MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT

VICKY ALBOVIAS

   Managing Director | Head of Corporate Treasury Consulting

  J.P. Morgan

Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.

Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration throughout your career?

I’m a naturally curious person —I’ve always sought to learn constantly, dig deeper, to understand and explore what’s around me. This trait is foundational to my career as a treasury consultant and advisor to companies; it helps me get to root of their issues and develop a path forward that aligns to their goals and culture. It’s also a trait that opened doors for me from a career perspective —my natural curiosity overrides any fears I might have in the face of change or a new challenge. It allows me to embrace something new and unknown and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Would you say your success is primarily due to luck or hard work?

I would rephrase this and say that success is due to smart work. Working hard is a given in my opinion. Deriving success from that comes from your ability to apply that ethic to the right spaces and choose in what form you apply it. In tennis, you don’t always win because you have the most powerful serve or forehand, you win because you know when and how to move around the court, when to go to the net, or stay on the baseline. As it relates to luck, it only works if you’re astute enough to recognize the opportunity put in front of you and know what needs to be done to take advantage of it. Back to the tennis analogy, it’s about being able to read your opponent and leverage where you can outplay him or her.

What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?

I come from a family of achievers, so I think I’m wired to pursue more at all times. That said, it’s not about title or awards, but more about self-fulfilment —Am I being the best person I can be at all times? Where can I be better and how do I go about that? I think my mom gave me this analogy of wanting to be on an upward spiral where you continue to strive to be incrementally better, even if the progress isn’t always linear.

If given the chance to do one thing differently in your career, what would it be and why?

I would have advocated for myself and my career more. In my culture, there’s a level of trust assigned to the company we work for where you believe they will recognize and reward you for your work. As a result, I kept my head down, did good work, and just hoped it would be recognized. I was lucky to have some great managers who were not just mentors but advocates who helped propel me forward, but that wasn’t the case all the time and my progress stifled as a result.

What was your most favourite job/role and why?

I read the term “favourite” as where I grew the most (because you do and should grow in every role you take), in which case, that would be my first consulting job with a boutique consulting firm. It gave me the foundation that has allowed me not just to support my clients no matter what problem they’re facing, but also shaped how I think about building and growing our consulting team and coaching the next generation of treasury professionals at J.P. Morgan.

Do you have a favourite motto or quote that guides your professional life?

I picked this up from an exercise conducted by one of the senior leaders at J.P. Morgan,  where we had to name a company tag line that resonates with us the most. Mine came from Lexus: “The relentless pursuit of perfection.” It serves as a constant reminder that life is about the pursuit —how you strive and approach what’s ahead of you, good or bad — and that need to continually learn and evolve. Perfection, in whatever way you define it, is a moving target and your focus should be on the journey to get closer to it.