A Day in the Life: The head of State Street’s hedge fund administration business |
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Pat Hayes, who heads up State Street’s hedge fund business in Ireland, meets with members of its 1,000 strong workforce through an employee townhall meeting that brings together local employees and the teams in Jersey, Poland and the US. The townhall meeting gives him a chance to meet with employees and brief them on the company’s performance. State Street’s hedge fund business services a significant proportion of the 40 per cent of the world’s alternative investment funds that are adminstered in Ireland and Hayes says ‘we will continue to grow the business and provide opportunities for the many talented and highly qualified people in Ireland.’ |
7:30 a.m. Arrive at my desk for the start of another busy week. Despite the turmoil in world markets, the hedge fund business continues to perform well – we are very fortunate to be in a segment of the market that presents opportunities for growth and expansion. Today, Ireland administers more than 40 per cent of the world’s alternative investment funds and we manage a significant proportion of this figure. One of my priorities as head of the hedge business in Ireland is to ensure that we continue to meet the most sophisticated needs of our clients - that way, we will continue to grow the business and provide opportunities for the many talented and highly qualified people working for us in Ireland.The first task of the day is to meet with my assistant Deirdre and go through the schedule for the day. As always there are a number of actions required from emails received overnight from Asia and North America and we try and clear these first so we can focus on the internal and external meetings planned for the day.
8:45 a.m. This morning I am on my way to our office in Naas for one of our regular senior team meetings. People are always surprised when I explain that we are the leading financial services employer in both Naas and Drogheda. Our experience of both locations has been excellent and reflects the presence of a deep pool of talent and expertise that we have been able to leverage.
9:30 a.m. Arrive in Naas with 5 minutes to spare and grab a coffee with John Quinn who heads up the business in Naas before the meeting kicks off. First item on the agenda is a review of upcoming client meetings. We put a lot of emphasis on planning for these meetings - many of them are day-long events and we are anxious to ensure that clients get full value from their visit to us. Next up is a discussion on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Regulation plays a huge role in our business and we have a continuing focus on how to effectively manage and support our clients amid all of the new regulation that that is coming down the track.
11:30 a.m. Make great time on the journey back to Dublin, which means I get a chance to catch the last part of a programme we are running with Junior Achievement in our offices nationwide. We’ve had a long association with Junior Achievement and today’s event is based on the Dragon’s Den idea where groups of local schoolchildren get a chance to test their entrepreneurial skills – it’s a great opportunity for us to work in partnership with local schools and enable the children to experience first hand what it’s like to work for an organisation like State Street.
12:30 p.m. That earlier cup of coffee is now a long and distant memory and I am delighted to be joining one of our client teams and their client for lunch. The view from the seventh floor of our building on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay is breathtaking and our clients get a bird’s eye view of the coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, before taking in the Aviva! Thankfully they are rugby fans and I get to indulge my other great love in life. We talk about the World Cup as we settle down to lunch, which is a very convivial and enjoyable affair.
2:00 p.m. Back to the desk and time to catch up on phone calls, emails and a quick chat with Aisling Teggart who runs our operation in Carrickmines and oversees our operations in Poland and Hong Kong.
2:45 p.m. Time to join our colleagues in the US for a conference call on our global technology initiatives. As an organisation we invest a huge amount of time, energy and financial resources to ensure our technology meets the needs of our clients, and today’s call is part of a regular programme of updates on developments coming down the line. These calls are a great opportunity to exchange views and ideas with colleagues in other parts of the world. They are also our opportunity to provide feedback from clients - particularly if we think there is an opportunity to do something better.
3:45 p.m. A last chance to look over the material I will use this afternoon at our employee town hall. This is a meeting for local employees and the teams in Jersey, Poland and the US that connect into the wider Irish business. While the preparation for these events is huge, it is always worthwhile. I get a chance to meet with employees, brief them on business performance and, most importantly, outline what we are trying to achieve. Today’s update will include a presentation on our community programmes. State Street has a very active programme in each of the communities we operate in and many of these initiatives are centred on education programmes that support individuals who might not otherwise reach their full potential. Today’s meeting is a great opportunity to update employees on the good work that State Street supports in our local communities.
5:00 p.m. Catch up with Stephen Johnston, who runs our operation in Drogheda to discuss State Street’s involvement in an RTE programme called Local Heroes – A Town Fights Back. This programme is aimed at stimulating the local economy in Drogheda and laying the foundations for job creation. As a major employer in the area, with a huge number of our employees living in the town, we are delighted to have the opportunity to support any initiative that enhances the town’s prospects for job creation.
5:30 p.m. Take the opportunity to complete some online mandatory training on money laundering. Irrespective of how senior you are in the business, you are required to complete regular mandatory training on key topics such as this one. The emphasis on training right across the organisation is enormous – for example, our training teams will run more than 80 courses over the coming two months.
6:30 p.m. I know that at my advanced years it is a surprise to many of my colleagues that I still try and tog out for the first team at Malahide Rugby Club, flying high in Leinster Division 2A. Apart from the odd scrape and a bruised ego on occasions, rugby has been a source of great enjoyment for most of my adult life and helped me establish a social network outside of work when we moved here from England nearly five years ago. For once I am on time leaving the office and should make it to Malahide for this evening’s training. The excuses for usually being late are fairly well worn at this stage.
9:30 p.m. Check the BlackBerry and respond to a couple of mails from colleagues in the US before grabbing some dinner and relaxing with the family for what’s left of the day. |
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