Mentor of the Year
Ellen Kettle
Firm: DNB Markets
About 15 years ago, when Ellen Kettle returned to equity sales after taking a few years off when her children were born, she opted for a more specialized approach.
I asked myself, did I want to stay with the big global firms, or did I want to be niche-focused, where I could use my relationships and expertise and really add more value and insights to my clients? she said.
She joined a Nordic firm after deciding that the energy boom in the region and strong businesses in many other industries presented compelling opportunities. Today, she has been director of equity sales in New York for Oslo, Norway-based DNB Bank for four years, and begins every day at 6 a.m. tasked with building up the banks product and distribution of Nordic equities in the U.S.
I try to pick up the most relevant information each day and highlight it for my clients, Kettle said. They are global investment managers, and they are inundated with so much information. How do you stay above the noise, and how do you add value? Thats the biggest challenge, but its also the exciting part.
In addition to energy, the Nordic region has a strong telecom industry, a big IT presence and a strong banking sector, a result of a restructuring of banks following a financial crisis in the early 1990s.
When Kettle first started out in equity sales, she recalls being handed a stack of research and a list of phone numbers and figuring out how to make money. Now in a senior position herself, she tries ensure that the junior associates she works with receive more guidance. Its really important to be there for the young women and young men who just start out, to help them figure out how an investment process works, Kettle said.
Some of the young women she has helped mentor have become dear friends. It may be about things like, what should be your career path? she said. Or more immediate issues like, how do you balance a big work event with the personal?
