Andreas ist seit 2015 FDM Academy Trainer und unterrichtet die Basic Trainings UNIX, Professional Skills und SQL in Frankfurt sowie den PMO/ BA Stream. Andreas’ akademischer Hintergrund umfasst Informatik mit Schwerpunkt Software Engineering und Anglistik. Er selbst hat auch als Trainee bei FDM begonnen und kennt daher die dringendsten Fragen, die Trainees und Consultants beim Karrierestart haben, nur zu gut. Besonders viel Freude bereitet es ihm, die Erfolgsgeschichten neuer Kollegen zu begleiten und mit ihnen Erfolge zu feiern – seien es bestandene Prüfungen, erworbene Zertifikate, erfolgreiche Signoffs oder gelungene Placements bei Kunden.

„Es macht mich sehr glücklich zu sehen, wie Trainees aus meinen Kursen ihre Prüfungen mit Bravour abschließen; besonders wenn sie sich das Wissen bei uns erarbeitet haben und aus dem Studium einen anderen fachlichen Hintergrund mitgebracht hatten. Einige Trainingswochen sind sehr arbeitsaufwändig und intensiv, aber all das mache ich gerne, wenn ich weiß, dass ich den Stoff gut vermitteln konnte und der ein oder andere Trainee vielleicht sogar mit einem Danke in meine Richtung in sein Placement startet.“

Larissa Bayer studierte Wirtschaftswissenschaften an der Universität Würzburg, bevor sie sich für das FDM Traineeprogramm in Frankfurt bewarb. Ganz genaue Vorstellungen von einer Karriere als IT-Consultant hatte sie allerdings nicht. Klar war ihr nur, dass es ein praktischeres Training als noch an der Universität und ein Einstieg in die Arbeitswelt werden sollte. Die Trainingswochen empfand Larissa als besonders wertvoll, als es inhaltlich um Excel ging und sie ihre bestehenden Kenntnisse vertiefen konnte.

Die persönliche Weiterentwicklung und die Zusammenarbeit im Team machten für Larissa den Reiz des Programms aus. Mit ihrem Placement als Data Analyst in Wien brach für Larissa ein neues berufliches Kapitel an. „Es war schon eine Herausforderung für mich, plötzlich weit entfernt von meinen Freunden und meiner Familie zu wohnen, aber das Leben in einer anderen Stadt, ja in einem anderen Land, hat auch Vorteile: Es gibt viel Neues zu entdecken, eine neue Stadt zu erkunden, Menschen kennenzulernen und eine spannende Kultur zu erleben.“

Max’ Karriere im Sales bei FDM hat bereits Anfang 2016 in London begonnen, im Herbst 2016 wechselte er in das Sales Team in Frankfurt und ist seitdem für Kunden in der Schweiz verantwortlich. Max ist ein typisches Beispiel für die Internationalität unserer FDM Kollegen: Der gebürtige Schweizer ist in Shanghai, China, aufgewachsen, bevor er seine Schullaufbahn in England abschloss und schließlich an der University of York Politikwissenschaften studierte.  In seiner Funktion im Sales Team ist er vor allem für die passgenaue Platzierung von Consultants und für den Kundenkontakt zuständig. Was Max besonders an seiner Arbeit schätzt? Das ist der Moment, wenn „Consultants in ein neues Placement gehen, in ihrem Team beim Kunden gut aufgenommen werden und ich beobachten kann, wie sie ihr Potenzial in einem echten Projekt entfalten können.“

Sabrina Tyra-Dombrowski ist seit 2014 bei FDM in Frankfurt tätig und unterstützte das Team in Frankfurt zunächst als Teamassistenz. Die zweifache Mutter hat einen besonderen beruflichen Werdegang, denn sie ist mit drei abgeschlossenen Berufsausbildungen ein absolutes Allround-Talent: Sabrina ist sowohl ausgebildete Zahnarzthelferin, Rettungssanitäterin als auch Kauffrau für Spedition und Logistikdienstleistungen. In allen drei Berufen arbeitete Sabrina mehrere Jahre. Als Sanitäter war sie 4 Jahre bei der Bundeswehr, in dieser Zeit sogar für sechs Monate zum Auslandseinsatz im Kosovo.

Heute ist Sabrina als Senior HR Assistant für die Gehaltszahlungen der Dach-Region zuständig, ihr Einstieg bei FDM begann als Teamassistenz. Was ihr an der Arbeit im Team gefällt? „Ich mag die unterschiedlichen Menschen, Charaktere und Kulturen, die bei FDM im Alltag zusammenkommen.“

Aaron graduated with a Masters in Information System Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science. To pursue his dream of becoming a software developer, he joined FDM’s java development programme which allowed him to gain practical skills in Java, SQL and HTML. Aaron is placed at Ernst & Young in the Development Operation Team where he is tasked in building mobile applications. He has helped build two mobile applications for EY’s clients and is looking forward to improving his technical skills and building more challenging software applications. Overall, this is an exciting opportunity for Aaron as he is putting his newly acquired skills to use and is thankful to FDM for allowing him the opportunity to embark on his dream career.

Abies first joined FDM in 2016 as a Diversity & Inclusion Project Coordinator Placement Student. She then returned to the University of Hertfordshire to complete her degree in Business and Event Management. After graduating this year, she has returned to FDM and is now the Diversity and Inclusion Advisor.

“I returned to FDM after university because of the strong bonds I made with people in the business and the opportunity to progress my career. Everyone I work with is passionate about diversity and inclusion which makes me proud to work for this company. I’m happy to have such a varied role and have been able to travel to the other offices across the UK. My role involves supporting initiatives to create a more inclusive working environment. A main part of my role is looking after our Schools Engagement work across London, Leeds and Glasgow. This involves going into schools to promote careers in IT and work experience opportunities on offer at FDM. We do this because we recognise the importance of upward social mobility for young people from disadvantaged areas and know that schools are the right place to start.”

Adam obtained a Bachelors of International Business Administration (iBBA) from the Schulich School of Business. After completing military service, he completed his diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM) from Seneca College. His first role working for an IT start-up gave him “an appreciation for the complexity of technology and the massive potential it has on our future and its potential to change the entire world.”

As a Recruitment Manager at FDM, Adam is responsible for managing the Canadian Recruitment Team and recruiting new graduates and military veterans for not only the Toronto Academy but the New York and Reston Academies. He finds the most rewarding part of his job to be hearing “how my efforts have changed someone’s life so dramatically, having transitioned from being unemployed to working for some of Canada’s best companies in a role they love, gives me motivation for me to continue to do what I do.”

Adam’s colleagues may not know that his role in the military was as a Paratrooper where he jumped out of planes with his brigade and specialized in sharpshooting. In his spare time, Adam enjoys taking part in outdoor activities such as running, biking, swimming, camping, fishing and hiking.

Academy Trainer Adrian Richardson attended The University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, completing a BSc with Honors in Management Studies along with his MSc in Computer-Based Management Information Systems. Adrian discovered his passion for teaching when he was fairly young—his 10^th grade year in school, where he was asked one day by his teacher to teach a topic while the teacher met briefly with a parent. Upon the teacher’s return, he sat at the back of the class and observed Adrian teaching, and eventually asked him to teach the class during future absences. Soon, the same was asked of Adrian on behalf of other classes that had absent teachers. On his first day as a grade 12 student, Adrian was offered a part time teaching position to teach Mathematics at the lower school level while he completed grades 12 and 13. After accepting, Adrian has been involved in teaching and training at various levels ever since. In 2016, Adrian joined FDM as a Java Trainer. “The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing our trainees signed off or being placed – seeing them transition from recent graduates to empowered professionals with a wide array of skillsets and confidence as the result of the training we at FDM have provided.” Adrian enjoys being a part of a company with rich diversity and the opportunity that FDM offers young graduates, veterans and others to jumpstart their careers. Outside of the office, Adrian loves watching and playing soccer. He is also a self-taught artist and enjoys drawing in his free time.

After Ahmet completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering, he went on to work as an academic at the University of Sussex, UK. His role there included teaching, conducting research, being an Admissions Officer and helping the International Office raise the profile of the University abroad. Then in 2013 Ahmet moved to the US and joined FDM as the Recruitment Manager for North America. After about a year, he grew the Consultant Support Team in the region and is now also responsible for Operations and Facilities in North America. He sees his role as being “the glue of the business, as my team enables all employees to perform their day-to-day functions, ensuing the environment is safe and in order, and providing the travel in between.” Ahmet is always up for a challenge as he continues to strive for the growth and success of FDM. His passion in life is road cycling because he enjoys seeing new places and meeting new people along the way.

Aidan obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology from Durham University. He joined FDM on the Graduate Programme training on the Project Support Office stream and is now working for the Department for Work and Pensions, based in one of the digital hub sites in Blackpool.

“Not having a STEM based degree, I found the training intense however I became knowledgeable on a variety of subjects in a short space of time; it was an incredibly valuable experience. My role is Planning, Performance and Risk Manager but day-to-day I am the team lead for internal communications within the Digital Delivery and Business Partnering (DDBP) organisation. I am also in the process of implementing an agile communications strategy which will incorporate a number of new products including a newsletter.”

Having joined FDM in 2012, Alayna has been able to experience different areas of the business from recruitment to sales to marketing. In 2015, with the desire to work abroad and keen to expand her skillset, she took up on opportunity at UBS in Hong Kong working in the Portfolio Management team of Group Operations IT, responsible for business and financial management. In 2017, Alayna re-joined the FDM marketing team as the Digital Marketing Specialist for APAC and Australia where she was responsible for developing and executing digital marketing strategies to raise brand awareness for FDM across Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Australia. Alayna is now based in Sydney as the Marketing Team Lead for APAC. “I love being part of something that both encourages and challenges people and strives to give people the best opportunities and am very grateful for the opportunities FDM has provided me.”

Aleks joined FDM in 2018. It was the values and the focus on learning and development that attracted her to the company most. Prior to joining FDM, she worked with IAG Insurance and Ferrier Hodgson in HR roles, and she has a detailed knowledge of Australian workplace legislation, culture and the talent market. Her mission is to attract the best talent to our programme and give all Australian employees an outstanding experience through their career with FDM. Outside of work, Aleks is the mother of two young children, Marko and Mila, and she loves the beach and a good book.

Before Alex joined FDM in the UK, he worked in St. Louis, Missouri for 8 years where he assisted clients with their technology delivery needs. He joined FDM in 2010 as a trainer before moving on to run FDM’s Software Development and IT Service Management practices. Alex also piloted new programs around Data Analysis and Business Intelligence while adapting the recruitment and training of FDM’s consultants. Today, he has moved back to the US where his main responsibility is leading FDM’s metro DC center in Reston, VA. He most enjoys “partnering with some awesome clients and enabling them to achieve their project and technology goals in tandem with the ability to offer a phenomenal career head-start to great grads, veterans, and returners.” Alex also is pleased with FDM’s high energy, “surrounded by colleagues and Consultants with can-do attitudes and that collaborative spirit.” On the weekends he appreciates cycling and going adventures with his wife and kids.

Jim served 22 years in the Infantry, finishing his career in the Rifle’s Regiment where he was the Regimental Signals Warrant Officer. Having gained IT experience throughout his time in the military, he knew a career in IT was an option for him once leaving. He is currently working at Lloyds Bank Insurance as an IT Project Manager for two compliancy projects, where he is responsible for managing team members and budgets of several million pounds and delivering projects in a timely manner.

