Alum of the Month
Padric Gleason
June 2015
London Program
August 2010 Intake
What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
I studied International Relations and Hispanic Studies at Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
What made you apply for the Mountbatten programme?
I applied for the Mountbatten program to gain international work experience, and to apply my academic background in international relations in a new context. I had studied the global economy and international trade, but was interested in seeing and experiencing those concepts in practice. Mountbatten provided me with formal business training, but also the work experience to make use of it.
Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I worked at UBS Investment Bank, within the Emerging Markets Compliance team. We provided centralized compliance support and project management for banks in mainland Europe, Russia, Turkey, the Middle East and South Africa. We advised the bank’s London HQ on local compliance requirements and facilitated projects delivery in local markets. We also provided training to local teams, and I was the administrator of the bank’s compliance controls for subsidiary banks.
What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
The highlight of my experience was the close relationships that I was able to build with my managers. They took a genuine interest in supervising my professional growth, and they were receptive to my ideas and perspectives. By the end of the year, I had been given increasing levels of responsibility, which helped me build my resume and transferrable skills that I continue to use today.
What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
Despite my lack of formal swim training, I joined a water polo team in London, which became a really important social group for me. I met people from all over Europe, and learned a new sport. It kept me in shape too. One highlight was a road trip through Bruges, Belgium, on the way to an international competition in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Very cool to have the opportunity to travel in Europe.
Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship.
Use the Mountbatten experience to learn communication skills across diverse groups of people- you should be comfortable speaking in front of groups, with people from other countries, with people who don’t speak English, with executives, with IT staff, etc. The Mountbatten experience is an excellent time to build these interpersonal skills at the start of your career.
If you could change anything about your internship, what would it be?
Ultimately, investment banking was not my field of interest, so if I could have worked in something else, I may have gotten more out of the experience. That said, working at an IB gave me a solid platform to build on later in my (relatively brief) career.
What happened after completing the year - what did you do next?
After finishing the MBA portion of the programme in Thailand, I moved to Silicon Valley, where I worked as a recruiter for a tech company. I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship soon after, and I moved to Mexico City to work for the United Nations for 2 years.
Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
I currently work at London & Partners, the official promotional company for London. We promote London around the world. My role is to streamline the process of setting up and growing in London for overseas companies. I cover the East Coast of the US and Canada, identifying and reaching out to high growth potential SMEs and large corporate clients. Our goal is to create jobs in London through foreign direct investment.
Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
I’d like to continue nurturing a career in international trade and investment and entrepreneurship, working to build strong communities and societies through proactive economic development. I think the decentralization of economic power is a rising tide that will benefit everyone. Eventually, I’d like to play a role in shaping public policy in the area of small business growth and/or international trade.
Is there any other information that you would like to be included?
I’m happy to meet with any former Mountbatten about expanding their business to London. Also, I work with 2 other former MBs—Rob Cauvy at UK Trade & Investment, and Charles Arrowsmith, who works for the British Consul General in New York.