Quick profile
- Position: Executive, Analyst in Emerging Markets, WestLB Mellon Asset Management (WMAM)
- Nationality: Zambian
- University: BSc in Money, Banking and Finance (University of Birmingham), MSc in Investment Management (Cass Business School, London)
- Joined WestLB: April 2006
To say that Seki Mutukwa is a sporty person would be like saying bankers are good with money. Seki played football, American football, rugby, basketball and softball at various times during his education, and could also be found coaching others when he got the chance. He continued through college, too, and is generally acknowledged to be something of a high achiever on the playing field.
Now he’s concentrating on his career in Asset Management there’s not so much time to dedicate to sports. But Seki’s sporting qualities – his ability to motivate others, a keen focus and a strategic mindset – have all been important in cementing his place on the team at WestLB.
When Seki joined the bank, he knew he wanted a role he could get stuck into. But it was only once he started on the programme that he discovered how active he was really going to be able to be.
Having read Money, Banking and Finance at Birmingham before completing a Masters at Cass Business School, Seki had initially started work at another bank. The problem was, he was bored. There wasn’t enough stock analysis, he explains: “I was itching to get more involved.” So when he came across WestLB he was pleased to find that this was a company that was interested in him as a person, and he felt he could explain what he wanted. “Because the firm is smaller than others in the City that flexibility was possible. It seemed I could have a really active role here,” he explains. “And when I came for the interview I knew I would be part of a team – not just another number.”
Seki’s position was indeed tailor-made. His aptitude for spreadsheets soon saw him given responsibility for updating figures after trades. And from a very early stage he was meeting with high profile people – including Fund Managers, Traders, Analysts, Economists and even the Chief Investment Officer. In only his second month, Seki was attending meetings with the Managing Directors of companies within his team’s investment universe, something he now does regularly. Just as he had wanted, he was learning by doing.
The interactive policy and open structure at WestLB has enabled Seki to be confident and more hands-on in his role faster than he would have been able to at another company. “It’s a significant jump from where I was when I first started on the graduate programme.”
In just one year, Seki has already reached his first goal: to get to a stage where he feels confident with what he’s doing. “It all seems to be going according to plan and I’m really pleased about that,” he says. “From my initial discussions with the bank about what I wanted to get from my role, to the amount of interaction I’d have with my colleagues and the amount of stock analysis I’d be doing – so far it’s all happening according to what we discussed in that first interview, which is great.”
Seki travelled a great deal while he was growing up – from New York to Kenya, Tanzania to Zimbabwe: “We also trekked across South Africa a couple of times,” he remembers. He moved to England in 2000, and this has been the longest time he has ever lived in any country. Despite that he’s put down deeper roots geographically than ever before in his life; he says he’s come a very long way in a year. “I know this is the career for me. I think it’s simply a case of picking what it is you want and then going for it. The learning never stops though. There is so much I still need to know, and I want to see what I can do, what I’m capable of.”
And given that somehow he still manages to fit in regular trips to the gym, softball, and 5-a-side football, too (although it’s extracurricular these days) he’s certainly capable of fitting a lot in.
“I want to see what
I am capable of ”
Seki Mutukwa