“The FDM culture is really good. The offer is what all ex- forces personnel need. It’s the two years of corporate experience that employers are looking for. The FDM ex-forces team are there to support you whenever you need help. Now approaching the end of my second year on site I will be looking for future roles within FDM as the model is perfect for my situation.”

Alistair has been permanently employed with FDM since April 2001, having completed the FDM academy training and initially being deployed as an IT consultant. After two years in the field he went on to join the academy as a Trainer, moving on to senior trainer, project manager then academy manager. Following this Alistair then become a technical support officer supporting FDM consultants in the field and the sales account managers in client engagements. Alistair then moved into a Business Development management role, which lead to him creating the Application/Production support business focused on the financial sector. Upon signing the partnership between FDM and Murex in 2011, Alistair was given the responsibility to become MX.3 validated, build the new MX.3 Service Desk Analyst program and train the FDM MX.3 consultants.

“Outside of family and work my interests are scuba diving, motorcycling and collecting whisky from around the world – and naturally tasting it. Two little known facts about me are I am a trained paramedic obtained through two years of service in the South African military and I have a large family, having seven siblings of which I am a twin, and now have seven grandchildren.”

Allison studied Mathematics and Statistics at McMaster University and began her career at FDM as a consultant trainee in the App Support Stream in 2014. While still in training, she was hired as a trainer and made her way to being the Academy Manager. Her previous experiences as a teaching assistant and a tutor made her an ideal candidate for the role. Allison now manages the day-to-day activities of the FDM Toronto Academy as the Academy Manager for Canada. She is responsible for making sure that all trainers and trainees are up to FDM’s high standard. Allison loves the inclusive nature of the FDM Team and feels “honoured to play a role in helping young people begin their careers in the IT industry.” She loves the fast paced work environment of the Academy because FDM is “constantly bringing in new and fresh talent” and there is “never a dull moment.” When she is not at work, Allison can be found camping, hiking and fishing.

Amanda joined FDM as US Consultant Support Coordinator upon earning her graduate degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Baruch College. With her dedication to FDM and her collaboration with the NY and Reston offices, she was given the opportunity to take on her new role as the US Consultant Support Team Lead. Amanda’s department provides support and guidance to Consultants during their time on client site. Working closely with Consultants and having their managers provide positive feedback about their performance is the most fulfilling part of her job. She feels that FDM’s “close knit family gives the company a unique feeling.” In her free time, she enjoys going on weekend trips to towns and cities she has not been to before.

Amberle served 6 years in the British Army as a Driver Communication specialist, where she was significantly involved with IT. Leaving the army, she knew she wanted to continue in that field of work but found it challenging to transfer her qualities and skills to make them relevant for civilian roles.

Amberle joined the PMO stream on the Ex-Forces Programme and has now been placed at Aberdeen Standard Investments as a Project Management Office Support, where she has worked on multiple project and programme developments and helped to deliver them alongside her team and project manager.

“FDM is unique as it is one of the few places who have your interest at heart and will ensure they do all they can to make you successful in your career transition. The most career-defining thing I have learned since joining FDM is there is always something new to learn and gain experience from. Each project is different in its own right there, which means there is always a new lesson learned every time you work on one.”

Amy graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a degree in Fashion Marketing.  She kicked off her career within the social media sector where she gained experience in account handling, social media management and social media advertising. She realised that she wanted to work in-house as a brand champion – leading her to FDM.

Amy joined FDM in 2018 where she manages our global social media presences; sharing content from our teams across the globe as well as delivering social media strategy and training to the wider marketing team.

Growing up, Amy lived in several different countries. This, combined with her Belgian and South African heritage has led to a fascination with people and the stories they have to tell, making FDM, with its diverse nature, the perfect fit.

“There are so many fascinating stories from people at FDM. Everyone has a different perspective to share, and it’s wonderful to be able to share their stories from across the globe with our social media audiences.”

In her spare time Amy is an avid foodie, fashion lover and reader who loves exploring the city of Glasgow, which has been her home for over 8 years (the longest she’s lived anywhere).

Ana earned her Master’s degree in Teaching French Language and Contemporary Italian Philology and has previously lived in both Croatia and France. Prior to joining FDM, Ana worked as a French tutor and in-person interpreter. She started at FDM in a Receptionist and Travel Coordinator role before taking on the role of Academy Administrator. During this time, Ana was introduced to the FDM Recruitment Team where she discovered her passion for helping new graduates jumpstart their careers.

Her main responsibilities include recruiting and sourcing fresh graduates for our academy program, attending career fairs, as well as organizing and conducting in-person assessments. Ana speaks five languages including English and French and works to recruit bilingual candidates. She works with the translation of resumes, job postings and other documents. She says the most rewarding part of her job is “seeing the consultants I recruited thrive in their client placement. I get that warm-and-fuzzy feeling that reminds me how much I like my job.”

Ana’s favourite part about FDM is the vibrant culture and opportunity for growth and counts her colleagues as some of her closest friends. Her co-workers may not know that Ana was an actress in a local theatre for two years and she loves arts and crafts and fashion.

Andrew works as a Digital Business Tester at HSBC having completed FDM technical training in the Glasgow Academy. He studied IT at the University of West of Scotland before joining FDM.

‘I was really nervous when I first started but I felt very welcomed by the FDM employees and the HSBC staff. This helped me come out my shell and gain confidence in myself. Working with FDM has broadened my horizons so I can experience new cultures and people.

“FDM is always recognising hard work people do, they’re also always there to give support whether that’s trying to find a place to live in a new city, or giving career advice.”

Andrew graduated with a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, then moved to Hong Kong to pursue a career in a more dynamic environment. With an interest in developing a career in the IT and finance sectors, he joined FDM at the start of 2017. Andrew is placed at Manulife in a Business Analyst role. He initially focused on optimising an internal communication tool which aided staff to communicate their feedback and concerns. Afterwards he moved onto working within a scrum team to deliver client-facing software used by agents to drive business. This role entails ensuring that the delivery of the tools from the developer teams meets the business needs.

“Without coming from a tech background, FDM provided me a gateway to develop a career in the IT and finance industries through their training programme. It has also been fantastic meeting and bonding with fellow consultants as we strive towards our individual goals at FDM.”

Andrew obtained a Bachelors of Commerce in Business Technology Management from Ryerson University. His journey with FDM began in 2013 as a consultant for two years and returned as Business Development Manager in early 2018. His main responsibilities consist of assisting the Sales team from a technical perspective along with acting as a delivery lead on driven programs. “Assisting great people in jumpstarting a rewarding career” is the most rewarding aspect of Andrew’s job. He loves the engaged culture at FDM and feels that “everyone here is dedicated and invested in what they do.” His colleagues may not know that Andrew has been playing guitar for over a decade and still plays in makeshift bands with his childhood friends.

Before starting with FDM in Toronto on its recruitment team in 2016, Tony studied Political Science at Concordia University and Social Sciences at Dawson College. With prior working experience in IT and recruitment, Tony quickly worked his way into a sales role and he has since become a Senior Account Manager with FDM where he is primarily responsible for managing FDM consultants across a variety of partners alongside securing new opportunities for business with current and potential partners alike. When asked what he found most rewarding about his role, Tony indicated that he most enjoyed “…helping bright people secure opportunities they are passionate about.” He added, regarding FDM’s academy, “…every year we bring in hundreds of people from different backgrounds, skillsets, passions, and goals together in a collaborative and nurturing environment; it makes it a great place to work.” What Tony’s colleagues may not know about him is that he is really competitive person, not just across the sports he enjoys like hockey, soccer, and snowboarding, but especially when it comes to card games and strategy games.

Arjun graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelors of Engineering in Computer Engineering. With a passion for building things, IT became the perfect route for Arjun where he has all the tools at his fingertips to build things immediately. Arjun set out to land a job as a developer in order to get the satisfaction of solving problems through building and developing, but lacked development experience. “FDM helped bridge that gap by connecting me with companies hiring developers who may not have much experience, but have passion and dedication for IT.” The most valuable thing that Arjun has learned over his training was “the importance of applying software development lifecycle methodologies when working with a team, [which requires] more planning and organization.” In his current role as a Salesforce Developer at Scotiabank, Arjun is responsible for designing and implementing new features along with bug fixes to applications. His key tasks involve researching, writing code, creating unit tests as well as other tasks involving maintaining the application. The most rewarding aspect of Arjun’s job is “knowing that I am making a change in other people’s jobs through creating more efficient processes for them.”  A career defining moment at FDM for Arjun was when he realized the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone, to take on new challenges and opportunities that otherwise seem daunting. In his free time, Arjun enjoys reading, playing soccer and trying to cook recipes he found online “without burning down the kitchen.”

Athena graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor’s degree in Science. She joined the FDM Graduate Program and underwent the MX.3 Production Support training. After completition of the training she began her placement at KPMG Australian Services Pty Ltd based in Barangaroo, Sydney.

“After working in the science industry for almost 2 years I wanted to switch careers and move into IT. The training FDM offered was perfect for me as I didn’t come from an IT background. On a day-to-day basis I work closely with clients to gather business requirements and help define the scope of work for projects as well as building and defining processes for data migration.”

Aylwinns graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematics and Economics. “FDM’s curriculum has enabled me to keep up with the actual requirements of working life. The trainers taught me technical knowledge as well as work ethics.” Aylwinns is placed at DBS Singapore in the Murex Project Team. He is involved in the development of software to be used in conjunction with Murex. His responsibilities include migration of MUREX servers from Solaris to Linux.

Azar has a degree in English Language Translation, a diploma of associate degree in Computer Hardware and a masters in Human Resource Management. Having always had a passion for IT, she joined FDM in 2016 on the software testing stream and was then placed at HSBC as a Digital UAT Test Analyst, where she is involved with the quality assurance stage of software development and deployment.

“I conduct manual and automated tests to ensure software created by developers is fit for purpose, and I track software bugs and suggest improvements to enhance the quality of the product. My job is challenging but it allows me to carefully understand how products should and shouldn’t work, how to analyse customer expectation and to learn new tools every day.”

“FDM are always there to provide ongoing career support and professional development. They are unique because of their diversity and client base; I am sure I would never have got a job with HSBC without FDM.”

Benjamin graduated with a degree in Psychology from Western University and had always planned to pursue a career in academia. After completing courses in Computer Sciences and working in Western’s IT department, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in IT. Benjamin found it difficult to break into the industry. In his own words, Benjamin highlights the value of FDM’s training, “FDM provided the opportunity to demonstrate my skillset through their assessment day and training academy, with the latter expanding on any potential gaps I may have had in formal education.” He found that “there were many valuable aspects of training, but a few that stand out were working towards and obtaining industry-recognized IT certifications, networking with other classmates, and learning to master mock interviews.” In his current role, as a Business Analyst for Channels Technology at BMO, Benjamin is responsible for providing technology solutions to support internal business partners’ customer products and service offerings (e.g. Online Banking). In the Business Management Office, he focuses on risk, compliance and governance. His colleagues may not know that Benjamin often runs the six kilometre distance from his house to the office.

After graduating from university Billy became a self-employed stone mason and then worked for SEGA as a software tester before relocating to China to become an English teacher. After a short spell in China, Billy joined FDM Group in London on the software development stream. His joint enthusiasm for teaching and software development led him to apply for an internal role as a Java Trainer, where he worked for one year. To gain more experience as a software developer he went on-site as an FDM Consultant with Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, where he progressed to become a permanent staff member. After two years at Morgan Stanley, Billy re-joined the FDM training team in Hong Kong as a Technical Trainer. In 2018, Billy relocated to spearhead our training offerings in Sydney, taking on the position of Academy Team Lead.

