Anna Kopytina

Anna Kopytina has been passionate about Finance, a field she describes as “dynamic and complex,” since the end of her undergraduate days. As a young woman fresh out of college, she would imagine herself in front of a screen with price charts and currency quotes, making sense of numbers and trends and advising clients, telling them how best to invest their money.

Having started her journey through the finance world as a student, she decided to build a career in the field, and after graduation Anna started working in Financial Advisory at EY. She had a general goal for her career, but it wasn’t well defined. She says she still lacked an in-depth understanding of the difference between Investment Banking and Global Markets, for example, and the particular functions of different positions.

“One reason why I chose IE Business School is the practical and skill-oriented focus of the Master in Finance program, and the fact that almost all professors are practitioners who have years of experience in the industry.”

Anna understood that she needed to get more practical exposure to the discipline, and build connections with people who were equally passionate about finance. This conviction prompted her to choose IE Business School, where what she calls “the practical and skills-oriented focus” of our Master in Finance suited perfectly. Almost all of the professors on the program, she points out, are practitioners with years of experience in the industry.

After a few conversations with some alumni, she also grasped the size, reach and interconnectedness of our community. And while they had varied experiences, they had one thing in common: their time at IE University was an extremely valuable experience. For all of them, it had been a chance to get to know interesting people, become part of a community and have fun in addition to the outstanding academic experience. This resonated with Anna greatly, and sealed her decision to apply.

Since Anna started her program at IE Business School, not only have her communication and presentation skills improved through working on many group projects, but she says her networking skills have also come on greatly. She now feels confident to reach out to people, ask them about their job, what they do and why they like it. Being able to network and make these inquiries gives Anna perspective and understanding of what skills companies are searching for, and provides her with a sense of whether she would enjoy working in those roles.

With the professional skills and experience she gained at IE University, Anna secured a job as a banking analyst with Citi in the group’s new Malaga office. As a banking analyst she’ll be working with teams located in Citi’s other European offices on IPOs, M&As in different sectors, and assisting on day-to-day tasks such as preparing presentations,undertaking market research and producing valuations.

This is what Anna has wanted since her undergrad days, and she cites IE Talent & Careers as having played a big role in her story so far. The networking session they organized with Citi gave her the opportunity to learn about and apply for the role, for example.

Thanks to the Master in Finance, not only does Anna have the confidence to ace any interviews, she says she can answer technical question thrown at her. Moreover, she can point to plenty of examples of valuation projects she has worked on when she’s talking to prospective employers.

Anna says that IE University provides a safe environment to learn and explore, so incoming students should take advantage of everything it has to offer. As for the Master in Finance, it’s a program that Anna says has balance and flexibility in equal measure. “It’s not about managing to do everything at the same time,” she says. “It’s about allocating your time, setting priorities and discovering new opportunities.”

We’re delighted Anna had such a positive experience both personally and professionally at IE University. We look forward to following her career with interest.