With support from Concordia, Stephanie Wakeham, MBA 15, was able to shuttle between New York and Toronto to resume her Goodman Institute courses.
Stephanie Wakeham, MBA 15, graduated cum laude from the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University in 2009. As a standout finance student, varsity basketball player and Academic All-Canadian, the native of St. John’s, Newfoundland had a number of professional and academic paths at her disposal.
In the end, only one fit Wakeham’s requirements.
“The Goodman Institute of Investment Management was attractive for a number of reasons,” she says. “One, Concordia offered it in Toronto, which was perfect because I was interested in a career on Bay Street. The other aspect was the CFA curriculum and the ability to complete my MBA and work at the same time.”
From Bay Street to Wall Street
Wakeham, who was granted an entrance scholarship when she enrolled at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), accepted an offer from Macquarie Group, the Australian financial services multinational, and left Newfoundland excited to start a new chapter.
Despite the demands of work and school, Wakeham adjusted quickly to the pace of life in Toronto. The versatility of the Goodman Institute, which holds lectures for graduate students in both Montreal and Toronto on Wednesdays and Saturdays, helped enormously.
“I felt just as much a part of the program in Toronto,” she remarks. “Zoom and other videoconference platforms are a fact of life today but when I started in 2009, they were less prevalent. It was well coordinated. The small class size also helped foster a sense of closeness.”
Wakeham had the unusual opportunity to bond with two separate Goodman cohorts. When Macquarie offered her the chance to relocate to New York in 2011 to take on a middle-office role, she jumped at it and put her MBA on hold.
“Then in 2014 I decided to shift to equity research and more of a front-office job with the company. At that time I had passed my CFA Level II exam and was keen to finish my MBA.”
With support from Concordia, Wakeham was able to shuttle between New York and Toronto to resume her Goodman courses with a new set of students and complete her CFA.
“My route may not have been the most traditional, but I made so many friends in the program,” she says. “One of them even came to my wedding in Portugal.”
‘Weird starting a new job during a pandemic’
Ever since she left her home province, Wakeham has proven remarkably adaptable.
“I’m pretty sociable and not shy at all, so whenever I’ve had to move for school or work it’s generally been a positive experience.”
After spells in Halifax, Toronto and New York, Wakeham relocated to London, U.K. in 2016 to resume her career as an analyst with Macquarie.
“The first six months were tricky but I can see London being home for a while,” she says. “We have such a good group of friends here and I have a job that I enjoy.”
That job is with Exane, a European equity firm associated with BNP Paribas. Wakeham accepted an equity research analyst role with the company last May, not long after Macquarie got out of the equity business.
While COVID-19 has made this an unusual time for a career change, the cheery Wakeham has taken it all in stride.
“Sure, it’s a little weird starting a new job during a pandemic and not being able to meet most of my colleagues,” she says. “But I’m lucky in that I’m working with my old boss from Macquarie whom I’ve known for years. And working from home has been phenomenal. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely an element of collaboration that requires in-person contact but gone are the days, I think, where everyone’s expected to be in the office five days a week.”
Wakeham, who still covers the United States apparel, footwear and luxury sector, says the crisis has definitely compelled a different approach to the job.
“We usually model and measure profitability on the quarterly level but the pandemic has forced us to go weekly,” she says. “Everything’s changing so fast. On a Monday, all the stores may be closed, yet on a Tuesday there’s a glimmer of hope for a vaccine. Then on Wednesday we’re back to thinking nobody will ever shop in person again.
“It’s been interesting. I’m not sure there’s been a point in time where things have changed this fast on a global scale. I think it’s driving a big shift in consumer behaviour.”
The Goodman Institute of Investment Management was established at the John Molson School of Business in 1999, thanks to a $1.95-million gift from Ned Goodman, LLD 97. Offered in both Montreal and Toronto, the MBA program was the first in the world to completely integrate the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Body of Knowledge™ into its curriculum.
