Look around and get to know more parts of the organisation
Look around and get to know more parts of the organisation. Cecilia Martin would have liked to have given herself this advice when she was new to SEB.
Cecilia Martin started as a customer insight analyst at SEB in 2012 and four years later she took on the role of a credit risk analyst. Since 2019 she has been Head of the Risk & Capital Management department.
What do you like doing in your free time?
“Diving is my passion and something I do all year round. In the winter I dive on wrecks in the Baltic Sea or pick up rubbish with the association ‘Rena Mälaren’. In the summer I enjoy diving in other places in the world where the visibility is a little better than here. The Red Sea is wonderful to dive in and I also like the Maldives and Cuba.”
You have worked at SEB for ten years. What made you stay?
“Since there are so many opportunities for development within the bank, I do not need to look outside for my next challenge. The longer you stay at SEB, the easier it becomes to find your next step. For example, it would have been difficult for me to move from working with customer insight to risk if I had not had a network within the bank and managers who knew I could cope with such a big step.”
How would you describe SEB as a workplace?
“SEB has an open and inclusive culture. There’s a good mix of people here with different backgrounds and experiences, in terms of gender, ethnicity and education. Many people think that it is only economists who work at a bank, but this is not so.”
What’s most fun about your role?
“I enjoy leading and developing a team. My work is very much about creating commitment and drive in the group."
What is your biggest challenge as a leader?
“It’s challenging to lead at a time when everything is moving faster and faster. My task is to manage to get everyone involved in the major transformation we are in the middle of – and then I don’t just mean digital development but also the way we work. My role as leader includes creating space in which everyone can adjust and learn all these new things.”
What advice would you have liked to have given yourself when you were new at the job?
“As a newcomer I was very focused on my role and my working duties. This is naturally good but I still should have given myself the advice to look around and be open to getting to know the entire organisation. Otherwise it is easy to get stuck in your small corner. I would also like to advise others not to be in too much of a hurry to take the next step but to really feel comfortable in your role first.”