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Following the successful launch of the Women in Clearing Network a year ago, we are proud to present you with EACH’s Women in Clearing Series, an initiative with the objective of featuring a key female leader on a regular basis to inspire other professionals in the industry.
Our first inspirational leader is Hester Serafini, President of ICE Clear Europe, one of the largest clearing houses in the world. Hester oversees all technology, operations and financial functions at the London-based clearing house. She holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Courant Institute at New York University and a Masters in Applied Mathematics from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Hester has kindly shared the following insights about her career journey by responding to three questions:
- What key tip would you give for professionals to successfully develop in their careers?
Take responsibility for your career, identify the skills and knowledge that you need to take on the roles you would like to progress into and make it your priority to learn these skills. Ask questions and don’t wait for opportunities to be given to you, search them out proactively. For example, when you see something that could be done better or something that is not getting done but is needed, raise the idea with your boss and volunteer to take the lead on addressing it. Show that you have vision and initiative and are willing to do the work needed, and most importantly: a career should be fun and enjoyable and rewarding. Find a field and a firm where you enjoy the work so it is not just a job or a step in your career, it is a passion and then success will follow.
- How do you see the future of clearing in 10 years?
Clearing is like a large cruise ship. It does not change course quickly and it takes time for things to change and evolve and that is a good thing given the responsibility that we have in clearing to keep the world’s markets stable and functioning transparently. As a result, I don’t see a lot of big changes in how clearing works over the next ten years, but I do see more and more products continuing to move to the cleared world. I see increased sophistication in how risk is evaluated and managed at clearing houses. I also see increased transparency around how risk is managed at not only clearing houses but also at clearing members who are an important part of the clearing ecosystem.
- What inspires, and has inspired, you to achieve your professional success?
I’m most happy when I contribute ideas and make a difference, so I’ve always gravitated towards challenging areas where change and innovation were happening in the market. I am naturally curious and enjoy understanding all aspects of a problem, ranging from quantitative to legal, to operational, commercial as well as sales and people aspects of a project. This is why I have always chosen to take on roles that allow me to be cross disciplinary and use my broad skill set by combing my understanding of financial markets, legal and operation issues and ability to develop and execute sales strategies and commercial innovation. I genuinely enjoy what I do, and I think that’s one of the main reasons I’ve been successful.
You can read more about Hester in the attached document and at this link.
We warmly thank Hester for sharing her thoughts with us, and we look forward to continuing this EACH’s Women in Clearing Series by hosting many skilled women leaders to inspire other professionals in the clearing sector!
The Women in Clearing network takes the form of a LinkedIn group that participants may use to connect with each other.
