A talk with Marie Vilaseca: Women can be successful on the trading floor traditionally ruled by men

A talk with Marie Vilaseca: Women can be successful on the trading floor traditionally ruled by men

"I have come to realize that the majority of people are sufficiently satisfied with their routine but are always fascinated with extraordinary adventures. Be the ones who pursue their dreams. Don’t let people decide for you. IE will require a lot of work but the experience goes beyond the walls of the classrooms. Dare to find your passion even if it is not the easiest road and go for it." (Marie Vilaseca)

Marie Vilaseca, alumnus of the Master in Management at IE Business School and Trader at Macquire London, is a Swiss/French young woman who likes to redefine the stereotypes of today’s modern society. Having too much energy can be an issue, but she has turned it into her biggest competitive advantage by achieving a seemingly incompatible trio: work, studies and sports. While finishing Bocconi Universiy and writing her thesis, she entered the trading floor of Société Générale and was training for the IronMan. Raised in Paris, she moved to Madrid at the age of 13 without her family with the goal of learning Spanish and English. Later she worked in Dubai, Paris and London. This international journey gave her the capacity to constantly adapt and, as she says It’s not about your age, your gender or your background. It’s about how much effort, determination and passion you put in every little thing you do. From saying hello to the poor man on the street to talking to a client: it all matters”. She is the first in her family to enter the world of finance. Marie thinks high and dreams big. Being one of the first to sign a full time job at Macquarie in London, she is also an entrepreneur and one of the top academic performers at IE Business School.

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Viet Ha: Marie, what made you decide to go for a Bachelor degree at Bocconi University in Milan while you´re from France where there are many great universities?

Marie: Obtaining the French Baccalaureat with Mention Très Bien, highest honours, I was offered a place at Bocconi University in Milan. At that time, my wish to learn a new foreign language was the reason inspiring me to explore new horizons outside my home country. I had always been attracted by numbers, puzzles and statistics and Bocconi had an extremely strong reputation for being rigorous, theoretical and demanding, which was what I wanted at the age of 17. This strong desire of accumulating knowledge and becoming competent combined with my innate outgoing free spirit required a strong disciplined university. In addition to the solid academic performance achieved while majoring in Finance, I was working every evening and training to achieve my sports dreams.

Viet Ha: You have experience in different sectors in four countries, what motivated you to do so much more than focusing on working at a financial hub?

Marie: At 18 years old I was fighting to get a job at a top international investment bank, I was traveling to London and trying to build my own network. I certainly underestimated the level of competitiveness to enter the industry. Young and ambitious, this failure opened my mind to the power of perseverance and diversity. I decided to leverage my appetite for constant challenges and went to work for Richemont in Dubai. Demanding clients and cultural clash forged my personality even stronger. I gained soft skills that few have in finance and therefore felt I had created a competitive advantage. Soon after returning to Italy, I got an interview with Societe Generale. Here I was, 20 years old and stepping into Europe’s biggest trading floor: FX sales in Paris followed by equity trading in London, I met unique people, broadened my competencies and had been to use my potential to prove that age and sex make absolutely no difference. Your attitude does. The fast paced trading floors gave adrenaline and rhythm to both my mind and spirit and unleashed a constant desire for self-improvement, which I think, is a key driver to success. 

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Viet Ha: You seem to have interest for many things, how is your devotion to finance? What do you think about the current financial environment?

Marie: It is unconditional. The beauty of financial products, the simultaneous interdependence of events happening at a global scale and the permanent connection with culturally diverse clients is a unique feeling. Early mornings and long evenings are nothing compared with the reward of having satisfied counterparties. As an anecdote, when my manager asked me why the financial industry during the first interview, I genuinely answered “ I really enjoyed the Wolf of Wall Street!” – I guess he liked it.

The financial industry is being impacted by the new technologies. In a period where it is generally seen as an obstacle, I believe it is an advantage. It is reshaping the way we work, enabling the restructuration of some activities and the ability to create even more tailormade solutions for our clients. We should embrace these changes. I have been working at Macquarie in London after graduating from IE: their innovative spirit and special connection with clients is fantastic journey and a great environment where to grow.

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Viet Ha: You like challenges. How did they shape you into who you are now? Are they not a source of permanent stress?

Marie: Challenges keep me alive. I need to wake up with a daily goal that will lead me to my medium term ambition and unable me to reach my long-term aspirations. Not only with work but also in sports. Marathon and double Iron Man 70.3 finisher intensity and difficulty are the best stimulators for me. This requires preparation, strategic planning and sacrifices. It shaped my mind and drove me to the goal achiever I am today. I have grown up with the idea that if something does not challenge you it won’t change you. It certainly brings a lot of stress with it but fortunately, sport teaches you how to handle stress and turn it to your advantage.

 My parents will always remember the time when I asked their permission to go live alone in Spain in order to attend an international school. I was 13 and didn’t speak either English or Spanish. I guess my persuasion skills were enough. That one-year abroad made me grow, become mature and had the courage to take the responsibility of all the decisions I make.

These extraordinary experiences are the result of supporting parents, their dynamism, values and love they gave us three. Both my brother and sister excel in sports and studies and growing close to them is probably the best thing I could have wished for.

