unpredictable, with a volatile market so you never know what’s going to come up from one day to the next. The best part of the job is the truly wonderful people – plus the country is so beautiful!
In 2001 I became Admin Manager, before being promoted to Business Manager. Right now, I’m Chief Operating Officer for Argentina and Head of Compliance for LATAM. I’m also the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), and I became a Director and member of the Board in 2009.
One of the benefits of working in a small office, is whatever has come up, I’ve held my hand up to and seized the opportunity.
Is there anything you would have done differently with hindsight?
I don’t believe in regretting things you can’t change but perhaps I would have taken the opportunity to do a secondment overseas before having my family. But I never asked.
What advice would you give to someone looking to take the next step in their career at Schroders?
Don’t put it off.
Make your aspirations known to your manager and they can help you.
Back in March an employee came to me saying they were interested in secondments. I immediately sought internal approval and helped them search available opportunities at Schroders to suit their progress needs. The dream quickly turned into a reality, and even though I didn’t want to lose them from my team I knew to look beyond that and support their career progression.
I’d advise people starting out in their career to be curious and look for opportunities to take on new responsibilities or challenges. Also to get involved in the greatest possible number of projects.
What is your top tip for people early on in their career?
Come in and be bold but also learn from colleagues who have more experience. We really value diversity of thought and perspective. New people can come in and immediately spot a better or more streamlined way for processes that we were too close to see.
How do you continue to train and keep your knowledge up to date?
There are tools available at Schroders, to train or develop but I also attend conferences or symposiums to keep learning. I also participate in a working group that meets every two weeks to discuss new regulations through the Argentinean Chamber of Mutual Funds.
Have you received feedback that has helped you grow in your role?
I always find the anonymous feedback from direct reports extremely useful. As a result of this feedback, I’m currently working on explaining how what we do fits into the bigger picture.
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