Brennen graduated from University of Toronto with a Bachelors of Commerce in Finance and Economics. He began working at FDM in 2017 in recruitment and made his way into his current role today as an Account Manager. Brennen is mainly responsible for managing client relationships and building on them by selling FDM’s services and finding recent graduate jobs offered by the clients. The most fulfilling part of Brennen’s role is “when I tell a trainee they got selected and seeing how happy they get.” He also embraces FDM’s culture as “everyone is extremely supportive and helpful, alongside the business being very unique since it has that start up vibe despite being a global organization.” Brennen’s colleagues may not know that he competed in the Canadian Junior Golf Association National Championship at the age of 14. He also loves to train for triathlons and CrossFit competitions.

Before joining FDM, Callum spent a year travelling through South America, South East Asia and Europe. He previously worked at HSBC in the Technology Recruitment team and he recruited for corporate operations at Barclays before joining FDM as a Regional Recruitment Manager in London.

“I really enjoy helping candidates. It’s great to see someone who I’ve engaged with at the early stages of their application get placed and launch their career. It is getting harder and harder for graduates to get jobs and at FDM we bridge the skills gap to help them get into employment. The people are what really make FDM what it is, there’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t have a laugh.”

Veteran Recruiter Carl Walker attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, completing his Bachelor of Science in Sports Marketing and Media as well as a Master of Arts in Public Relations. While he took online classes at the university, Carl was a Military Admissions Representative, and worked with veterans looking to go to school for entertainment and tech degrees. This is where he discovered and honed his skills in recruitment.  In 2004, Carl joined the United States Air Force as an Aircraft Mechanic, and gained additional experience in Operations and Combat Search & Rescue. He has been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa peninsula. Now at FDM, Carl experiences many rewarding aspects in his role, especially seeing veterans that he recruits into the program overcome their setbacks and secure placements with our clients. Carl thinks the family atmosphere of FDM is what sets it apart the most from other companies. “When I came for my interview, I felt at home and it hasn’t dissipated since. I believe that the culture of a company is a huge deciding factor for career longevity and personal/professional growth.” Outside of the office, Carl likes to play sports, volunteer at his local Boys & Girls Club, and spend time with his family. An interesting fact about Carl is that he played the cello for 15 years, and that he scored a small role in the opening scene of the first Transformers movie released in 2007.

Cassie graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2016 with a Computer Science degree. After completing the business training in Hong Kong, she began her placement at Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) as a Project Analyst. Her main tasks are to help her line manager with IT project governance and project reporting. “I have met a lot of brilliant consultants at FDM, we have become more like friends than colleagues. We get to share our experiences on-site with each other and get to understand different areas of the IT and finance industry. The culture at FDM is energetic and proactive. It acts as a hub to help us connect with other trainees, consultants and alumni. It’s been great for me to expand my network and share knowledge.”

Charlie graduated from the University of Liverpool in Business Studies. He began his career at FDM in the London office in Client Support before advancing to a Senior Account Manager position. Charlie then transitioned into the role of Sales Manager for FDM’s Frankfurt office where he oversaw business development in Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Charlie was then promoted to Business Director at the newly-formed FDM Toronto office. He later advanced to the role of VP for North America where his primary responsibilities include overseeing corporate growth and development across the US and Canada. This includes driving new business and hitting growth targets “whilst maintaining a holistic view of the global operation through close work with Directors on strategy and planning.” Charlie finds the most rewarding part of his job to be the growth and development of the skills of both internal staff members and FDM consultants. He loves that the FDM culture rewards hard work and provides all staff members with opportunities for advancement. Charlie enjoys exploring new cities, restaurants and neighborhoods in his spare time. His co-workers may not know that Charlie once spent three months in a rafting camp in Nepal teaching English.

Chris served in the military for four years in the Parachute Regiment, and after leaving, studied for a Diploma in Computer Science. He joined FDM’s Ex-Forces Programme in 2016, taking the Java Development stream, and was placed at RBS inside the Innovations Team in his third week of training.

“Currently, the job I work at in RBS has required me to learn a whole new set of IT skills, and this is one of its perks. The time I have spent with FDM, learning in an intense way makes it easier, as you are already in the correct mind set to do it and know where to find the resources to help you.

The FDM Ex-Forces programme gave me a great confidence boost that I could be successful in the IT industry, and they provided me with the opportunity to use the skills that I had and furnish me with some new ones to start in IT. For people leaving the forces and who want to do the same, I would recommend them.”

Chris is an experienced Java developer and business analyst. Prior to joining FDM he worked at Morgan Stanley for 12 years; six years in London and six years in Hong Kong. In 2016, he decided to transition from the finance industry and join FDM as a technical trainer in the Hong Kong academy. He teaches a variety of modules including Java, SQL, Unix, web design and excel and enjoys helping our consultants grow and develop during their time in the academy and whilst on-site. He continuously supports to address the digital skills gap within schools, having designed an 8-week Python workshop to teach high school students to use code to command robots and complete different tasks. It has been one of his most fulfilling projects to date.

Christophe started his career as a Programmer working in Paris for a large financial organisation. After four years developing his skills, he took a year off work in California before returning to France to work for a software vendor as a pre-sales consultant. Seeking another international experience, Christophe relocated to Australia where he worked as a senior training consultant specialising in Business Intelligence and Financial Planning Solutions for Cognos. After being acquired by IBM Christophe re-located to Singapore where he travelled extensively delivering training sessions all over the ASEAN region. Now back in Australia, he has joined FDM as a Technical Trainer to share his knowledge and experiences with new graduates.

Cody started his career at FDM as a recruiter and worked his way up to his current role as an Account Manager. He graduated from Northeastern University with a major in Finance, Management Information Systems and Spanish. At FDM, Cody seeks to build relationships with new clients and works with Account Managers in other locations to grow FDM’s client base globally. What he enjoys most is “working for a company with such a high level of openness and transparency, which facilitates communication between people in the NY and international offices.” When he is not working, he goes on outdoor adventures, such as hiking, biking and skiing depending on the season.  An exciting fun fact about Cody most people may not know about him is that he went running with bulls when he lived in Spain.

Craig Wilkinson, Academy Trainer

Prior to joining FDM, Craig served in the British Army for eleven years followed by eight years in the Middle East working primarily in the UAE and Afghanistan as a Control Supervisor, Communications Technician and Training Manager.

As an Academy Manager at FDM, Craig leads and develops a team of fourteen trainers, providing support and mentoring for trainees and consultants.

“A successful outcome for me is to not only see our trainees develop into professional consultants, but to hear back on their progress and how much they’re enjoying their role. FDM is an encouraging environment which is the key to our success.”

Danielle joined The Royal Navy in 2008 and completed seven successful years before being medically discharged from Service. During her time in the Royal Navy, she specialised in Electronic Warfare and was involved in five operational deployments overseas; including the Libya Campaign in 2011.

Danielle joined FDM in 2016 as an Ex-Forces Recruiter for the UK and as is responsible for co-coordinating and managing end-to-end activities to ensure the successful recruitment and facilitation of Ex-Forces personnel into second careers.

“Seeing hundreds of Service Leavers, Veterans & Reservists come onto our programme and helping them enter second careers within the commercial sector is very rewarding’’

Danielle is an avid football fan and follows Newcastle United. Although she hates to admit it, she did once pull on the red and white stripes of arch-rivals Sunderland AFC after signing for them at the age of 15. She has also played for Blyth Town Ladies & Plymouth Argyle AFC in previous years.

Dave has worked at FDM since October 2017. He joined as an Academy Trainer delivering the Professional Skills course to Graduates and Returners. He is now in Learning & Development, focusing on designing and delivering a multitude of training courses.

“I get to work with many different colleagues on many topics which means no two days are ever the same. I joined FDM because I believe in the business model, which is important to me as it gives me a sense of purpose. I have approximately 20 years’ experience working within L&D functions as a trainer/course designer. Before joining FDM I worked mainly in the financial services sector for organisations like Barclays, the Bank of England and the Co-operative Financial Services. I’ve even been a painter and decorator, which has come in very handy over the years. My role involves lots of training delivery which means I need to be able to flex my knowledge, experience and delivery style to suit a variety of courses or events. I need to study and deliver training content in short time frames; sometimes, on subjects I know little about. When I’m not delivering training, I’m either designing new courses, updating existing courses or in meetings discussing what the future courses could look like. What I enjoy most is the variety, the challenge and the people. One day I can be delivering a session to 60 colleagues as part of a Graduate Sales Recruitment training conference, and the next the day, I can be coaching someone on how to improve their interview or presentation technique.

David completed a degree in Mathematics at Manchester Metropolitan University. He initially joined FDM as a trainee on the Software Testing stream and worked as an FDM consultant at client sites before becoming a trainer. He is responsible for making sure that all the training modules are suitable and reflect the skills our clients are looking for.

“Seeing trainees grow during the training period, achieve their first placements and hear about how well they have done out on-site is one of my greatest sources of motivation.”

Before joining FDM as the Head of Business Intelligence, David worked four and a half years as a Business Intelligence Developer for HP and Cisco. Within this role he delivered Analytics Solutions to organisations such as BP, Bank of America, PepsiCo and Ministry of Defence on a country, regional and global spectrum. At FDM, David ensures the end-to-end delivery for Business Intelligence, Business Analysis and Data Science alongside delivering large scale programmes of work to our clients. He delivers internal analytics to the executive team in order to track our global weekly performance of account management.

“Despite the size and scale of FDM, I love the entrepreneurial culture which still flows through the organisation today. Seeing consultants start their training from day one through to meeting them when they’re out on client sites is the most rewarding part of my job.”

David is a Senior IT Consultant with over 20 years of experience in Business Analysis, Project Management and Project Delivery for many of the globe’s leading organisations, ranging from the pharmaceutical industry through to the financial sector. His previous roles have comprised full-project lifecycle delivery for ERP, CRM and Financial Accounting systems covering all areas of Project Delivery from pre-project investigation analysis, through system development and integration, to Project Management and subsequent delivery.

David joined FDM as a trainer as, after being a consultant for many years, he felt he wanted to have a go at something different and to give something back. He is currently responsible for the delivery of the Business/PMO stream in Glasgow as well as Business Intelligence.

“The thing I most enjoy about my role is the FDM culture and being able to pass on my experiences and knowledge of project delivery to the consultants of tomorrow. It’s very fulfilling to be able to help mould careers of graduates and experienced consultants alike.”

Deana received her BS from WVU in Public Relations, as well as her MA in Management with a concentration in HR from American Public University. It was while taking the HR courses in her graduate program that she discovered her passion for recruitment.  “I knew I was interested in HR, but I was drawn toward talent attraction and management, which made recruitment a good fit.” When Deana realized that recruitment was something she wanted to do, she took a corporate recruiter position with her previous employer and was able to gain valuable experience in that role that helps her in her position now here with FDM. After seeing the University Partnerships Manager position posted, she realized it was a perfect fit and a great opportunity and applied. The most rewarding aspect of the job for Deana is working with universities to help their graduates find a home with FDM. Deana loves to cook (and eat!), especially cooking for her family and trying out new recipes.

