Stephanie Mackay – South Africa to London and everything in between

Stephanie Mackay tells us about her career journey with Standard Chartered and why she chose to work in the Environmental and Social Risk Management team

I began my journey in banking through the International Graduate Scheme in South Africa. Through this I was exposed to many teams and took an opportunity to work in London in the Relationship Team as a Client Manager. After 2 years in this role, I started exploring other areas in the Bank - particularly in the Sustainability Team as I found their work really interesting.

This is when I learned about the Environmental and Social Risk Management team. I couldn’t believe there was an entire team in the Bank that managed the environmental and social risks of the projects we finance and the relationships we have.

The best careers advice I've been given is don’t take a job just for a promotion or salary increase. Also consider taking a job that will develop your experience/ knowledge in an area that you really want to grow in.

Advice that I would give, is that if you trust your people leader, or management team, don’t be afraid to ask for guidance – they may be able to help you reach your dream job.

If someone was having an interview at the Bank, especially for the Sustainable Finance team, then I’d advise them to research which markets work in and our strategy on sustainability. There is a lot of material on our website that highlights the impact we have, our sustainable finance offering and our position on sensitive industries.

There is no other bank in the world that does what we do in the markets we're in.

MILESTONE #1

2014 Graduate Programme in South Africa

MILESTONE #2

Moving to London to work in the Relationship team in 2015

MILESTONE #3

Joining the Environmental and Social Risk Management team in 2017

MILESTONE #4

Certificate in Sustainable Business from Cambridge in 2018/19

MILESTONE #5

Participating in my first site visit in 2019 to Uganda

The best part of working at Standard Chartered are the opportunities that you get exposed to. This includes learning & development, meeting clients, a variety of projects and working with various teams within the Bank across a global remit.

We also have amazing colleagues at Standard Chartered, many of who I truly regard as friends and love learning from them.

How do you like to spend your free time?

Running (completed the London Marathon in 2020), hiking, tennis, candle-making, travelling.

What’s the best part of your daily routine?

The best part of my (new) daily routine, is waking up next to my smiling, baby daughter. I also really enjoy going for walks to keep active.

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Stephanie Mackay – South Africa to London and everything in between

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