If Orc was a woman – I would marry her

Sales, loves Orc, long experience in the financial industry

Could you describe your background?

I have always had a passion and fascination for the financial markets. So after leaving Gothenburg School of Law and Economics (Handelshögskolan – Göteborg), I was offered a position as a sales executive responsible for selling and marketing a real time information system to the Swedish market. At my next stop, I worked as a sales executive and successfully introduced my employer’s new financial product on the Swedish market. I was then recruited by another company to cover the Nordic market for a Trading and Order Management system.

In short, I have spent 15 years of my career in sales and held various positions, of which 10 have been dedicated to selling financial trading systems.

How long have you been with the company?

I have been with the company for 15 months, and prior to that I had to wait 9 months before joining as my former employer held me back due to contractual obligations. So from my perspective it is 24 months! But this is only the beginning, since I have at least another 25 years to devote to this marriage.

What is your current position?

I am Sales Director for the Nordic Region, with a mission to expand and develop current customers and to focus on growing the customer base.

Why did you choose to work at Orc?

Orc is a company that offers excellent products and services for the financial community. It is made up of bright, hungry and talented people that have a strong understanding of how we can help customers and prospects achieve their goals, solve their problems and satisfy their needs. Furthermore, Orc is a globally expanding and financially sound company with a strong brand that is active in all time zones and is, as such, able to offer interesting carrier opportunities for myself and other employees. On top of this, Orc is a fun and low-hierarchy company that gives everyone the confidence to tackle difficult and challenging goals that arise along the way. 

How is Orc different and what defines its corporate culture?

The introduction of Orc’s new “go to market” strategy with Orc Trading and Orc Connect early last year has given the company a clear focus and sent an explicit message to our customers and potential customers. In addition, it has provided all employees with a uniform direction that is quite unique and stands out as a strong differentiator versus the competition.

We have a strong and inspiring management with a board of directors that understands the market and Orc’s requirements to remain successful in a complex and highly competitive market.

The company’s unique and solid business model allows both Orc and its customers to invest in business-enabling technology without taking on risks in long-term agreements.

A strong brand and a market listing enables everyone to closely monitor and see how their efforts provide value to the company.
 
Orc is a non-hierarchical company with strong human values and an international atmosphere.

Orc can offer each individual inspiring challenges that provide a path for personal growth.

How do you see your potential future at Orc?

I am certainly at the right company and in the right department, and I see myself as part of an Orc crusade that never will end. My aim is to continue being a motivated and professional performer that serves as a vital part of the Orc sales force going forward.

1 - Brief résumé

I started with Orc in 2000 in the Sydney office in a functional support role. At that time our only clients in the region were in Australia. Over time my role grew more into Sales and Account Management and we began gaining clients outside of Australia. As our client base grew so did our physical presence in the region and as a result we opened offices in Hong Kong and Japan.

In 2004 I was promoted to General Manager of the Australian office and worked closely with the HK and Japan Office Managers to jointly steer the region. In 2005 the decision was taken to build out the HK office in order to make it the main regional office - at that time I was moved to Hong Kong and from there managed our operations in Australia, South Korea and Japan.

In 2007 a global decision to apply a true regionalized structure was taken. As a result I became President of our Asia Pacific Team.

2 – Current position

My current role sees me responsible for Orc's operations in the region. This sees me overseeing everything from the general administration of the Hong Kong and Sydney offices, to local HR, Sales, Marketing, Client Services, Client relations etc.

The main challenge is the large geographical space the APAC region covers. We have clients located in Hawaii, Sydney, Perth, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. As a result we deal with the distance and the different cultures and languages that go with this on a day to day basis. We also support a large number of markets across these countries making it necessary to keep in touch with local market requirements and the regulatory issues that impact our dealings in each of them.

3 – Why do you work at Orc?

I enjoy working at Orc for a lot of reasons - the scope of my role and the work is huge. Orc provides the opportunity to learn on an ongoing basis on so many different fronts and gives exposure to a wide range of working opportunities in both the Finance and IT sectors.

4 – Thoughts about your future at Orc

For me, I look forward to seeing the business and team grow in APAC. If we as a team can continue to do that my days will always be interesting.

1 - Brief résumé

I have an M. Sc. degree in Engineering Physics from The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. I started my career as a developer and systems engineer, but have spent the last 11 years working as a software project manager and development manager, mainly in the field of product development for the financial IT industry. During this time, I have had various international assignments in countries such as Spain, England, USA and Norway. I started at Orc in June 2007.

2 – Current position

Today, I’m working as manager of Orc Trading, one of Orc’s development groups. This responsibility includes managing day to day development activities for the teams in Stockholm and St Petersburg, hiring of new developers, interacting with the product management and services organizations and making sure we continuously enhance our working practices and processes.

Also. I’m part of the Engineering management team where we work to coordinate cross-organizational activities between the different engineering teams around the world. 

3 – Why do you work at Orc?

I’ve always really enjoyed working with teams that develop high-tech software products to provide value for the end users. At Orc, the combination of the fast paced financial industry, highly skilled professionals and a truly international atmosphere provides a really good set of challenges and is a perfect environment for personal growth.

4 – Thoughts about your future at Orc

I’m looking forward to continue being part of this successful company and do my part in developing our business and organization.     

1 - Brief résumé

I am French, of Basque origin, raised in the USA.  I have a degree in Comparative Literature from an American university and got my first full time job as assistant futures broker in Paris, France.  I was a derivatives broker for seven years, from the good old days of open outcry through the transition to screen based trading.  I then decided to switch to the computer side of finance and worked as a product manager for a French ISV for six years, designing advanced trading software.  I joined Orc in February 2007 as senior product manager in the Trading Solutions team.

2 – Current position

Product Management is at the crossroads of all of the other departments at Orc.  We determine product strategy based on executive management objectives and industry trends.  We gather requirements from customers and regional offices, and translate them into actual tasks for engineering.  We then prioritize the tasks for each development cycle according to our product strategy.  We monitor and communicate the progress being made on these tasks to the rest of the organization.  We also work closely with marketing to produce product related marketing collateral.

I can’t say that I really have a typical day… it depends on where we are in the development cycle and what else is going on.  I might be working on product roadmaps, when I could be urgently called on to help qualify and approve a new feature that is required to close a deal.  

Perhaps marketing will call for an update on a brochure.  Maybe a client visit or conference call requires product management input.  An engineer could need further details on a feature that he’s working on… You never know what will come up.

What I most like about my role at Orc is being in the thick of things and the diversity of the tasks that befall me.  I never get bored.  I like learning from and working with engineering… I’m a closet geek… well maybe not so closet actually (ask me about my Star Trek collection!)  I also like to teach, and I enjoy talking about financial markets to newcomers at our introductory program.

3 – Why do you work at Orc?

What I like best about Orc as a company is the professionalism and expertise of the entire staff.  I have not yet come across someone I would rather not work with.  I am proud to be part of such a bright, motivated and diverse workforce. 

4 – Thoughts about your future at Orc

My future at Orc is quite straightforward… I already have the best job around ;-)… I love product management and along with my team, we will strive to reinforce the excellence of our flagship products and provide direction, structure and innovation to our organization.