Academy Trainer Deborah Freiberg received her BA in American Studies from the University of Delaware, and her BS in Computer Science from Villanova. She joined the US Army and discovered her passion for teaching through her colleagues—both military and civilian. “Since my degree allowed me to help others solve their basic IT issues, they began to come to me with more complex problems. As my IT skills grew, my management began to ask me to investigate, design and develop IT solutions to business problems.  Since I had to teach others how to use what I developed, my learning and teaching cycle has never stopped.” After attending a veteran job recruiting fair at Fort Dix, Deborah met FDM’s head of Veteran Initiatives and was very impressed with FDM’s business model, especially their outreach to veterans. Deborah joined FDM first as a consultant and then quickly progressed to become a trainer. She gets the most enjoyment out of seeing trainees she has taught get placed and move on-site. Deborah teaches the ITSM stream as well as some Java courses. She supports FDM’s focus on staying current with its clients’ changing IT skill requirements, which requires trainers to update and expand their skills — to her, an exciting perk of the role. Outside of the office, Deborah enjoys activities with her family, such as birdwatching, biking and hiking.

Dennis joined the FDM Hong Kong training team in 2016 and relocated to the Sydney in 2019. It has been an exciting journey and he is grateful for the opportunity to be able to influence and share industry best practices with our next batch of IT talents.  He brings a wealth of knowledge and international experience in system/network administration, project management, business process re-engineering, training, and operational support from his career in California and Hong Kong. “I am thrilled to be part of the continual expansion of FDM.”

Denyse obtained a Bachelor of Tourism from Brock University and embarked on a tour around the world. She returned to Toronto and began a career in the healthcare industry where she developed her passion for Human Resources. Denyse obtained her CHRL (Certified Human Resources Leader) and began her career at FDM in 2016. Her primary responsibilities include supporting and improving FDM’s Trainee, IT Consultant and Internal Staff experience. She loves the welcoming environment and strong community feel of FDM and enjoys “watching FDMers grow from Day 1 to the last day working with us.” In her spare time, Denyse can be found completing DIY projects around her house and watching Big Brother.

Dexter is an Ex-Combat Medical Technician and Corporal in the British Army with seven years of service and experience training Iraq and Afghanistan military medical personnel. He joined FDM as part of the Ex-Forces Programme which made his transitional process into the commercial world effortless, owing to the level of academy training and support from other ex-service personnel. His first FDM placement was at Barclays in the UK, working as a KYC Specialist and AML Analyst. He then moved to Hong Kong and is currently placed at HSBC where his responsibilities consist of and are not limited to: supporting the ASP (Asia and South Pacific) Head of FCC, RBWM and ASP Senior FCC RBWM Managers in the implementation of policy in ASP countries for FCC risk management framework to meet regulatory requirements and legislation.

Divya graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Ryerson University. She discovered her passion for business and IT in high school but found she lacked the necessary connections to start her career. FDM’s program allowed her to bridge the gap between her education and the working world because of FDM’s “positive relationship with its clients [which] definitely helped add to my credibility as a consultant.” Divya feels that her training at FDM Group prepared her to “hit the ground running” on-site as a Business Analyst at Intact Financial Corporation. In her current position, Divya works as a liaison between directors and senior management to help implement some of Intact’s growth-oriented strategic initiatives. The most fulfilling part of her job is “being able to experience a company’s ‘Good to Great’ values firsthand.”  She credits FDM with not only providing her with solid training in a fun and engaging environment, but also teaching her the value of persistence to achieve her goals. A career defining moment at FDM for Divya was when she realized that “nothing is intimidating once you start.”  Divya’s colleagues may not know that she is an award-winning filmmaker and loves to read non-fiction books about personal development and leadership.

Dora has been connected with FDM Group since she graduated from University College London back in 2014, where she joined the Project Management stream in the London Academy to pursue a career in Asia’s booming Financial IT industry. She was placed with one of FDM’s clients in the HK Operations IT team doing various roles including business management, project management and business analysis. She re-joined FDM Group in 2018 to help expand the company’s footprint in China. Based in Shanghai, she will oversee operations, recruitment and sales. Dora says, “the decision to re-join FDM was almost immediate when the opportunity came up. I have been both a consultant and a client and have the right skillset to excel in this role. More importantly, I have absolute confidence in the potential that FDM operating in the Chinese market.” Dora speaks fluent Mandarin, Cantonese and English and is a sports and reading enthusiast.

Doris studied International Business and OPIM (Operations and Information Management) with a minor in Economics at Georgetown University. She always knew that she wanted to study business and liked the blend of IT and business that her courses gave her. Shortly after graduating in 2016, she began working for FDM as a Recruitment Consultant, working her way up to an Account Manager. Now Doris works closely with the Senior Account Manager and VP of Business Development in Reston as she continues to grow our DMV accounts and new business for FDM. Doris joined our Reston, VA office when it first opened and since then has seen first-hand the growth and development it takes to build the dynamic culture that it holds today. Doris is grateful for the opportunities that FDM has provided not only her as a recent graduate, but for other graduates as well, “it’s very difficult to get your foot in the door at some of these large companies and it’s extremely rewarding to be able to kick start careers for graduates and military veterans that come through our program.”

Douglas has a Higher National Diploma in Computer Science and has 19 years professional experience in Software Testing. In 2015, Douglas fulfilled his life-long dream to teach and pass on his knowledge to others by joining FDM as a Testing Trainer in the Glasgow Academy. He also supports as a beached representative for the Academy.

“Passing on knowledge, it’s one of the most valuable things we can give to those who will shape the future. In FDM this translates as ensuring that the trainees are ready for the workplace so they can be the best they can and surpass our clients’ expectations. At FDM, the people are amazing; the staff and the trainees. Seeing different cultures is great too.”

Megan has a PhD in Computing, an MBA, and first class honours in Electrical Engineering. Prior to joining FDM, she has worked in R&D project management, consulting, recruitment and software development capacities for Terrapinn, Zomojo, Avaya, Canon and Alcatel. She was awarded a Fellowship of Engineers Australia for her work in Digital Technologies, STEM and Teaching Kids to Code in the Australian school sector from 2014 to 2016, and she has a keen interested in Knowledge Acquisition, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. In January 2019 Megan joined FDM as a Trainer in the Sydney Academy. Megan is a Mum of three children, and she enjoys sailing in her spare time.

After graduating from The University of Technology in Sydney, Edward joined the FDM Graduate Program in 2018 on the Business Analyst/Business Intelligence Stream. Within the graduate program Edward progressed through the training modules delivering both projects and presentations which modelled real FDM client cases. At the completion of the course Edward took up an internal role and joined the Sales and Recruitment team. “I am very excited about the rapid expansion of FDM within Australia, it’s movement into Barangaroo’s corporate office suite and the growth of FDM’s reputation amongst current and future clients and graduates alike.”

Edwardo obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University. After his graduation, Edwardo joined the U.S. Army. For the next several years, he found himself in non-technical roles for the Army, including working as a paralegal. When Edwardo learned about FDM’s approach of providing IT training and job placement assistance in a consulting role for veterans, he knew he had to take advantage of the opportunity and get back to his technical interest. Edwardo joined FDM in 2017, and the most memorable part of his experience thus far has been the training environment in FDM’s New York academy; he never thought he would have the opportunity to live in New York City and work at a Wall Street address! Now, as a Cyber Security Analyst, Edwardo is enjoying working in the financial district in Chicago, where he is working a client placement role with Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He finds it rewarding to be using the latest cyber threat deterrence tools on an enterprise scale, and to know that he is helping ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the CME Group network data.

Elim joined FDM in 2018 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University and taking a year to travel the world, visiting 5 continents and 11 countries. At FDM, Elim quickly progressed from our Recruitment team to our Sales team, which she says she couldn’t have done without the guidance of her coworkers. Elim spent months learning the sales side of FDM’s business, and she can’t wait to see what Account Management holds for her in the future. For Elim, the most rewarding part of her role is the ability to watch consultants grow. “As an Account Manager, I feel like I am personally helping our consultants start their career, and I can’t wait to see where they’ll end up after their two-year employment.” Elim’s goal is to see FDM employees flourish through their training, gain skills, and take those skills to work with them on client sites. She loves that FDM is full of vibrant, open-minded, diverse and dedicated people. Outside of the office, Elim loves traveling and appreciating nature. She is an adventurous person who is always open to new journeys and experiences. A fun fact about Elim is that she is a first generation born American, with parents originally from Eritrea.

Elizabeth joined FDM in 2017 after graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College and double majoring in Computer Science and Music. She felt that since IT spans across many different fields and areas, that it would offer a lot of diversity and opportunities for creativity. Elizabeth struggled upon graduation due to the fact that she didn’t complete a summer internship during college, and she found it difficult to convince companies to hire a developer with no workplace experience. She was placed with New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association as a Junior Software Developer upon completing her training at FDM’s New York academy. Being able to make long-term friends from her time in the academy is one of Elizabeth’s favorite parts of FDM’s program. “FDM allowed me to put the theories that I learned in school into practice. Because of the projects and work I completed in the academy, I was able to show concrete application of my technical skills.” Elizabeth is currently introducing a lot of new functionality into her role at NYPIUA, where she has been aiding specifically in writing Java API’s and gets to see the changes she has implemented in production environments, allowing her to feel gratified and like an important part of the team.

Before joining FDM, Elizabeth graduated from the University of Sheffield with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. She had always wanted to work in Tech however found the industry difficult to enter; FDM gave her an opportunity to begin her career. She joined on the Testing stream and is now placed at AXA.

“FDM’s Graduate Programme is a great way to start a career in the IT industry; it offers a bridge between education and becoming a trained professional in your chosen field. I am currently working with AXA in Ipswich where I work in a team doing automation testing on their weekly updates. I was placed before I had finished my training in the Leeds Academy so I got to learn on the job for the last part of my training which was really interesting.”

Eoin started working at FDM in August 2017, initially as a recruiter and then moving into his current role as an Account Manager. Eoin is responsible for building and maintaining client relationships in Hong Kong and Singapore and finds it extremely rewarding when we are able to match our client’s needs to the career aspirations of our consultants. “My best career advice is to be proactive and don’t wait for an opportunity to present itself, seek out the opportunities.” Originally from Ireland, Eoin has continued his love of Irish sports in Hong Kong and regularly plays Hurling and Gaelic football.

After graduating from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor’s degree in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry, Esther pursued HTML, CSS and Python in her spare time and discovered her interest in the field of IT. She took a chance to venture into the tech world by joining FDM’s IT Service Management programme. FDM has since equipped her with both professional and technical skills through its extensive and intensive training. During her time at FDM she has built close relationships with trainers and trainees alike. Esther is currently placed at Allianz Global Investors as a Business Application Analyst where she applies the skills learned during FDM’s training on a daily basis. In her role, she supports the marketing team, company website, mobile applications and Salesforce, among other things for the APAC region and works with an international team for projects on a global scale. Esther is grateful for the wonderful experience FDM has provided her to launch her career. “I enjoy what I do and never have Monday blues!”

Evan attended The College of New Jersey and obtained a BA where he double majored in Marketing and Sociology. Prior to FDM, he was a Market Research Analyst for a healthcare company. It was in college, however, that he discovered his passion for recruitment. While playing basketball, he was tasked with introducing new recruits to the campus and student life, and he found that he excelled at making his potential future teammates comfortable and helping them settle in to a new chapter in their lives.  The best part about FDM for Evan is that it provides endless opportunities to get your career started—not just for consultants but for internal staff too. Evan’s promotion to account manager has him working out of our newest Austin, Texas center, supporting growth as an office in that location. Outside of the office, Evan likes to read, write and be social. An interesting fact about Evan is that he can name all 196 countries!

