Most Important Skills For an Associate Strategy at Scotiabank
Veikko, an Associate Strategy professional at Scotiabank, emphasizes that strong analytical skills, including "decompos[ing] the problem in Sparks and understand[ing] the relation between" different aspects, are crucial. Beyond this, effective communication, adaptable to various audiences from "peers...to the CEO," and a hands-on approach, willing to engage in "dirty work," are also essential for success in their strategic role.
Analytical Skills, Communication Skills, Data Analysis, Problem-Solving, Hands-on Experience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
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Veikko Petrozzi
Associate Strategy
Scotiabank
Universidad de Lima - 2011 (Peru)
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Accounting
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
International Student
Video Highlights
1. Analytical skills are crucial for decomposing problems, analyzing hypotheses, and avoiding bias.
2. Strong communication skills are essential, encompassing both verbal and written communication tailored to diverse audiences, from peers to senior executives and external stakeholders.
3. Hands-on experience and willingness to engage in fieldwork, data analysis, and direct interaction with various organizational levels are highly valued, proving that strategy roles demand practical application and not just theoretical thinking.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
There are some basic skills, one of them being analytical skills. This means being able to look at a problem, break it down, and understand the relationships between its parts. You should also analyze hypotheses you've made, avoiding confirmation bias. If you had an idea originally, be willing to change it.
All of these analytical skills are basic. I would also say being a good communicator is important. This includes not just speaking well, but also creating effective presentations, like PowerPoint. You need to know how to address different audiences.
In my role, I'd have to speak to peers, my direct boss, the CFO, the CEO, and sometimes people from outside the company, like investors. You need a degree of sophistication in how you communicate your ideas and present yourself to different stakeholders. So, communication skills are very important, as are analytical skills.
I would also say to be hands-on. Be willing to work in the field, look at raw data, and interview people. Go to the agencies, talk to people at different levels in the organization. Put your sleeves up and do the work.
Strategy roles can seem "sexy," and many people like doing that part. But it's not only that; you have to be willing to do some "dirty work" if appropriate. Numerical skills in general are important too.
This includes being familiar with databases and how to get information from different sources, not just the internet. There are market databases you can access. You have to know how to retrieve that information, analyze it, and draw conclusions from it.