After obtaining a MSc in Accounting and Financial Management at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) in Sweden, and a BSc in Business and Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics, Michaela Appelkvist tells us how she landed a role as a Investment Banking Analyst.
Why did you pick Greenhill?:
I interned at Greenhill in the summer of 2015 and then joined full-time in June 2016. I was quite amazed at how much responsibility I was given even as an intern. That was real motivation for me. Even as an intern, I felt I was actually a part of Greenhill already, as I had significant participation in the deals I was working on. You communicate a lot - not just with the associates, but also the VPs and MDs. I found it quite intriguing how there was so much interaction among all levels of Greenhill people.
I was looking for two things: first, the opportunity to learn and be challenged; second, the chance to work with great people. As a generalist, there is an opportunity to work across an incredibly diversified set of companies. You get a wide array of skills, which appealed to me. The people were important to me, because I wanted to work with people who would invest time in mentoring me, challenge me intellectually, and also make me look forward to coming to work every day.
What has surprised you about your role or the firm, since joining Greenhill?:
I think one of the best things about Greenhill is the amount of responsibility you can get early in one’s career – for example, the opportunity to interact with senior management of companies regularly. I have found that senior people really take a vested interest in the junior people, and view them as an important asset to the team and to the firm. They encourage junior people to have exposure to clients and work with them, to build those skills of communicating with clients and building relationships, which will be even more valuable when you are a senior banker.
How would you describe the culture and working environment?:
It's a very open environment. If you want to discuss an idea, you can just walk across the office to talk to the right person. Even as a relatively new member of the team, I feel free to express what I think. I feel as though I'm an important part of something.