Felice studied Fashion and Hospitality Tourism Management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada before moving to Hong Kong. Prior to joining FDM, she worked as an in-house recruiter at an IT recruitment agency. In October 2018 Felice joined FDM as a Graduate Recruiter.

After graduating from the University of Sussex with a degree in Law with International Relations, Fleur started working at FDM in July 2010, originally as a short term summer contract for the role of HR Assistant. She was attracted to HR because of the opportunity to work closely with others and have influence in their success, as well as the success of the wider business.

“I enjoy working as part of an ambitious team and a fast growing organisation, focused on giving young people opportunities to launch and grow incredible careers. I have always believed in what we do and supporting the success and development of others motivates me to do the best I can. Working in partnership with our varied client base is challenging and makes the role unique. Within my role, I have the opportunity to manage a fantastic team of HR professionals. Together we work with the wider business to create the best possible employee experience, we assist managers and colleagues in their roles and work hard to support our consultants on-site and their success working with our clients.”

Gabrielle joined FDM in working with FDM’s recruitment team. After seeing how the account managers worked, Gabrielle became fascinated with the science of sales. “After placing my first consultant and watching all my work come to fruition, I knew I wanted to be a part of the sales world. Sales is by no means easy—but I find myself loving the challenge!” For Gabrielle, the most rewarding part of her role is getting them through the sometimes lengthy interview process and seeing their elation at being placed in a role they love that aligns with their career aspirations. To Gabrielle, FDM differs from other places of employment because the staff and consultants alike truly want success for one another. According to Gabrielle, “The trainees are provided tools to prosper and no role or company is out of reach. The career opportunities here truly are endless and no two consultant journeys are the same.” On the weekends, Gabrielle likes to travel to different cities, frequent the beach, and explore new restaurants. Her favorite type of food is Cajun—from crawfish to jambalaya!

Gena graduated from Burgas Free University in Bulgaria in 2009 with a degree in Informatics and Computer Science. She then spent some time working as an SAP Consultant, but in 2016 she moved to the UK to pursue a MSc in Business and Psychology at the University of Worcester.

I joined FDM on the Java Developer stream and during training I was placed at Equiniti as a .Net Full-Stack Developer in Worthing. This meant I had to go through additional training in C#, and .Net Development. I accepted the challenge and am now happy to be pursuing a career in tech.

After obtaining a Computer Programming and Analysis Diploma from Seneca College, Gharnata completed a second Computer Science degree from Athabasca University in Alberta. She has worked in web application development, tutoring, and teaching before joining FDM in 2017. Her mix of experience in both teaching and computer science lead to her interest in his current role today of being an Academy Trainer, where she can combine the two. Her main responsibilities consist of teaching Unix, SQL, and Java as well as conducting various interviews to select the best talent. The best part of her role is “ensuring the success of trainees in their learning and in their professional skills.” The open culture at FDM is Gharnata’s favorite part of FDM as “everyone wants to see the other succeed through a supportive and encouraging environment.” Gharnata’s colleagues may not know that she is passionate about cooking and would have chosen to become a chef is if she did not choose the computer science path.

Gillian graduated from Wilfred Laurier University in Communication and Cultural Studies and lived in South Korea for two years teaching English to elementary school children prior to joining FDM. She began her career at FDM in the Brighton office as a Receptionist and was later offered a position at the Toronto office as a Business Support and Marketing Specialist where she provided support to the Academy, Human Resources, Consultant Support and Marketing. Gillian has moved into the role of Consultant Support Team Lead for Canada and she finds the most fulfilling part of her job to be “visiting our Consultants at their new jobs and seeing how much they have grown and matured from trainees in the academy to professional consultants on-site.” In her spare time, Gillian enjoys camping, travelling and playing with her dog.

Before Graeme joined FDM, he graduated from Southampton University in the UK with a degree in Management. He had many previous sales jobs from hotels and memberships, to software. After being contacted by a headhunter and asked of his interest in recruitment due to his communication and sales background, he discovered his passion for the job. He had met many FDMers at regional events due to the nature of his prior roles, and eventually ended up joining through an employee referral 10 years later in 2018. Graeme is now the US Recruitment Manager, based in New York.  He enjoys the fast-paced and continually exciting growth of FDM, and the most rewarding part of the role for him is the hiring and selection of talent, supporting and developing them, and watching them grow into top tier sales professionals. “I have already witnessed FDM’s continued ability to adapt. We conduct quarterly reviews of all stages of our recruitment cycle to fully understand what is working effectively. We use data effectively to gain insight to not only develop our recruiters to be more effective in their roles, but we also support our university/college business partners to shape their employability strategy as well.” Graeme loves all types of sports, from soccer to the NFL, basketball and tennis. Although he is more of an observer nowadays, he’s rekindled his love of playing basketball through FDM’s intramural team.

Before joining FDM, Grainne graduated from the National University of Ireland with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology.

“I work as a Business Intelligence Developer on the Enterprise Data Platform within the Investments Technology Solutions Department. Currently I am carrying out data analysis for our internal risk team to explore what information they need, shape that information and provide them with a solution which facilitates improved reporting and is less resource-intensive. This project has tested both my teamwork and communication skills.”

After graduating from university Hannah spent two years working as a Graduate Trainee in Higher Education whilst simultaneously completing an MSc in Management. It was through this Graduate Programme that she gained a passion for early careers. Hannah joined FDM Group in October 2015 as a Graduate Recruiter in the Glasgow office before she was promoted into the role of University Partnerships Team Lead. After launching the careers of more than 100 graduates into the IT Industry and managing relationships with our universities in Scotland, she has now progressed to a Recruitment Lead role in the Australia office. Of her experience working at FDM, Hannah reflected, “I absolutely love working in a fast-paced environment – if you work hard you will progress quickly!”

Harriet graduated with an English Literature degree at Queen Mary, University of London. She first joined FDM in August 2015 where she worked internally in the sales team. In October 2016 she decided to change her career path and joined the Graduate Programme – she is now placed at HSBC within the Operations and Shared Services COO team.

“I think the best thing about FDM is the doors it opens for you. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated, and I’ve come such a long way in a relatively short amount of time. So many of my peers agree on the fact that, without the opportunities and training FDM provided, we wouldn’t be in the places in our careers that we are now.”

Holland joined FDM in 2017 after graduating from James Madison University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems. Holland believes the demand for technology is always growing across all industries, perpetuating the need for IT specialists in any field. Therefore, Information Technology was a perfect career choice for him. After graduating and deciding to move to the unfamiliar New York City, Holland had no leads on jumpstarting his IT career before discovering FDM. “I think it is difficult to be taken seriously in the IT world as a young 20-something with minimal real world experience. FDM refined my technology and interviewing skills to the point that I felt confident interviewing with top-tier companies.” Holland says that FDM singlehandedly enabled him to access blue-chip companies, one of which he has now been placed with. As a Business Process Analyst at Apollo Global Management, he currently writes intricate Excel formulas and macros. This is something Holland was trained on entirely at FDM, regardless of his college background in IT. “I feel fulfilled knowing that I am the process owner of one of Apollo’s business functions. It is rewarding having the skills to own the process independently, thanks to FDM.” Holland’s favorite memory was FDM’s Halloween celebration where almost everyone donned a crazy costume.

Huadong graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science. In his final year of university, he took a quantitative finance course, which is about using computers to valuate financial assets and monitor financial risks. He realised IT would play a key role in the financial industry in the foreseeable future and decided to join FDM to enhance his IT knowledge. FDM equipped him with fundamental IT skills such as SQL, UNIX and VBA. After his training in the London Academy, he was placed with Finastra, one of the world’s leading Fintech companies. As a business consultant he works with several major Chinese banks to develop their trading systems. “The financial industry is rapidly changing. It is fascinating to be part of the financial market and gaining hands-on experience.”

With her MBA in Finance from Baruch College, Ilana has worked in various finance roles across different industries including entertainment, publishing, healthcare and Big Four accounting. She joined FDM in February 2016 as the Finance Manager for North America where her main responsibilities include creating budgets, forecasts, reporting and any other finance functions.

Ilana feels that the most rewarding part of her role is, “seeing FDM grow and watching decisions that I have taken part in making become reality.” She also appreciates that all levels within the organization work together on a regular basis. “There is a complete open door policy where everyone is encouraged to bring their ideas and knowledge to the table.”

A fun fact about Ilana is that she has ran in three marathons so far, soon to be four and 18 half marathons.

FDM Consultant Jack DeLuca is a PEGA BMP Engineer with Charles Schwab. Although Jack was originally an Accounting major, he switched to Informatics with a Business focus after his freshman year of college because he experienced the boom of the need for technology and wanted to be a part of the experience. Although he graduated with this degree in 2016 from Indiana University, Jack still had little professional experience in the IT world. One of the biggest problems he had after college was that the typical employer took almost a month on average to reply back, only to find the position had been filled or the company needed someone with more experience. “This is when FDM really changed things for me, because every entry-level job I saw had these years of experienced required –which was crazy to me. FDM not only offered quality training in software development, but also connected me with quality opportunities at high-profile companies.” Jack joined FDM in January of 2018 and was placed with Charles Schwab a few short months later. At Charles Schwab, Jack evaluates software platforms, and with the help of FDM’s training in Java development, Jack now understands and quickly adapts to other languages like C# and .NET for testing purposes. FDM also taught him how to learn new technologies quickly and be able to produce on a consistent basis. So far the most rewarding part of the job for Jack has been being able to not only grow personally, but also alongside his team. Jack’s favorite FDM memory was the Summer Consultant Party at the legendary Copacabana.

James began working at FDM in 2010 after completing a History degree at the University of London. His FDM career began as a resourcer in the London sales team. In 2012, James moved to Asia where he helped developed the office in Hong Kong. He had never been to Asia before, so knew this would be a great adventure. As part of a three person team and with only eight consultants on-site, they began the expansion of FDM into Asia Pacific. “It was great to feel that we were responsible for a brand new venture for FDM. This ‘start up’ energy still remains at FDM in Asia”. As APAC Manager, James is responsible for all client and internal activity across Asia and Australia, ensuring that the business runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis. He is also responsible for making sure that the FDM brand in Asia is in line with global standards. “The most fulfilling aspect of my job is seeing the growth we have been able to go through both from a personal point of view and a physical point of view. Seeing the growth in people is the most rewarding. FDM is a very trusting organisation and gives people the chance and opportunity to prove themselves.”

After graduating from the University of Nottingham, Janet joined FDM as an Asia Pacific (APAC) Recruitment Consultant in London. In 2012, she transferred to the Hong Kong centre to help with the FDM APAC development. She currently manages APAC Recruitment as well as some key clients in Hong Kong.

“I am extremely proud to be part of the APAC family and nothing is more rewarding to see our consultants excel in their careers. Some of our consultants are now our clients which is incredible. As a senior account manager, my main role is to expand our client base across APAC. It is extremely rewarding but also challenging at times. I am fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English which is beneficial when working with international clients and consultants. I am a graduate from The Women’s Foundation Mentoring Programme and actively work to empower and support graduates across APAC.”

Jason is a Malaysian graduate from the University of Hong Kong who majored in Quantitative Finance. His interests and hobbies have always been applications of programming, machine learning, and data science in the real world. To bridge the gap between skills he learnt from his major and skills needed in the IT industry, Jason decided to embark on a journey of a lifetime by joining the FDM Academy. By undergoing the three month Developer stream, Jason learnt other programming languages such as SQL and UNIX to complement his core programming skillset. With the support and help from FDM Trainers and Account Managers, Jason was eventually placed at Fidelity International as a Junior Data Scientist. Jason is now in charge of Fidelity’s APAC analytics and data science projects where he delivers end to end solutions using machine learning capabilities. The best part of it is that Jason got to take what he loves to do into a full time job. Thanks to FDM, he now lives by the saying “have the job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.

