L C booklet

Languages in Careers Convention May 1st 2025

WELCOME

I am delighted to welcome you to this event designed to showcase some of the ways in which language learning can enhance careers.

Language skills are valuable in today’s world where a global mindset is highly prized. Any business that operates internationally has a need for employees that can not only speak multiple languages but also have the cultural awareness that is gained from a languages degree. Liaising with clients, forming new business relationships and even predicting how certain countries will respond to new ideas are all skills that language graduates have. Years ago, it might have been thought that the only career pathways for language graduates were interpreting, translation and teaching where they can use their languages on a daily basis. These still exist, but the onus is no longer on these routes. In an era of global trade challenges, international organisations greatly benefit from multi-lingual talent, and languages are typically one facet of a broader role. Speaking another language fluently does not limit you; it widens the choice and allows you to enter a huge variety of sectors, including new ones such as AI. “Linguists bring so much more than just language skills; they provide cultural insights, nuances, and a deep understanding of effective communication that can bridge any potential gaps. Their expertise can undoubtedly enhance a company's image and foster better relationships with global clients. In today's interconnected world, the value of clear and culturally-aware communication cannot be overstated. Investing in linguists is indeed an investment in sustainable growth and positive brand reputation.” [LinkedIn]. We are very grateful to our presenters and speakers who are here to talk to you this evening. Their career experiences exemplify the value that language learning can bring in terms of career and life experience. Please do take the time to speak to them individually they are here specially to share their advice and experiences with you.

I hope you have an informative and inspiring evening.

Sue Grice Head of Careers

PANEL PRESENTERS

Asa Bennett is the Head of Press for GoFundMe in the UK and Ireland. He started as a journalist in 2012 in the trade press, going on to join the Huffington Post UK and then the Daily Telegraph. After a spell in government as a ministerial speechwriter at the Department for International Trade, the Foreign Office and then Number 10, he joined the Daily Express as an Assistant Editor in 2023. In June 2024, Bennett left journalism to join GoFundMe as an Associate Communications Director, overseeing the platform’s press in the UK and Ireland. ASA BENNETT Current job title: Head of Press Organisation: GoFundMe (UK & Ireland) Degree: BA (Hons) Classics Studied at: UCL https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennettasa/

NICHOLAS ERASMUS Current job title: Investment Management Audit Associate Organisation: KPMG Degree: BSc (Hons) Economics and Finance/MSc Finance & Law Studied at: Bocconi University and Trinity College Dublin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-erasmus/

Having completed his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance at Bocconi University, Milan, and afterwards his Master's degree at Trinity College Dublin, he has been working as an Investment Management Associate for KPMG whilst training to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.

ALEX HORSLEY Current job title: Customer Journey Lead - Sales and Trading Organisation: Lloyds Banking Group Degree: BA (Hons) Modern Languages (French and Portuguese) Studied at: University of Oxford - St Anne’s College

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhorsley/

(OMT, 1995)

Alex joined Bloomberg in 2000 as part of the multilingual first-line support team who were required to answer calls in all European languages providing general assistance. He soon progressed to the French account team and spent 2 years managing clients in Paris and regional France, with weekly visits to support and train users. The travelling took its toll, and he asked to move to a London-based team covering HSBC. After 2 years, in 2004, he was hired directly by HSBC

to work in their front office support area as he had acquired strong expertise in a trading system they used. They had recently taken over a French bank (CCF) and ran their rates business from Paris, so the languages continued to be useful. Over the next 6 years he worked primarily on fixed income trading platforms and became knowledgeable on certain systems (e.g. ION and Murex). In 2010 he was approached by Lloyds who were building out their electronic trading platform and they hired him as a business analyst. Within 6 months, he was promoted to lead the development team.

“15 years later, I’m still at Lloyds and have been a fundamental and enduring part of their journey from greenfield site to a top 5 dealer in GBP swaps and Gilts. Although latterly my job doesn’t require much use of languages, the subsequent opportunities may not have come about if I hadn’t started my journey as part of that multilingual support team at Bloomberg back in 2000.”

MIRAN PARK Current job title: Managing Director - Chief Client Office Organisation: S&P Global Degree: Political Science Studied at: University of Chicago

https://www.linkedin.com/in/miran-park-a57246 3/?originalSubdomain=uk

MiRan is a member of the EMEA leadership team in the Chief Client Office at S&P Global - a $165 billion financial data and benchmark firm, having led global partnerships, business development and product management in London, Singapore, New York and Chicago. Having joined the company at a start-up stage, she has built a track record in driving revenue growth through building data and analytical solutions and designing commercial strategy and has built her career through various stages of growth to the company's IPO and further M&A across multiple functional roles. She is a native Korean, who has learned English as a second language and also studied Japanese and French.

