Shaun Smith

Background

About Shaun Smith

I started my career as a microbiologist and as I gained experience and improved my knowledge base, I quickly progressed to where I am today. My career path has been a great journey and I value the experiences and lessons learned. Although most of my career has thus far been in technical and operation roles, I also have a passion for corporate finance, data modelling and reporting and well as strategic planning using these models and data inputs. I believe that if you base your decisions, arguments and negotiations on facts and figures rather than opinion, you are most likely going to find success. I fully believe that there is always room for self-development, and I achieve this with an open mind, quick adoption of new skills and knowledge as well as a need to continuously self-improve. My greatest leap in this regard was during my MBA which was my biggest challenge in my life thus far, but most rewarding as well. A specific challenge that presented the best and worst I have to offer was during my thesis - Combining Markowitz’s selection model with different investment styles. However, lessons learned here relating to perseverance, resilience and keeping focused on the end goal still serves me well today. Finally, I believe that a work-life balance is important and spending quality time with family and friends contribute to the motivation I use daily. Relationships whether personal or professional are important to me and forms a big part of my value system.