Jeff started his career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car on their management trainee programme and moved to the UK from the US in 2008. He’s been in the UK ever since, working in London, Scotland and Ireland. He joined FDM in 2016 as the Recruitment Manager for the UK and Ireland and is responsible for recruiting 1000+ graduates every year to FDM’s Careers Programme.

“Seeing the thousands of graduates come onto our programme and helping them enter the careers and industries they worked so hard to get into is incredibly rewarding. I really enjoy working in a place where a vast number of people have so much passion for what they do – the best part is we have a lot of fun doing it.”

Two little known facts about Jeff, firstly he performed in the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics as a smelter. Secondly, he has been ordained as a minster so that he could marry his two best friends, yes just like Joey in Friends.

Prior to FDM, Jenny worked for Cross International doing technical sales into the Middle East, South Africa and South America for companies such as L’Oréal and Estee Lauder. She continued working in South Chile to run Raleigh International and has managed multi-million pound projects for Huddersfield University. Jennifer also worked in the RAF, managing counter drugs operations in the Caribbean and she wrote and presented briefs for the then Prime Minister, David Cameron. At RAF Halton, Jennifer was the deputy station commander, accountable for all flying activity to multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, managing 16,000 movements per year.

Jenny joined FDM as Head of the Getting Back to Business Programme, which helps people return to work after a career break.

After earning her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and working as an Assistant Technical Recruiter for a small agency in Manhattan, Jessa joined FDM.

Her husband, who successfully completed his training and was close to finishing his two years as a Consultant, heard about an open position at FDM as a Recruitment Consultant in the New York office and encouraged her to apply. Today, Jessa finds the placement of each Consultant to be the most exciting part of her job, “seeing the candidates excited to be placed, makes me just as excited.” She looks forward to going to work every day because of FDM’s fun corporate culture and her passionate teammates.

Jim served in the British Army in the Intelligence Corps as an Intelligence and Security Analyst for 24 years. Currently employed as the FDM Ex-Forces Programme Regional Manager (North), Jim works with the Recruitment and Training teams to define individual training requirements and also works with the sales teams to manage the placements of ex-forces trainees with clients, provides support and helps to develop the ex-forces community through the FDM client base in the North of England.

“The most fulfilling aspect of my job is helping, advising and supporting the ex-forces applicants, trainees and consultants when leaving the Armed Forces. At FDM, the multi-cultural and diverse demographic with people of all ages and backgrounds makes it an interesting place to work”.

Joanna completed a degree in History and Politics at Liverpool University and recently completed an MSc in Leadership and Management with Portsmouth University. After spending 16 years as an Officer in The Royal Corps of Signals, Joanna now works as a Professional Skills Trainer at the Leeds Academy.

Joanna’s role involves providing trainees with the right professional and communication skills they need to succeed within the commercial world.

“It is brilliant to see the transformation that can occur within a group of trainees in just a five day period. Many of them arrive on day one full of trepidation quickly becoming at ease after gaining confidence in the initial weeks of training.”

Jodie has always been interested in IT, studying Business Information Technology at the University of Portsmouth with the hope of pursuing a career in the IT industry. She now works at Equiniti as a Systems Analyst.

“Upon graduating I found that FDM offered the best opportunities in terms of the training provided, the certifications you can gain and contact with various clients via the account managers. The best part about working at Equiniti is the people as everyone is so supportive and have helped me transition into a new role and new location with ease.”

Joe started his career in the old London office on King William Street, where he returned back to FDM after his summer internship in 2011 to join the sales team. After graduating from the University of Sheffield in 2013 with a degree in business, Joe sought to explain his horizons and travelled before working as a ski instructor across Canada and Japan. He re-joined FDM in 2016 where he joined the APAC sales team in Hong Kong. He is now based in Sydney and working on the expansion of FDM in Australia. Joe was keen to volunteer for a number of charities and participated in many different activities such as being a golf course marshal. In his spare time, he enjoys playing rugby, golf and skiing.

Veteran Academy Trainer John Plunkett graduated from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN with a BA in Government and International Relations. Following his graduation, he attended Notre Dame Law School where he received his Juris Doctor degree. He also has graduate credits in Organizational Leadership. His passion for teaching has driven him for most of his life, as he has performed the task in one form or another for most of his years. This includes as a Boy Scout teaching others how to survive in the wilderness, in the military by constantly updating soldiers’ knowledge, and even as a lawyer, where a large part of the job is informing people about what they do not know in terms of the law.  Additionally, his mother, aunt, and grandmother were all teachers. After attending a veterans’ job fair, John discovered FDM and took the leap, joining in 2013 as a Trainer and eventually becoming the head of FDM’s Risk, Regulation and Compliance service. The best thing about FDM for John is that it is a continual learning environment where you can always be just a little bit better. The most rewarding part about his role as a trainer he says is “when a consultant sees me after some time on-site and says that something I passed on made a difference in their work-life, or just in their life.” John spends a fair amount of time outdoors: hiking, skiing, swimming, sailing, and, of course, yard work.

After graduating from Seton Hall University, John entered the US Marine Corps as an Officer where he served as a Company Commander during Desert Shield/Storm. He spent three years at the Office of the Secretary of Defence, and one year in the Horn of Africa. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

In civilian life he worked in the American and New York Stock Exchange for Cantor Fitzgerald, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. John was also the Chief of Staff at Coast Guard HQ in their Counter Terrorism and Port Security office. At FDM, John recruits Veterans for the FDM Careers Programme, as well as accompanying Account Managers on client visits to explain and sell the Veteran Initiatives opportunity that FDM has to offer.

He is proud that “FDM is giving transitioning service members and Veterans not just a job, but a true career in the high demand field of IT.” Since John was in the Marine Corps for such a long time, he really enjoys tough physical activity and works out as often as he can.

Jordan has had an interest in IT since high school, from coding small projects to fixing a friend’s computer. While attending Baruch, he discovered that he wanted to work on the development side of the financial industry, developing tools and automating data analytics. Jordan obtained his degree in Finance and Investments, as well as an additional Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, from City College of NY. Upon joining FDM, he found he was provided with the hands-on training and encouragement from expert trainers in their field who guided him through a very challenging but rewarding curriculum. Jordan was placed with Neuberger Berman as a Core Application Services Junior Developer. “I owe my entire skill set and knowledge to my training at FDM. Being able to understand not only what the code is trying to do but how and why it fits into the greater scheme of things has led to many successful project deployments.” The most rewarding part of Jordan’s role for him is speaking with end users for the projects he’s worked on who are satisfied with the results of his development. “I know what I do has a major impact on the company and I’m very happy to have an outstanding and supportive team as well as my network at FDM.”

Jo started her career at FDM in the Graduate Recruitment and University Partnerships team, developing the relationships with universities across the country whilst identifying talented people to join the careers programme. Jo’s previous experience working in student unions sparked her passion for diversity and inclusion which made her the perfect fit for the Diversity and Inclusion team which she joined in 2016.

In 2018 Jo moved into the Learning and Development team to help support growth of people within FDM. She works on initiatives such as the Mentoring Programme, Equality and Diversity Training and supporting the delivery of the Learning and Development Strategy.

“I love watching people grow and helping them feel happier and more comfortable in their working life. FDM is incredibly fast paced; there is so much energy to keep pushing forward which is great!”

After graduating from the University of Hong Kong, Joyce worked at Cathay Pacific for a year and then as Head of Business Development in a private school before joining FDM in 2015. She started as an APAC Recruitment Consultant in the London office. “Joining FDM has been one of the best decisions in my life. FDM has a lot to offer as long as one keeps striving for his best.” Having previously supported the APAC operations from the UK, Joyce then relocated back to the Hong Kong office to support Sales. She enjoys the hectic yet fun-working environment in FDM. In 2018, Joyce moved to Sydney with FDM to support both Sales and Recruitment in our first Australian office. Of the opportunity, Joyce said, “I can’t wait to be part of the growth of FDM in Australia. Exciting times ahead!”

Julia graduated from University of Toronto with a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and then obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resources from George Brown College. She started working with FDM in 2017 as a Recruitment Consultant. Julia enjoys her role as she finds it “extremely rewarding to help launch careers for graduates as I understand the challenges of finding a career after graduation.” Her main responsibility is to find candidates who are the right fit, through constantly conducting various types of interviews. “I have never worked with such a vibrant, energetic group of people. The culture at FDM is so great that we see the results of our hard work and get time to celebrate it.” Julia is also very passionate about reading books and watching Netflix in her free time.

Kammy graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Graphic Design. After graduating she wanted to expand her skillset further and go into the marketing field. Since joining FDM in 2016, Kammy works closely with different departments in the APAC region to develop and execute various marketing campaigns. Her responsibilities include creating marketing materials, organising events, advertising as well as other administrative tasks. “It is exciting to work in one of the fastest growing regions at FDM. There are certainly no boring days here.” Kammy enjoys working in a diverse environment and  thrives on the chance to learn from those around here as it allows for her professional and personal growth.

Kat graduated from York University with a degree in Sociology and began her career working in the fashion industry. She joined FDM in 2014 in Recruitment before moving into Account Management. Kat’s main responsibility is “growing and managing client relationships with BMO, Intact Insurance, the TMX Group and Thomson Reuters” by placing FDM consultants and looking for opportunities to drive new business. The most rewarding part of her role is bringing clients and FDM consultants together to help the client grow their business while helping bright and motivated individuals start their careers. Her favourite part about working at FDM is working with “some of the kindest and inspiring staff I have ever had the pleasure to work alongside” and credits FDM with helping her to achieve strong personal and professional growth. In her spare time, Kat loves going to concerts and exploring Toronto by visiting parks, farmer’s markets, new restaurants or art shows.

Kate joined FDM in 2014 and manages our relationship with over one hundred university partners. She ensures that our university partners understand our business model and career opportunities. She supports universities with their employability strategies to help students succeed in the job market. Kate is also part of FDM’s senior management team and manages a UK team to deliver the work we are doing on campus. She contributes to our recruitment process, ensuring it is effective and that it delivers a great experience to candidates. Before joining FDM, Kate managed the Careers Service at Brunel University. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Graduate Recruiters, the professional body for graduate recruitment.

“Everyone works together at FDM to make the environment successful and dynamic. It’s one of the friendliest places I have ever worked at.”

After graduating from the University of Manchester with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Katherine joined FDM as a Recruitment and Events Coordinator. She quickly progressed to become the Team Lead for the University Partnerships team and more recently into her current role as the Regional University Relationship Manager for the South. Kathrine’s main responsibility is to deliver the University Partnership strategy for the south and to manage the University Partnerships team.

“The best part of my job is working with students and graduates to help them discover career opportunities they would not have initially thought they could do. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the value that the team’s hard work brings to the organisation and being able to launch so many careers every day”

Before joining FDM in 2016, Katie had previously completed a placement at Enterprise Rent-a-Car and worked as a manager at Tommy Hilfiger. She joined FDM straight out of university and started in the University Partnerships team, where she worked her way to Senior Recruiter before moving into Learning and Development.