(OMT, 1995) Jatin Radia studied Maths, French & Economics A Levels at MTS (Class of 1995), followed by an Erasmus year in Strasbourg. After qualifying as an accountant at Grant Thornton, a partner wanted to use his French speaking-ability to work an IPO to list a client on AIM Stock Exchange. After a successful listing, he was put on the Partner fast-track programme and sent on a long term secondment to Paris (5 years). On his return, he was headhunted by a French bank to lead their Corporate Advisory unit. As he says himself “funnily enough, my job involves Maths, French & Economics!” JATIN RADIA Current job title: Managing Director Organisation: Pramex International (Groupe BPCE) Degree: Law with European Legal Studies LLB Studied at: King's College London https://www.linkedin.com/in/jatin-radia-38764a2/

DR. MARTIN STOTZ Current job title: Consultant Intensive Care & Anaesthesia Organisation: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Degree:

Medicine, MD Studied at:

University of Basel, Switzerland and University of Heidelberg, Germany

https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-stotz-bb1a703b /

Martin was born in Germany, grew up in Switzerland and has now found his home in the UK. He undertook his medical training in Switzerland and Germany and postgraduate training in anaesthesia in Switzerland and the UK (at UCLH). He speaks English, French and German. Without learning languages, his career and life would have taken a different path. Martin is now a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthesia at St Mary’s Hospital in London, where he leads a multi-disciplinary team. St Mary’s is a major trauma centre

and part of Imperial College NHS Trust. He works in both the NHS and in private practice and is a Medico-legal expert for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. His areas of interest include adult intensive care medicine, general anaesthesia and airway management, sepsis, trauma and acute traumatic brain injury. As well as giving an insight into how his medical career has progressed in different countries, he will talk about the value of learning ancient languages to facilitate the understanding of modern languages.

ADDITIONAL GUEST ‘MARKETPLACE’ SPEAKERS

ASHLEY SOUTHCOTT Current job title: Managing Director Organisation: Rothschild & Co. Degree: BA (Hons)Economics with Hispanic Studies Studied at: University of Nottingham

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-southcott-6 71557b/?originalSubdomain=uk

(OMT, 2004)

I took Spanish A level at school and started Portuguese as an optional module at university. As part of my undergraduate degree, I spent a year abroad (third year of the course) and was able to spend c.5 months in Brazil and c.5 months at the University of Granada, Spain. At the end of that year, I also completed Finance internships in London. I started my career in financial advisory at Rothschild & Co and am a Managing Director in the Healthcare team. I have been fortunate to have worked with clients in Spain and Latin America. English is the general language of business but being able to speak with clients and colleagues in their native languages is very beneficial. Brits speaking foreign languages is always a differentiator.

Having studied French & German with Management at university, Dillon moved onto various strategy roles within the Finance & Technology space and is currently working in Fintech. Studying languages at University is something Dillon is incredibly proud of. “The biggest part of success in the workplace is determined by how we communicate, and how we interpret and analyse. These are the skills which a language degree hones in on and which I have carried with me”. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillon-nathwani-a20171104/ (OMT, 2015) DILLON NATHWANI Current job title: Senior Strategy & Operations Manager Organisation: Revolut Degree: BA (Hons) Modern & Medieval Languages & Management Studied at: University of Cambridge

Tom works at PwC as a Senior Associate in Banking & Capital Markets Tax on a rotation scheme studying for the ICAEW ACA qualification. He has undertaken prior roles in Media Assurance and Insurance Audit, and graduated from Durham University in 2022 with a 2.1 in German and Italian. “At my current position, we work with international clients often and I'm regularly asked to complete/authorise translations internally. While at university I had also worked as a translator for a sports media firm in Munich”. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-oakton/ (OMT, 2018) TOM OAKTON Current job title: Senior Associate - Financial Services Tax Organisation: PwC Degree: BA (Hons) Modern Languages, German and Italian Studied at: Durham University

IAN MARTIN Current job title: Talent Acquisition Manager (EMEA) Organisation: DDN (Data Direct Networks) Degree: BA (Hons) Modern Languages (French & Spanish) Studied at: University of Central Lancashire/ Université de Montpelier Paul-Valéry

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmartin/

Ian used his French for an Insurance company's emergency medical call centre - this was a requirement. He also supported Spanish customers in Spanish in a technical support call centre in Watford! He then fell into the world of recruitment, initially working for a multi-lingual only recruitment agency. Following 8 years in agencies, he worked in-house with companies including Cisco, Shell, Pearson, Sage and many other mid-sized or start-up companies.

