Name:

Boipelo Orekeng

Where do you hail from/ where are you originally from (city, country)?

Taung in the rural villages of the North West Province of South Africa

Where do you currently live (city/country)?

Johannesburg, South Africa

What did you study after completing high school?

BTech Banking and Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Economics

Why did you choose to study that particular course/courses?

I’ve always had a passion for working a Financial institution because I can only understand things I believe “ I can see”

Did you get any funding from an organisation cover your studies?

Yes, only during my 3rd year of my undergrad Degree

What was your first job?

Inbound Call Center Agent at First National Bank

Your current job title?

Credit Transaction Manager – Libfin Markets – a division of Liberty Life

The industry you work and a brief description of the function of your industry

Investment Banking – Pre and post-implementation management of transactions across different business sectors (Renewable Energy, Infrastructure, Secularization, Property, Sovereign debt, Telecoms and Diversified Industrial, Products could include bonds, loans, derivatives, repurchase agreements, preference shares etc)

Are you a manager of people, if yes how many?

No

What is a key leadership principle you have learnt/applied over the years in managing people?

Although I have not had direct reports, I have learned that Leaders or Managers that work well with kindness and respect with their subordinates turn to get a better output from them than creating a “ME against THEM” environment.

Describe a typical day in your life from the time you arrive at your office?

• Read through my emails
• Create a to-do list for the day in conjunction with any planned meetings
• Work on my day to day activities of managing my transaction which includes Provide trade support to the credit origination team, including deal booking and ongoing maintenance and management of deals to ensure credit data generated off the trade booking system(s) is valid, accurate and complete.
• Loan profile
• The IFRS valuation model needs to be maintained and managed.
• Customer profitability reports, Profit & Loss projections and cash flow forecasts need to be produced monthly and at times, bi-weekly.
• Maintain Origination and Liquidity pipeline for the Credit team
• Liaise with the Financial Control, MI and Credit Portfolio Management teams to ensure that the monthly credit information pack and any other reports such as budgets and forecasts are produced accurately and timorously.
• Contribute to or initiate projects to improve and enhance the control environment and processes in the team, from design stage to testing and implementation.
• Manage and maintain good operational relationship with various internal stakeholders associated with our clients’ middle and back office.
• Provide guidance and support on new products and initiatives to ensure all aspects of transaction management are adequately addressed before implementation. Examples include tax deals, Preference shares, Undrawn facilities and Structured Cash flows

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started your first job?

In my experience, when you start off your career there is barely anything you are sure of because you have not been exposed to much in terms of work experience

What challenges did you find along the way to where you are now in your career and how did you overcome them?

After a couple of years of working and further academic learning, I developed an interest to move into the Investment Banking (IB) space from Private Banking (PB). It was very difficult for me to join the IB space with zero experience. It was through taking pride in my current role (PB) that opened doors for me to get into IB. My Boss at PB once told me that “No experience is irrelevant” and that is so true. Although PB did not teach me the technical expertise I needed for IB, it is through PB that I have learned the importance of building and maintaining relationship as you will never know who your next Boss is.

Share your secret to success, what would you say has allowed you to stand out from your peers?

Take pride in your work. Focus, remain determined and preserve and have the ability to SEE YOURSELF THERE!

What advice would you give to your younger self?

A degree is important, but not as important as a matric certificate. A matric certificate will determine which institution will accept you to enroll with them, which qualification you desire to study and to a greater extend mold your career path at an early stage of your working life. And therefore if I could do it again, I would re-do my Matric year

What advice would you give to a young person who wants to break into your industry?

Although an academic qualification will to a certain extent give you an upper hand in terms of you standing out amongst your peers, values such as integrity, having a business ethic, taking ownership and having a roll up the sleeve attitude will differentiate you from the rest of your peers. These values should be instilled in you naturally and success will follow. Make an effort in everything you do because Effort will get you a “WIN” when talent is having a rest day.