“In my current role I am responsible for the Corporate Induction Day as well as creating the induction pack that all new members of staff receive. I also support the rest of the team with the coordination of other projects such as the Leadership programme Equally Yours training sessions around equality and diversity. The most enjoyable part of my role is being able to have a genuine impact on the way new members of staff learn about FDM and our company culture. I also like the fact that I get to work with such a diverse range of people from all different areas of the business.”

Katie graduated from Northumbria University with a First Class Honours in Marketing Management. She’s always had a passion for marketing and began working with FDM in April 2018 as the UK Marketing Assistant. Her responsibilities include writing engaging content for newsletters, blogs and social media, assisting with managing advertising and media partners for optimum brand exposure and supporting the marketing team with day-to-day activities.

“I love that my role is so varied and every day is different which means I’m constantly learning and developing. Everyone at FDM is so friendly and welcoming; it’s great to work alongside such a diverse and positive team.” Outside of work, Katie likes to go to the gym, watch films and spend time socialising with friends.

Academy Trainer Keith Greensill attended the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and obtained a BSc in Computer Science. Before joining FDM, Keith worked as a software developer for 2 years in South Africa. Through an online job listing, he applied to FDM to be a consultant in early 2013. Keith was approached during his training and was offered the role of becoming an FDM trainer, now teaching the ITSM stream as well as specialist streams for FDM clients. It was through his opportunity training consultants at FDM that Keith discovered his passion for teaching. The most rewarding aspect of his job is helping trainees learn new skills to kick-start their career. “I enjoy the FDM teamwork and family culture. If you ever need anything, your team is always there to give a helping hand.” In his free time, Keith likes exploring the city of Manhattan to find the best brunch places.

Kenneth served in the United States Marine Corps from 2009 to 2016 as a Military Policeman and was deployed to Afghanistan twice for a total of 14 months. During this time he successfully conducted multiple combat missions and covered over 30,000 miles of dangerous and rough terrain. He has traveled the world and served as a supervisor for a Top Secret Security Detachment that was charged with the supervision of millions in Presidential Transport Assets. Prior to joining FDM, Kenneth was Honorably Discharged from the U.S.M.C. and was a work study student at the VA (Veterans’ Affairs) while he attended college fulltime. During his time with the VA, Kenneth assisted other Veterans with their G.I. Bill Benefits, specifically the application process and the scheduling of upcoming classes. Kenneth credits his passion for recruitment to his father, an entrepreneur and salesman, who built his own business from the ground up. Through his membership with the Marine Executive Association, Kenneth found FDM and joined in 2018. He now serves as FDM’s Regional Head of the Veterans Program, based in Reston, VA. For Kenneth, the most rewarding aspect of his role is giving our nations’ veterans a chance to work with some of the most prestigious companies in North America. “I get the privilege now to oversee the Veterans Program regionally and I am so excited with what the future has to hold. Our full cycle from recruitment to going permanent with our prestigious clients is the most unique concept I have ever been a part of. It is most gratifying to give back to my fellow veterans.” Outside of the office, Kenneth spends the majority of his free time with his wife Katelynn and newborn daughter Kenleigh. He enjoys playing golf, hunting, fishing, and is a champion for FDM’s Fantasy Football League. A fun fact about Kenneth is that during his military days, he was within feet of past presidents and multiple heads of state and other world leaders. Not too many people can say that they have been in the most secure inner circle in the free world!

When Kevin graduated from the University of Missouri Journalism School, he knew that it would be tough finding a career that combined his analytical thinking with his passion for storytelling. He started working in the NYC tourism industry as a social media manager where he honed his digital marketing skills before joining FDM in early 2015 as the Digital Marketing Executive.

Working from the Wall Street center, Kevin has helped grow FDM’s global digital strategy and has progressed to become the Digital Marketing Team Lead where he gets to manage projects relating to SEO, social media, video and more. The best part of his job is definitely “telling the stories of the most successful FDMers. Whether it’s on video or through the blog, I love interviewing people to find out how FDM has helped them succeed.” He believes that FDM is a special place to work because, “ everyone works together to achieve our goals. Everyone wants the consultants to succeed and everyone wants the company to grow, so seeing the way FDMers across the business come together makes working here such a pleasure.”

When Kevin isn’t at work, he loves traveling around the world with his wife and finding the most beautiful places to go for a hike.

After high school Kristian enlisted in the U.S. Navy for 6 years as a Radioman on nuclear submarines. After the military he worked as a Network Operations Technician for CompuServe in Columbus, Ohio working in their Network Operations Centre. At the same time he attended Otterbein University to obtain a Computer Science degree with a minor in Business. In 2017, he joined the FDM Singapore team as a technical trainer: “As a trainer, the most fulfilling aspect of my job is when a delegate has that “Aha” moment and understands a concept I am teaching, and the ability to take a delegate who is new to the workforce and help them start an exciting new career path.”

Lana started her career as a teacher and lecturer before deciding to get an MBA in Information Systems. She went on to work as a Business Analyst, Project Manager and a Data Processing Department Manager for an extensive number of years, implementing digital transformation agendas across domestic and global markets. Due to her husband’s multiple relocations she was forced to take a career break.

Upon finally settling in London, Lana joined FDM’s Getting Back to Business Programme to help her return to work and to open the doors to various career opportunities. She is currently working as a Project Management Officer at Barclays Investment Bank. Her responsibilities include managing RAID (Risks, Actions, Issues and Decisions) Logs, updating project plans, managing project metrics and compiling weekly scorecards for the delivery board and Operational Committee as well as facilitating meetings.

“FDM is a really supportive place to work where you are guided through every step of the way. One of the key aspects I love is the networking opportunities provided, especially how returners from FDM on-site make you feel so welcome.”

Laura earned her MBA in Business Administration from Iona College and then started her career in the financial industry. While working for a U.S. multinational banking and financial service, Laura taught Money and Bank at Concordia College and Organizational Behaviour and Product Operations at other prestigious universities in the area. This is how she discovered her passion for teaching and decided to make a career change. At FDM, she is responsible for managing the Academy Trainers and the training of about 1000 students who go through the program in North America each year. The most rewarding part of her job is providing trainees with the skills and competencies to be successful after they finish their training. Laura enjoys the company culture, the constant collaboration between the employees and the “endless opportunities to grow and take on new responsibilities.” One thing her co-workers might not know about her is that she tap danced for ten years.

Lisa started her career in a graduate management programme before moving into the Graduate Recruiter role for that same company. It was here she realised she loved helping graduates secure their first role after University. She worked with many different universities to develop relationships and build the brand on campus. Lisa joined FDM in 2016 as the Regional Recruitment Manager for Scotland, based in Glasgow. She heads up the Glasgow recruitment team and is the point of call for all Scottish candidates to help them launch their careers in the IT industry.

“I love the people at FDM, everyone is so like-minded and keen to help each other out. There are so many opportunities to develop and progress that you just don’t get elsewhere.”

Lizette attended SUNY Brockport where she received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish. After graduation, Lizette worked in Quality Assurance for the non-emergency NYC government line, 311. This is where she discovered her interest in working in a teaching environment like FDM’s academy. “I always found myself helping others and explaining things in different ways so that my audience understood what was being communicated.” Lizette’s success grew, resulting in promotions and more responsibilities, including helping fellow colleagues answer difficult questions, evaluating the call center representatives on their calls, and training incoming employees. In 2017, Lizette joined FDM, where she is now a crucial aspect of the FDM trainee experience. The best part about FDM for Lizette is that there is never a dull moment. “I have found myself laughing everyday I’ve worked here. I truly enjoy working in the Training Department.” Outside of the office, Lizette likes to catch up on her sleep and her favorite shows, as well as going on long walks. A fun fact about her is that she has an incredible memory, allowing her to memorize trainee names, streams, and current classes.

As an Account Manager in the International Finance Team, Lucy’s main responsibility is initiating, growing and sustaining positive client relationships within the sector. Lucy also researches technological, regulatory and commercial trends that are making an impact. As well as exploring opportunities where FDM can add value. Lucy works closely with consultants to prepare them for interviews and lets them know about opportunities with her clients as well as being a point of contact throughout their time on-site.

“Being an account manager, I enjoy forming long and lasting relationships with both clients and consultants. I am fortunate enough to work with fantastic members of the FDM Alumni, some of which are now clients, and being part of the progression and development of both consultants and the wider business is extremely exciting.”

After studying accounting at the University of Manchester, Lucy joined FDM in 2017 as a Graduate Recruiter in London. After successfully leading a recruitment project for China, she later relocated to Hong Kong. Now, she leads the recruitment team in both Hong Kong and China to help graduates launch their careers in IT. “I know how hard it can be for fresh graduates to kick start their career. I love supporting them and helping their dream career become a reality with FDM.”

Luke joined the Royal Marines at age 16 and was deployed to Afghanistan shortly after. After four years in the military, Luke joined FDM on the Business Analysis stream. He is currently working at Virgin Media as a Trials Analyst, where he is responsible for planning, organising and executing the strategy for staff and customer trials for new products.

“I feel that without the training provided to me by FDM and the opportunities to interview with prestigious clients, I most likely wouldn’t have been where I am now and continuing to have my contract renewed. Being an FDM consultant means there is a support network in place, whether that is from your account manager, a member of the ex-forces team, or simply an FDM colleague.

FDM is great for anyone wanting to get into IT and especially to anyone leaving the forces and looking for opportunities that can offer training, support and access to prestigious clients – FDM ticks all the boxes.”

Before joining FDM in 2015, Lyndsey worked as a Duty Manager within hospitality at Tiger Tiger in Newcastle for seven years. She also worked at Asda House as a recruiter for their graduate programme. At FDM, Lyndsey is the Regional Recruitment Manager and supports a team of five members to deliver a smooth process for candidates throughout their application. She also supports the recruitment team with their development within FDM.

“At FDM, everyone tends to be on the same level no matter what role they work in within the business. It is such a diverse workplace; everyone brings something unique to the table.”

Before embarking on her FDM journey in 2010, Madeleine worked for Vogue, Imperial College, British Airways and started her own training company. At FDM, Maddy established relationships with universities in the UK, USA and Germany and managed recruitment teams across the group. Maddy is now the Head of the Diversity and Inclusion team where she works with our clients to support their own diversity and inclusion initiatives while also ensuring that candidates feel FDM is a company that will enable them to achieve their career ambitions.

“I love seeing the difference we make both to our people and our clients. FDM is extremely progressive, if you have an idea or a passion for change, you can make it happen.”

Maddy’s team look after a number of initiatives designed to support our consultants with their career journeys as well as inspiring the next generation into a career in IT with their schools programme and commitment to driving social mobility.

Since obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Computing with Business from Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, Mala worked in various IT roles in investment banking globally for over twenty years. These roles ranged from developer, business analyst, SME to project manager, service owner and production support analyst. During her career she has remained passionate about training new and less experienced colleagues and mentoring members of her team. So transition her career and joined FDM in 2019 as a Business Trainer and is enjoying being part of the FDM family. Mala also has a Masters in Technology Management from Columbia University. She enjoys travelling and loves reading in her spare time.

Mark graduated from University of Ontario Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Information Technology. He began his journey with FDM as a consultant in 2013 and transitioned into a Business Development Manager in early 2018. His main responsibilities consist of assisting the Sales team through attending client meetings and providing technical expertise and support, alongside developing new course material based on client demand. “Helping consultants by relating to my own experience and time” is a great feeling for Mark in his current role. He enjoys the energetic culture of FDM where “we are all working towards the same goals, making for a great environment.” Mark loves to be outside and is active in all kinds of sports ranging from baseball and hockey to mountain biking and snowboarding.

