Alum of the Month
John Noonan
March 2016
London Program
August 2009 Intake
What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
History and Economics - Creighton University, Omaha Nebraska.
What made you apply for the Mountbatten programme?
I wanted to live in Europe for a year after graduating college and had become interested in finance due to my economics classes in college and the 2008 market crash. I also looked forward to the opportunity to travel and take business courses.
Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I worked at UBS Investment Bank as a Logistics Compliance Officer to ensure that all of the banks operations teams were complying with Financial Services Authority (FSAs) Regulations. My main tasks were reviewing and checking over all of the Outsourcing Business Initiatives when an operations team wanted to outsource or offshore jobs, completing compliance examinations of different operations teams, and ensuring that UBS's clearance and settlements and transactions reporting teams were reporting to the FSA as required by new regulatory policies.
What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
The FSA was completing a pilot project with several banks by proposing new controls regarding client money and collateral. Our team was tasked with determining the burden to UBS as well as whether these new controls were possible. We began to implement them and see in what areas if any we already complied. We also checked to see if we were not in compliance how long it would take us to get in compliance. After investigating all of these we went to the FSA headquarters at Canary Wharf and presented our findings.
What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
The most memorable moments were traveling throughout Europe and exploring new countries. I think I took 24 trips during the year and was able to go to many different cities and countries with other interns. Other highlights in London included the UBS Christmas party with fellow interns and coworkers.
Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship.
The experience of living abroad is invaluable and I would encourage everyone to try it.
If you could change anything about your internship, what would it be?
I would not change much from the internship, but I would have sought out more mentors and more opportunities to grow.
What happened after completing the year - what did you do next?
After London I went to Law School in Florida.
Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
I work as an Assistant State Attorney for State Attorney William Meggs in the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida. Our office handles nearly all criminal prosecutions in the counties surrounding Tallahassee, FL. I work on over one-hundred Felony Domestic Violence cases at any given time. Most of our time is spent preparing discovery, talking to victims to get their input on their case, negotiating pleas with defense attorneys, attending pre-trial hearings, and trying cases in front of juries.
Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
Career-wise: I really enjoy my current job, but may someday explore working for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, or a Florida Agency prosecuting securities violations. Social:I would like to get to all fifty US states (I have 8 states left) and all seven continents. Additionally, I would be interested in and have looked different ways that would allow me to live abroad again.
What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Analytical, compassionate and determined
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I am serious when talking to people I am acquainted with or have just met, but I like to goof around with family and close friends.