Investment Banking Analyst and adventure marathon runner
Sjoerd Witjes
What exactly do you do as an Investment Banking Analyst?
Broadly speaking you can split your work into deal related work and originating work. Originating work often involves preparing presentations, doing research into companies and their sectors, as well as analytical work. Deal related work involves the same activities as originating work, albeit at a more in-depth level, plus you are heavily involved in the project management of the deal. You get a lot of responsibility early on, which in my view makes the job exciting and diverse, but at the same time this makes the job challenging as well as you need to work outside your comfort zone quite often.
What does your typical day look like?
Activities change on a day-to-day basis and you often are not sure how your day will turn out at the start of your day (which in my view is very exciting). If you are staffed on one or several deals you are often in calls and meetings during the day, however you will also be busy with conducting research, presentation and equity story crafting, financial modelling, and making sure the deal progresses smoothly. Perhaps it’s also good to know that, because we have relatively small teams and a lot going on, you quickly get the opportunity to be in contact with the client (which could result in direct contact with CEOs and CFOs).
Did you know at a young age that this would be your passion?
Growing up my dream was to be a professional basketball player, a dream which I had to give up after finishing my Bachelor degree due to the financial crisis. After spending a gap year on the island of Madeira (Portugal) working for a hotel chain to figure out what I should do with my life (and still playing basketball at a national level), I decided to start the MSc Finance and Investments in Rotterdam, during which I found out that investment banking would probably be a good fit for me (also given my sports background/mindset). I also first came in contact with Kempen during my Masters and immediately thought there was a good fit between the people there and myself. After a study abroad at Peking University in Beijing, China, several internships in Beijing and Amsterdam, and a year of learning Mandarin at Peking University (during which I also played Slamball for the university team and became second in the national championship), I ended up getting a job at Kempen.
What’s the working atmosphere at Corporate Finance like?
Proactive, young, and flat:
Proactive because we don’t have other departments (e.g. lending) that can pass through business, which also makes our mentality: we only get business if we go out and get it.
Young because we have quite a young and energetic team (even the more senior people have a very young spirit)
Flat because everyone is very approachable and you often work directly with Managing Directors (and it is only valued if you speak up). This can be seen if you would take a look at our floor as there are no offices and everyone sits in groups of c.4 people (even the head of our department).
An important consequence of all of this is that you can very quickly get a lot of responsibility as you are encouraged to set your learning curve as steep as possible.
What do you prefer to do outside of working hours?
After work and in the weekend I like to work out and meet friends (several of my colleagues I also see during the weekend). That being said, recently I have only been running as I am training for the Polar Circle Marathon.
Can you tell more about that you are training for the North Pole marathon? What result do you want to achieve and why?
I will be running the Polar Circle marathon with a friend of mine at the end of October (2019) to raise money for the “Nationaal MS fonds”. The Polar Circle marathon can be considered one of the most challenging marathons on earth as temperatures drop to -15 or even -20 degrees Celsius and ice cold winds provide a constant risk of frostbite for the runners. On top of this, quick feet are an absolute must as part of the race is ran on ice caps.
Why I will perform such a risky endeavor is simple: My mother has been diagnosed with MS many years ago and despite her illness, constant pain, and physical limitations she still manages to live her life to the fullest and have a positive mindset every day. This has inspired me tremendously and showed me that you shouldn’t take no for an answer and that nothing is impossible. In that spirit, and as a way to give back, I believe it is only fitting to set myself a challenge that most of my friends say is impossible. By the way, in case you are wondering whether I am an experienced runner: the answer is no. I performed a similar endeavor 3 years ago by running arguably the toughest marathon on earth: The Great Wall marathon, however this was also my first and only marathon experience to date.
Do you see a comparison with achieving a (top) sports performance and your work as an analyst?
Definitely, there are quite some people in our department that have a sports background and that is, in my view, not coincidental. The pressure can get high, you need to be very flexible, and there is a constant need to perform, furthermore you are working closely in teams and, given the hours, you get a really strong bond with your colleagues (like you do with teammates). For me, these are aspects that I looked for when I started to look job opportunities during university and found here at Kempen Corporate Finance.
