Natalia Chen
I joined Renaissance because I knew that, after graduation, I wanted to work for a firm that provided me with as much exposure as possible to all the different areas of business. It just so happened that RenCap Securities was in its early stages and laying down a lot of the groundwork for future growth. So to have the opportunity to witness and be involved in that process was a big attraction for me.
The company has a very fresh and youthful outlook. The entrepreneurial spirit is greatly valued. My biggest challenge is keeping pace with the rapid growth of the Firm. Renaissance Capital is always exploring new opportunities so you find yourself constantly learning – be it business products or names of people.
There’s plenty of cross-training between departments so you don’t find yourself being pigeon-holed. It is common to find Moscow staff travelling to New York for training and vice versa. Our HR department also arranges several courses throughout the year for staff development, and management are also really supportive of this.
Overall, Renaissance has a supportive atmosphere with a healthy competitive spirit. We all do our best to contribute to the overall success of the company.
In my role, you need to be able to think outside the box, communicate well and be patient. Given the company’s nature to forge new paths and venture into new territories, I feel each day brings new challenges.
On a typical day I get to the office around 8am and leave when the work is done. The majority of my day is spent investigating unsettled trades, reconciling accounts, allocating trades, and opening new accounts. I have to work in conjunction with the sales team, traders, clients and clearers every day to make sure that our trades are booked and processed properly.
After being surrounded by office machines all day, I try to spend my off-time as far away from anything technological, apart from my Blackberry. So on weekends, I’m either out biking in the park or hiking in the mountains.