Fidelity Careers: Meet Emlyn

Looking back, my career path at Fidelity has been somewhat unique. This can be attributed to the opportunities I have had to perform a number of diverse roles and this in turn has been a key reason for me thoroughly enjoying my career at Fidelity.

After about five years I had an opportunity to move into Consulting and Audit - a big change and one which gave me exposure to the whole breadth of Fidelity's global business. This move provided me the opportunity to see first hand how Fidelity ran its businesses in South East Asia, Japan, the US and Europe. Around five years later Fidelity create a wholly owned subsidiary, to market a suite of Fidelity developed systems to other mutual fund providers, banks and third party administrators. This provided the opportunity for me to run the operations, marketing and relationship management aspects of the subsidiary.

Then, just over a year ago I had the chance to move into the fund management area. My current team is responsible for the successful introduction of new products into the investment management world. This involves us understanding and managing the product from conception thorugh to implementation. The sheer diversity of products introduced by Fidelity makes this role varied and interesting, and completely different from my original expectations when I joined Fidelity.

To me that's the great thing about working at Fidelity - you are never boxed into one business area. I remember a talented individual in a senior Fund Administration role, a critical figures-based role, moving to become a highly successful Head of Direct Marketing - almost the role's polar opposite. It's a philosophy I wholeheartedly applaud, and within my group it's something I promote and encourage.

Of course this flexibility brings the challenge that you have to be prepared to move outside your comfort zone. If you want to stay in one role and get very good at it, then that's fine but you may not get the most from Fidelity. If you are prepared to take a risk or two, you are more likely to do well - to thrive here you need to learn fast and think on your feet.

Emlyn at Fidelity