Broadly speaking you can split your work into deal related work and originating work. Originating work often involves preparing presentations, doing research into companies and their sectors, as well as analytical work. Deal related work involves the same activities as originating work, albeit at a more in-depth level, plus you are heavily involved in the project management of the deal. You get a lot of responsibility early on, which in my view makes the job exciting and diverse, but at the same time this makes the job challenging as well as you need to work outside your comfort zone quite often.
What does your typical day look like?
Activities change on a day-to-day basis and you often are not sure how your day will turn out at the start of your day (which in my view is very exciting). If you are staffed on one or several deals you are often in calls and meetings during the day, however you will also be busy with conducting research, presentation and equity story crafting, financial modelling, and making sure the deal progresses smoothly. Perhaps it’s also good to know that, because we have relatively small teams and a lot going on, you quickly get the opportunity to be in contact with the client (which could result in direct contact with CEOs and CFOs).
Did you know at a young age that this would be your passion?
Growing up my dream was to be a professional basketball player, a dream which I had to give up after finishing my Bachelor degree due to the financial crisis. After spending a gap year on the island of Madeira (Portugal) working for a hotel chain to figure out what I should do with my life (and still playing basketball at a national level), I decided to start the MSc Finance and Investments in Rotterdam, during which I found out that investment banking would probably be a good fit for me (also given my sports background/mindset). I also first came in contact with Kempen during my Masters and immediately thought there was a good fit between the people there and myself. After a study abroad at Peking University in Beijing, China, several internships in Beijing and Amsterdam, and a year of learning Mandarin at Peking University (during which I also played Slamball for the university team and became second in the national championship), I ended up getting a job at Kempen.
What’s the working atmosphere at Corporate Finance like?
Proactive, young, and flat:
Proactive because we don’t have other departments (e.g. lending) that can pass through business, which also makes our mentality: we only get business if we go out and get it.
Young because we have quite a young and energetic team (even the more senior people have a very young spirit)
Flat because everyone is very approachable and you often work directly with Managing Directors (and it is only valued if you speak up). This can be seen if you would take a look at our floor as there are no offices and everyone sits in groups of c.4 people (even the head of our department).
An important consequence of all of this is that you can very quickly get a lot of responsibility as you are encouraged to set your learning curve as steep as possible.
What do you prefer to do outside of working hours?
After work and in the weekend I like to work out and meet friends (several of my colleagues I also see during the weekend). That being said, recently I have only been running as I am training for the Polar Circle Marathon.
Can you tell more about that you are training for the North Pole marathon? What result do you want to achieve and why?
I will be running the Polar Circle marathon with a friend of mine at the end of October (2019) to raise money for the “Nationaal MS fonds”. The Polar Circle marathon can be considered one of the most challenging marathons on earth as temperatures drop to -15 or even -20 degrees Celsius and ice cold winds provide a constant risk of frostbite for the runners. On top of this, quick feet are an absolute must as part of the race is ran on ice caps.
Why I will perform such a risky endeavor is simple: My mother has been diagnosed with MS many years ago and despite her illness, constant pain, and physical limitations she still manages to live her life to the fullest and have a positive mindset every day. This has inspired me tremendously and showed me that you shouldn’t take no for an answer and that nothing is impossible. In that spirit, and as a way to give back, I believe it is only fitting to set myself a challenge that most of my friends say is impossible. By the way, in case you are wondering whether I am an experienced runner: the answer is no. I performed a similar endeavor 3 years ago by running arguably the toughest marathon on earth: The Great Wall marathon, however this was also my first and only marathon experience to date.
Do you see a comparison with achieving a (top) sports performance and your work as an analyst?
Definitely, there are quite some people in our department that have a sports background and that is, in my view, not coincidental. The pressure can get high, you need to be very flexible, and there is a constant need to perform, furthermore you are working closely in teams and, given the hours, you get a really strong bond with your colleagues (like you do with teammates). For me, these are aspects that I looked for when I started to look job opportunities during university and found here at Kempen Corporate Finance.