Old Trident and City trader Nigel Owen delivered an entertaining talk to the Sixth Form giving us a real taste of life working for a City bank. After leaving Trent – and running our school bank – Nigel moved onto greater things, firstly with the Royal Bank of Scotland and then, five years ago, moving to be a VP at The Royal Bank of Canada.
Nigel gave the students a warts and all run down of life as a city trader, the early starts, the information overload, the risks, the stress and yes, of course, the rewards as well. He invited students to voice the criticism so often levelled by press and public, about massive bonuses, the male dominated profession, reckless lending and greed. Nigel dealt with each point, putting the other side of the story, not exonerating the banks but suggesting that our credit crunch problems had multiple causes.
Over dinner Nigel gave advice to students who wanted to emulate his career path, stressing the need for a good degree from a good university and the importance of working hard and trying to make yourself stand out from the crowd.
A genuinely useful evening on many levels, the event was enjoyed by all.