At all these companies, he was recruiting people across sales, marketing, support, legal, finance, HR and across all of Europe.

To date he has hired people in over 30 countries and being able to speak a foreign language has massively helped in building international relationships and networks.

DR CHARLOTTE FAUCHER Current job title: Senior Lecturer in Modern History, School of Modern Languages Organisation: University of Bristol Degree: BA (Hons) History; MA English Studies; PhD History Studied at: University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne; Université Paris Diderot; Queen Mary University of London

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-faucher -2a12751b4/

Alongside her role as a senior lecturer, Charlotte is Widening Participation and School Outreach Officer for the School of Modern Languages at Bristol. At Bristol we offer several degree programmes including: A languages degree (e.g. BA French, BA Italian and Spanish, BA Three Modern Languages) Comparative Literature and Cultures (no language required but you can continue or start a language if you wish)

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A joint honours degree including a language (e.g. BA German and History, LLB Law and French)

Different levels (ALL languages at Bristol can be studied from scratch). The languages we offer are: French, German, Italian, Portuguese (for beginners only), Russian and Spanish. In addition, students can currently study Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Modern Standard Arabic in our University-Wide Language Programme. Our students have gone on to work in the Foreign Office, journalism, the civil service, teaching, media and creative industries, marketing, finance, consultancy and think tanks, recruitment, tourism, law, translation.

Greg is a Freelance Producer and Production Manager with experience in commercial, short film, and music video production. Freelance Degree: BA (Hons) Modern Languages, (French and German) Studied at: University of Cambridge - Trinity Hall https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-hinks-09168847/ (OMT, 2011) After studying French and German at Cambridge, including a year studying and working in Konstanz in Germany, he began his career in production, working his way up from Production Assistant to Producer. His language skills have been invaluable, not just for international shoots. Studying languages taught him the importance of clear communication, the confidence to speak up and lead, and gave him a richer understanding of different cultures — all crucial skills for a successful career in production. GREG HINKS Current job title: Producer and Production Manager Organisation:

ANNELIESE BRACKIN Current job title: Director of Admissions and Marketing Organisation: Merchant Taylors’ School Degree: BA (Hons) Modern Languages (French and Spanish) Studied at: University of Bristol

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneliese-brackin-74278b23/

Anneliese joined Merchant Taylors’ School in September 2023 as Director of Admissions and Marketing, bringing with her a wealth of experience from her previous role at Claires Court School in Maidenhead. A graduate of the University of Bristol with a degree in Modern Languages (French and Spanish), Anneliese has always been passionate about the power of communication across cultures.

She spent nearly twenty years in the airline industry, where her language skills were a vital asset in roles at Air France and American Airlines.

Working on projects across Europe, she regularly used her fluency in French and Spanish to build strong relationships with colleagues, partners, and suppliers—enhancing collaboration and driving effective brand communication on an international scale. Since transitioning into the independent education sector, Anneliese has remained committed to clear, values-driven messaging. At Merchant Taylors’ School, she ensures that every aspect of admissions and marketing reflects the school’s ethos, while cultivating a warm and inclusive environment for prospective students and their families.

Outside of work, Anneliese remains a keen linguist and particularly enjoys speaking French during family holidays in France.

FURTHER RESOURCES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

The following resources are provided solely for the purposes of further research. They are a tiny selection of some interesting information that is available, and future study/career decisions should not be based solely on this information. MTS students can make an appointment with Ms Grice in the Careers Office for further guidance.

Prospects (provides useful information for graduates) https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/modern-languages

Target Jobs (provide recruitment support to graduates) – articles on how languages can help get a graduate investment job https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/accountancy-banking-and-finance/ speaking-another- language-can-help-you-get-graduate-investment-banking-job https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/accountancy-banking-and-finance/ how-sell-your-non-finance-degree-your-graduate-investment-application

University of Cambridge Careers Service: https://www.careers.cam.ac.uk/sectors-careers-using-languages

UK Security Service (MI5) Careers page: https://www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/opportunities/languages

UCAS – current modern languages courses offered at UK universities: https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/results/courses?searchTerm=Modern%20Languages& studyYear=2025&destination=Undergraduate&postcodeDistanceSystem=imperial&page Number=1&sort=MostRelevant&clearingPreference=None

Times Higher Education Study abroad resources: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/tag/study-abroad

Some European universities that teach courses in English: https://www.crimsoneducation.org/uk/blog/10-great-european-universities-that-teach select- programs-in-english/