Finance Director, Funds and Asset Management Europe at Lendlease.

What’s your career path been since you graduated from Bristol?

After leaving Bristol with a master’s degree I joined KPMG London where I worked in the Audit practice for 3.5 years and qualified as a chartered accountant. From here I moved to Lendlease In London where I still work.

Lendlease is a global leader in Real Estate, Construction, Development and Investment Management and listed on the Australian stock exchange. I worked in the construction business for 10 years in a number of different finance roles. 2 years ago, I moved into Investment and Funds Management and was promoted in 2020 to become the Finance Director of this business. I now sit on the European IM Executive Leadership Team and the Finance Leadership Team.

How did your degree help get you to where you are now?

The University of Bristol is a great name to have on my CV with a very reputable Economics and Finance department. The finance courses I studied helped me through my ACA qualification.

Did you make use of any of the careers support (careers service/PLN/personal tutoring) whilst at the University?

I attended several milk rounds and career fairs. I used those as an opportunity to develop contacts at various companies.

What did you enjoy most about living in the city of Bristol?

Absolutely loved loved Bristol. I moved here from Pakistan so the first few weeks took a while to get used to especially as I also needed to find a part time job to help me pay for some of my living expenses being an international student. I loved the fact that it was a small student city and you bump into lots of people you know wherever you go. I lived at the bottom of Park street which was a fabulous location.

What 3 key pieces of advice would you give to current students? 

Be prepared to work very hard. Your grades matter and will stick with you for years to come!

When you go for interviews , be professional but personable. You have to convince your interviewer that they want you in their team.

Whilst at university try to do something outside the box which you can add to your CV and makes you stand out from other applicants. For example I was the head of the Post Graduate Association at the University of Bristol and also had a part time job. This meant I had something different I could talk about at my interviews. 

Find out more about Postgraduate Programmes.