Jennica’s Story
Relationships are Fundamental

I was a politics major at Princeton. I ended up joining a major bank’s accelerated management training program before transitioning to a global asset management firm, then to a boutique agency trading firm. All in all, I spent around nine years working in large organizations and eleven years at the smaller firm – so I truly understand the pros and cons of different corporate structures and environments.

This is what led me to Susquehanna almost two years ago.

After many years of interacting with Susquehanna as a counterparty, I saw first-hand how they never took their position for granted and always sought to push themselves and their customers to innovate. Susquehanna feels like a synergy between an established institution and an entrepreneurial startup. It benefits from having the reputation, breadth of business opportunities and employee resources of a large firm, while maintaining a sense of grit typical of smaller firms.

“Coming to Susquehanna, even at a senior level, you witness the emphasis the organization places on education. The culture encourages being both a student and a teacher, regardless of where you are in your career journey.” Over the past two years, I have spent time in the weeds learning how the firm operates and taking structured leadership and management classes, while also leading formal and informal education and mentorship events for my team and for interns.

What continues to energize me here at Susquehanna is that every day I work on something new – be it challenging my team to provide value in new ways, collaborating with strategic partners, or evaluating emerging business opportunities. A Susquehanna career progresses by tackling new and unique challenges. I’ve never encountered anyone here who is just coasting along. Everyone is “all in,” and that’s quite motivating.

My advice for someone starting in their career is to take time to really get to know your peers and look for opportunities to develop mentors. Relationships play a fundamental role in your career. You can lean on your network to give you honest feedback about your work, be a sounding board for new challenges, and even nudge you to consider a new opportunity (it was a longtime mentor who encouraged me to pursue the Susquehanna opportunity!).

Another thing I encourage those starting their career to do is to find your voice and trust it. It can often be intimidating – including for many women– to advocate for themselves at the start of their careers.

Susquehanna aims to bring people into the organization who have different perspectives, ideas, and problem-solving approaches. For those who get a chance to work here, remember that you were hired because they were confident in both your abilities and you as a person. I encourage you to embrace that you’re working at a company that places a lot of trust in you and use that in your mission to innovate.