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Viet Ha: Why IE amongst all the other schools you applied to? How do you think the IE Trading Room with access to Bloomberg has helped you during your studies? Also, I have heard you are the coordinator of IE French Club?

IE clearly stands out. I quitted my position in London to pursue the master degree at IE. From our discussion, you have realized that numbers and finance truly excite me, however I also have an entrepreneurial mind-set and innovation fascinates me. IE has it all. There is no school that embraces social changes and technology revolution the way IE does. During my time at IE, I was many times at the IE Venture Lab working on Scoutedby, the startup to which I was dedicating all of my energy and, and the IE Trading Room working on corporate action models. All these activities happen in one building!

Having access to Bloomberg has definitely been an advantage during my studies. IE is the only school that offers such a priviledge to its students. The IE Trading Room is equipped with all the platforms being used by top investment banks, allowing students to use Bloomberg, FactSet, WONDA, EVA Dimensions, Thompson, Matlab, Reuteurs and other technologies. This IE facility has one of the top collection of analytical tools for a university/business school´s investment lab in the world. The Trading Room is home to many finance classes which require students to do analytical research on security pricing, brokerage, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and other analytics such as stocks, bonds, commodities, options and futures, and currencies.

From one side to have access to real time economic and financial news but also trigger my analytical skills capacity to sort and filter relevant information.

There is something else to the school: people look beyond the well-established theories that rule our world. The experienced professors who come directly from the capital markets industry and talented students with finance mindsets from all over the world make the experience authentically unique. IE is truly reinventing higher education.

About the IE French Club, we were two girls coordinating and organizing activities. From organizing cultural and social events, we made sure the IE French alumni network working all around the world stays connected for both personal and professional purposes.

Viet Ha: In addition to the Master studies, you were working on a startup at the same time. What is it about?

Marie: Exactly! Scoutedby is a predictive and personalized platform that will disrupt the admission process for MBAs. We have developed Lucy, our Smart matching algorithm that has already proven successful. We are creating a transparent market thus making it more efficient for both schools and students. We already have some top Universities as partners and been able to adequately place and help candidates. Every day is a new exciting adventure and our database is growing exponentially due to our team: we don’t want to do anything but work on our platform. I could spend hours talking to you about Scoutedby. I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have at marie@scoutedby.com. IE has been a global pioneer in financial entrepreneurship, providing its finance students with excellent and innovative tools to be successful entrepreneurs.

Viet Ha: Any advice for prospective candidates?

Marie: I have come to realize that a majority of people are sufficiently satisfied with their routine but always fascinated with extraordinary adventures. Be the ones who pursue their dreams. Don’t let people decide for you. IE will require a lot of work but the experience goes beyond the walls of the classrooms. Madrid is an incredibly dynamic city with incredible network opportunities, take the most out of it! Aristotle said “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”; dare to find what you feel inspired by and go for it even if it is not the easiest road.

"Being special and unique does not require doing extraordinary things, it’s about completing every task you undertake knowing you have done the best you can, putting passion and being proud of who you are"
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Viet Ha: I am truly impressed that you´re a trader and got invited to a multiple of investment job interviews! What are the recipes of your success?

Is it an advantage or disadvantage for female candidates when it comes to applying to investment banks when the majority is men? How did you feel working as a woman on the trading floor?

Marie: It’s not about the quantity but the quality of the job applications. The desire to work for a top performing investment bank is one thing, but the values, strategies, and long-term goals are non-negligible criteria. Bear in mind that two similar jobs will require the same hard skills… but soft skills matters when you really want a company. Be honest to yourself in your application and don’t try to please every bank. Find out who you are and make a smart selection of the few places where you want to grow.

A successful interview is a well-prepared one. Showing that you have made research about the bank, the markets and being able to critically give your point of view on actual news and how they affect the financial industry. That’s a prerequisite. But anyone can do that: why should they hire you? Being special and unique doesn’t require doing extraordinary things, it’s about completing every task you undertake knowing you have done the best you can, putting passion and being proud of who you are. I believe we all have something special; being able to analyze it and express it is the harder part. That’s why an interview requires preparation.

Being a female has a double effect. Men applying for the same position will sometimes try to destabilize you. I have heard many times “If you get the interview it’s because you are a girl and they have quotas, it’s easier”. That’s not true. We all do the same test that is corrected by a computer. Being a female or a male require exactly the same skills during the application. Being a girl during the interview might at first sight be positive because it brings something new but the market is so competitive that a man with better skills will get the job, no doubt. It’s not about hiring a girl on the desk, it’s about having someone competent. Therefore the stereotypes saying it is easier for girls is not true. We both work hard and do our best.

A girl on the trading floor is amazing! Make sure you prove you are hard working, and you didn’t get there by chance. Be the first to arrive and don’t leave before your job is done to perfection. Getting the respect and trust of others might take a bit longer, but once you get it, being a girl is an advantage!

Carlos Martin

Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

7y

Excelente Marie - Buena suerte

Nassir Hedaraly

Financial Services Consultant chez FASONA Consulting

7y

Well done Marie & all the best in your future endeavors 😎

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Marie Vilaseca

Asian Equity Sales (partner with Macquarie)

7y

Merci Ziad Nammour !

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