Say ‘yes’ and the world is your oyster…in conversation with Marie Lodňanová

Tell us about your professional story and how you started your career.

To start from the very beginning, I’m actually the first person in my family who went to university as my family come from a background of manual labour.

I have always been very ambitious – despite the views from some of my family members – I wanted more from my life, than to get married early and have kids by 21. So, I graduated from university with a master’s degree in finance. That was a huge milestone for me at that age – on the path to pursue my dreams and my goals – without paying attention to the expectations from others.

After university, I didn’t know what field I wanted to work in, I just knew that it had to be an organisation, which would allow me to grow and offer me exciting opportunities. So, when I saw an advert for HSBC, for a KYC (Know Your Client) analyst – I didn’t even know what KYC was – I thought: “let me try it – it’s a global company and it will be the best start for my career.”

To my delight, I got the job, however, it came with a huge ‘but.’ Originally, the job was supposed to be in the city where I went to university and where my family live – Ostrava in the Czech Republic, so it was a no-brainer. But they told me they had decided to move the job to Krakow, Poland. This was a huge challenge for me because I really didn’t want to leave but I knew that this was such a fantastic opportunity that I simply couldn’t refuse. I said “yes”, moved to Poland, and soon picked up the role. Within months I was promoted to a senior analyst. It was an exciting role and I really enjoyed it.

A year and a half later, an offer came up to go to Mexico to support the company in setting up and implementing the Global Standards we had used in Poland, initially for two months. Two months became three, then six, which eventually became nine… There was a great deal of work to be done in terms of establishing new processes and staff training, and it was very full-on but the most interesting time of my career and it definitely prepared me for my future roles.

Once I finished the project, I was offered to stay on as a permanent employee in Mexico in a quality assurance role. The spin for me was the fact that they needed us to implement the same standards and processes in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina so my quality assurance team would essentially be looking after all of Latin America. A new challenge and another step into the unknown… It was very exciting to become a part of the global team and I really enjoyed my three years in Mexico.

After that, I decided I wanted to head back to Europe to be closer to my family and I had the opportunity to work with HSBC again, this time in the UK. Unfortunately, I had to take a role which was a step down, and it wasn’t something I really wanted to do but there wasn’t another option for me at that time. However, I can now see the benefit of this because I learned a completely new role from the ground-up and within a year, I got a role in a team that looked after high-risk correspondent banking clients, leading the client calls and site visits across Europe.

Following on from HSBC, I was contacted to join Santander to create and implement end-to-end process for correspondent relationships, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a great experience being more involved in other aspects of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Fraud.

And now, four years later I’m at FinTech organisation Currencycloud, working in a global role. Yet again, something different and a new challenge. I’ve never worked with FinTechs before, and here I am just over a year down the line.

Thank you for sharing, your story of success with no geographical limits is quite inspiring. How did you manage your work with other commitments in your life at the time? And has it changed, if at all, throughout your career?

When I first started working, I didn’t think that I needed a work-life balance. I worked a lot and often worked over-time and at weekends. I think it’s only been in the last five years that I realised how important a work-life balance is. I’m a woman of routine and habits, so for me it’s the small things, like going for a walk with my dog before I start my working day or right after. The sunlight and fresh air really help me with consistency. The routine may need to shift now and then because of meetings but I try to keep it up as much as possible.

That is a great tip on prioritising routine when balancing work with personal commitments and physical well-being. Leading on from that, what was the biggest adversity you faced in your career?

For me, it has always been the language. When I started my first role in Poland, we had to communicate in English, and albeit I learned English at school, I struggled with it in my professional life. I found it was especially apparent in important meetings where I felt I couldn’t get my point across clearly enough and further on in my career I was occasionally treated differently, just because I’m not an English-speaking person. I faced a similar challenge when I moved to Mexico, not knowing a single word of Spanish. To be successful, I knew I needed to dive in and learn the language, and within two years I had become a fluent speaker. However, despite language being my biggest challenge, I am very proud of speaking multiple languages, and grateful to have witnessed how they can help break the barriers in professional relationships.

Thank you for showing us it is possible to have a positive mindset despite frequently stepping outside of your comfort zone. Have you seen any improvements in gender gaps throughout your career, particularly with the different countries you’ve worked in? Is there a trend you see?

When I started my career, it wasn’t something which I particularly paid attention to. However, I always had women in higher positions who I could look up to. There was a senior female leader when I was in my first job in Poland, who worked in the same branch as me. I found her quite scary to begin with but I came to realise that she was just confident. Even men felt intimidated – when she was speaking, everyone was paying attention. I found it so inspiring and I always wanted to be like her. Now becoming more senior myself, I pay more attention to gender equality, and if I see some form of inequality, I call it out – I think it’s very important for us as women to stand up for each other. It’s also important to celebrate successes and to recognise when female colleagues get promoted to senior positions. We still have a way to go but we are moving in the right direction.

What work-related advice do you have for the next generation of female leaders?

From my own experience, it would be to not let your fear of the unknown stop you from achieving your goals or going for a new challenge. I have been put in front of the unknown so many times in my career and if I hadn’t have gone for it, I wouldn’t be where I am right now and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Even if it was unsuccessful and I went for something, and I tried and I failed, it’s still an experience in my journey. Additionally, I recently heard a saying: “work to live” not the other way around – and I think that’s very good for the new generation to keep in mind.

iGROWW is Protiviti’s internal women’s network group and stands for ‘Initiative for Growth and Retention of Women at Work’. It has a strong voluntary membership which tackles women’s professional issues through forums. It also facilitates networking events and community service activities. For more information, please contact Rhianne Williams [email protected].