Having the ability to invest in both the public and private side, and across multiple sectors, really appeals to me.
I was interested in both theory and practice
I was always more interested in the sciences than the arts. Economics appealed to me most, because it combined a scientific foundation with real-life issues. That’s what led me to study the subject at Cambridge. I enjoyed learning how to think like an economist: boiling down complicated systems into simplified models, and then working out what insights you can extract from them. The course did skew towards the theoretical side, so after my undergraduate program I did a master’s in finance at the University of Virginia. I then had a neat combination of a conceptual economics program with a practical American-style finance education under my belt.
China was an eye opener
As part of my master’s program, I spent some time in China. We arranged a very diverse itinerary of company visits, ranging from a trip to a steel smelting factory to artificial intelligence start-ups. The purpose of the trip was to apply what we’d learned about business to a very different setting from the Western world that we were familiar with. I was struck by the rapid pace of change, and how you can have such a high degree of innovation in an environment that is strongly influenced by the government. There was a lot to unpack.
Advent Global Opportunities stands out in several ways
First, there’s the crossover mandate. Having the ability to invest in both the public and private side, and across multiple sectors, really appeals to me. I was a sector generalist in my prior role and am glad to be able to continue in that regard at Advent Global Opportunities. Secondly, there’s the Advent connection. We are, on the one hand, a tight-knit and nimble team, but we also have all the benefits of being part of a much larger and established investment firm. One of these is Advent Labs, our in-house data science team, which can do a load of fascinating analyses with alternative data sets.
I’ve always had a strong sense of adventure
Outside the office, I enjoy staying in shape and trying out new things around London. But when I’ve had a little more time on my hands, I’ve loved taking the chance to backpack around the world and explore the great outdoors – be that through surfing, jungle trekking or climbing mountains.