Divya is discovering the incredible power of people

Having joined the Deutsche Bank Global Graduate Programme, there are many highlights to Divya’s career in the Chief Financial Office (CFO) so far – and one common thread is the incredible support of our people.

“I could tell straightaway that the people around me are genuinely invested in developing me and my career for the benefit of the team, the division, and the bank.”

Divya says this support has been end-to-end: from the interviewers during the recruitment process to the mentors by her side once she accepted her offer.

“I was assigned a buddy from the previous year’s Graduate scheme as well as a senior mentor. This was a good mix of support as I had someone to go to who was fresh off the scheme and a senior mentor who was there to help me navigate working life in general.”

These multiple points of contact, combined with a well-structured Graduate scheme, are ideal for people like Divya who are just launching their careers.

As Divya explains, it’s given her a chance to rotate across different teams and functions within CFO to discover what she likes doing, and it helps to develop skills she might not otherwise have taken on.

The Graduate scheme comprises four rotations, selected both on graduate interests and available placements. First, in the Transaction, Policy and Advisory Group (TPAG), Divya learned accounting and regulatory policies and shadowed investment bank trade reviews.

“Rotation one was a more technical rotation. I had a presentation to give on Third Quarter Earnings at the end of it. My senior mentor provided advice on what makes a good presentation, and I had practice runs with live feedback from other colleagues.”

Rotation two, Finance Change, involved the implementation of Agile, where Divya learned to work in ‘sprints’ to meet deadlines, and present progress to other Agile Finance pillars at demonstrations.

“This was more of a project management role, where I learned how to manage stakeholders and present information effectively.”

In rotation three, with the Investment Bank Chief Finance Office, Divya learned about the structure of the Investment Bank and prepared material for presentations. Much of this work involved working with senior management and learning how to deal with conflicting views.

In her final rotation with the Chief Finance Office Regions team, Divya studied the wider capital and liquidity requirements of the bank and how Deutsche Bank completes regulatory returns for smaller entities.

In addition to the key learnings from each rotation, what Divya has learned from colleagues is that collaboration is vital.

“I have learned that you don’t need to know all the answers to every question – if you know someone who does. There’s a lot of cross-collaboration between teams in CFO – with everyone working towards a common goal.”

Of course, true collaboration works both ways, and Deutsche Bank learns a lot from graduates like Divya, too. For example: in her first rotation Divya took time to read, understand and observe the theory behind drafting approval reviews – and became the first graduate to draft them herself. Thanks to her success, future graduates rotating through TPAG can now follow her lead.

Another vital aspect when it comes to people is bringing your whole self to work. As a young British woman of Indian-Mauritian ethnicity, this is particularly important to Divya – and it’s something Deutsche Bank is incredibly supportive of.

“In the past, there was some uncertainty about whether banking was an inclusive industry. However, I am proud to be part of an organisation like DB where there is a clear effort to drive cultural and gender diversity with initiatives such as the '35 by 25' ambition. The Bank understands that diverse backgrounds provide different perspectives which give rise to innovation and change. “

Divya now works in Business Finance Global Credit Trading, part of Group Finance, but she hasn’t forgotten the value of people. These days, she's a buddy for incoming interns and graduates, delivering bi-weekly check-in calls herself. No doubt she’ll make a great senior mentor one day, too.