Mark graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelors of Commerce and is currently pursuing a CPA designation. He joined FDM in 2018 after working in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry for two years. Mark finds that “providing information and analysis that take part in decision making” is the best part of his job and is what lead him to his current role of Finance and Support Analyst. His main responsibilities consist of operating several business accounts, creating detailed reports, and analyzing large sums of data.  Mark’s favorite aspect of FDM is that “there is a lot of peer support with FDM having a very inclusive work environment making coming to work every day very enjoyable.” Mark also has a list of hobbies ranging from listening to music to reading books to watching sports, specifically watching soccer.

Mary began her college career as a Theater major but, after a campus job cleaning up a messy Access database, she realized how much she enjoyed Information Systems and decided to pursue a career in the field. She received her BS in Business and Information Systems at NJIT in May of 2017. Prior to FDM, Mary held jobs including a Qualitative Research Assistant, teaching assistant roles, and even a Social Media Manager for the Murray Center for Women in Technology. A few months after obtaining her degree, Mary joined FDM. The most memorable part of Mary’s time with FDM was learning tons of useful knowledge and how to verbalize and quantify her goals while in academy classes. After completing her training, Mary was placed with TD Bank as an Operation Analyst for the Risk and Regulatory Data Warehouse in Charlotte, NC. “The queries we have to build for this project can be pretty complex, so I learn and grow in my technical skills every single day. I was recently made Test Lead for my line of business, which felt pretty rewarding!” Mary also enjoys working with the other FDMers on-site and welcoming new ones as they come in, as they’re a very close team. “I love the community feel—I always look through the newsletter to see what the offices in Hong Kong or Germany are up to.” Outside the office, Mary loves going to concerts in town and a cardio dance class at a local brewery in Charlotte. She also hosts Bachelor/ette viewings at her home, where friends and even a few FDMers from the office join in at yelling at the TV every Monday. A fun fact about Mary is that she started her own cooking club in Charlotte—a perfect excuse for her to hang out and make food with friends each week.

Maryna graduated from Dartmouth College with a Masters of Arts in Globalization Studies. She joined FDM in early 2018 after working in international development, where she gained experience in building and maintaining professional relationships with international stakeholders. Maryna wanted to use her passion of relationship management in a new setting, leading her to her role today. Her main responsibilities are establishing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders alongside empowering graduates to pursue careers in IT. “Building awareness for graduates about the tech world opportunities” is the most fulfilling part of Maryna’s job. “It’s a great privilege to work in a company with a supportive environment of enthusiastic and competent colleagues.” In her free time, Maryna enjoys going to the movies along with being active through biking and hiking.

Before joining FDM in 2012, Matt graduated with a degree in Management and had five years’ work experience in the Hospitality industry. Matt has undertaken a number of roles throughout his time at FDM including University Partnerships, Graduate Recruitment, New Business Development, Account Management and his most recent position as a Regional Sales Team Lead. Matt’s team is responsible for managing an existing portfolio of clients, including post deployment support for our Consultants out in the field and developing new client partnerships in the North.

“FDM has provided me with a fantastic opportunity for growth and career development and I am looking forward to my future with this exciting and dynamic company.”

Matt graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in finance, and held positions Morgan Stanley as well as a top-tier global consulting firm. Through his work, FDM got on his radar, and Matt joined in 2016. His passion for sales came from his enjoyment of explaining the business side of things while at the consulting firm, which was a highlight of his job and something that made him feel accomplished. The most rewarding aspect of being an FDM Account Manager is helping candidates locate the right job for them, which will help guide them towards their corporate future. To Matt, FDM differs from other places of employment because of its people – the family-like relationships that are present in nearly every department allows acceptance and respect to flow between employees. In his free time, Matt loves to scope out the best spots in NYC that serve his favorite dish—chicken parm. A fun fact about Matt, a true Floridian, is that he learned how to float above water at the age of two months old.

After graduating from Lancaster University with a degree in Economics, Matthew joined FDM on the Business Intelligence Stream and is now placed at Drax Power as a Business Intelligence Developer.

“When I first started my placement, I was surprised at how quickly people would ask me what I thought about an idea or whether I could help on something. I enjoy the amount of technical skills you can learn from others, there are so many different ways to go within IT.”

Matthias graduated from university with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management with Organisational Psychology. Prior to joining FDM he worked in the food and beverage industry for two years. In October 2018, Matthias joined the Singapore team as a HR Executive. The opportunity to learn and work with people from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities is what attracted him to join FDM in Singapore. “I hope to create the best employee experience in Singapore as well as uphold our diligent HR practices.”

Originally from Paris, Maud started at FDM in August 2018 and is on a one-year placement here. She is a project support officer, so she helps to coordinate and deliver different L&D projects such as the Mentoring Programme. Maud studies International Business at Loughborough Uni and will going back for her final year in Autumn 2019.

“What I enjoy the most at FDM is the diversity of people that I get to work with, as well as how quickly I got involved in interesting and challenging projects.”

Max graduated from McGill University with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology. He was initially interested in working in capital markets, but after discovering the change in the banking industry moving towards technology, he decided to build a career in IT. With the evolution of the industry came along an increasingly competitive job market, making it a difficult area to enter with limited experience. “FDM helped me get started in IT. The experience I received from the program was invaluable.” The best part about the training for Max was “having hands-on experience to accompany the learning.” In his current role as a Business Analyst at BMO, Max is assigned to development teams for software applications to provide accurate requirements for developers to write as code. The most fulfilling aspect of his job is “when I work hard on deliverables that are used across many lines of business to build applications, I can see the results of my work being used, which is very satisfying.” His colleagues may not know that Max commutes to work on a motorcycle and he surprises a lot of people when they realize the bike parked outside the office is his.

After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with a Carbon Finance degree in 2016, Max moved back to his hometown, Shanghai. With his background and experience, he successfully landed a job in Golden Partner Asset Management as an Associate Project Manager, looking after various European and Chinese private equity market projects. In April 2018, he joined the FDM Shanghai team, looking to expand FDM’s presence in China. Since joining, he has closely worked with the Hong Kong team within recruitment and sales.

“Joining FDM in China is an exciting move for me as I am one of two members of staff in such a big market. I believe it will be an adventure and I am ready to embrace everything that comes my way.”

Mayank obtained a Masters in Computer Science Engineering from Panjab University with research in the area of offloading computation from Mobiles to the Cloud.  After working in software development for over six years and teaching for two years, Mayank started working at FDM in 2017. Mayank combined his passion for teaching and computers in his current role today where he has “the power to make a change in someone’s life through helping trainees shape their career.” His key responsibilities are teaching Java, SQL, Unix and ensuring that the best quality of training is provided. FDM is a unique workplace with “unlimited growth opportunities and a fast paced environment that challenges you, along with still being a fun environment to be in.” What his colleagues may not know is that Mayank is an outdoor person, with hiking and exploring at the top of his list of activities.

Heading up the Learning and Development team at FDM Melinda brings over 20 years’ experience of working in the learning and development field at senior manager level. She has a pragmatic approach to problem solving and has operated in a range of businesses including charities and the commercial sector. Her experience includes financial and business planning, project and change management plus end to end training design and delivery including running a successful consultancy firm. All of which have helped her in her role at FDM.  Her particular strength is in developing leadership skills and she leads the training delivery of FDMs in house Leadership Programme. Melinda has a passion for developing individuals and teams so that they can reach their full potential which is why FDM is a great place to be. Qualified as an executive coach and mentor and Prince 2 practitioner has added  value as L&D is there to support other departments .

Melinda’s team is responsible for designing and delivering a number of learning and development initiatives, workshops and projects to enable the growth of the business by ensuring that our staff have the relevant skills and confidence to make it happen.

“I really enjoy working in such a vibrant environment where there is a continual  hunger to learn and develop.”

Ever since Michael was young, he enjoyed figuring out how things worked. This curiosity easily extended to the world of computers and eventually led Michael to dabble in software design. After joining FDM in 2017 and being placed with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, he now is working with cutting edge tools as a Global Information Security Consultant combating against new tactics to hack into information. “FDM got me the chance to interview with industry leaders. My training also prepared me for the beginning of the cyber security path I am on now. Without FDM and my time with CME I would have no chance at getting in the door with companies of this caliber.” Michael graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Biology and is a Veteran of the United States Air Force. His most memorable experience with FDM was learning from the engaging expertise of the teaching staff at the FDM New York academy. He finds that classes he took with FDM help him daily in his role on-site and is rewarded by the fact that he is part of the team that defends a global securities marketplace from hackers and thieves, thwarting cyber threats.

Michael graduated from Rhodes College in Tennessee with a degree in Business Administration. Prior to FDM, he worked in Procurement & Risk Management for a manufacturing company. Michael joined us in our Charlotte office as a Recruitment Consultant in 2018. He has always felt strongly about helping others and this passion has followed him to his career with FDM, of which the most rewarding part is impacting the future of young professional careers. Michael loves being able to place candidates with opportunities that broaden their horizons and provide them with skills and knowledge that they can take with them beyond their time with FDM. FDM’s culture, along with Michael’s team and colleagues, are what he enjoys most about his role. Outside of the office, Michael likes to play golf, travel and attend concerts. A fun fact about him is that, although candy is one of his favorite foods, he’s never had a cavity.

Michelle graduated from Queen’s University in English Language and Literature and holds a certificate in Strategic Marketing from Ryerson University. She joined FDM in 2017 after working in the CPG industry for many years. She is passionate about marketing and “its ability to connect people to a product or service.” Michelle’s main responsibility is managing FDM’s marketing strategy for Canada through social media, advertising and company events. She is involved with writing and editing both local and global marketing materials and is committed to making sure that FDM’s marketing and branding is of a consistently high quality across all platforms. Michelle’s favourite part about FDM is the company’s welcoming and inclusive culture and entrepreneurial environment. She loves that FDM is able to “help new graduates start a fulfilling career in IT and Business.” In her spare time, Michelle likes to read, travel, visit museums and art galleries as well as spend time with friends and family.

While completing her degree at Duke University, Monica juggled two passions: utilizing her analytical skills as a science major and exercising her more artistic side as a dancer/choreographer. In pursuit of a field that would apply both her right and left brain proclivities, Monica discovered a love for marketing. Monica joined FDM’s New York office in 2012 as a Marketing Assistant and was thrilled to be a part of the company’s early growth in the US. As FDM’s presence grew, Monica progressed to her current role managing a team as the North America Marketing Manager, overseeing marketing operations in the US and Canada. Monica loves that “FDM operates with such a collaborative, supportive mentality – a quality that permeates across departments and even different geographic offices.” She also appreciates that “FDM’s core values align with my own, making me proud to come to work every day. FDM fosters a welcoming and diverse environment; your peers, who come from unique cultures and walks of life, really become like family.” In her spare time Monica dances regularly, choreographing, teaching, and performing throughout NYC. She also loves biking, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors with her husband and dog.

While pursuing her degree in Business and Marketing from the University of Brighton, Nabila worked for a major corporation until she realized she wanted to work for a smaller company where she could make a real impact – which brought her to FDM. She joined FDM as the first Marketing professional in the UK in 2007. As Nabila gained more experience she rose up the ranks and took on additional managerial responsibilities. In 2013, Nabila relocated to New York with FDM and took on more responsibility as part of the North America Executive Team. This included overseeing HR and Operations in North America alongside leading Marketing in Europe, North America and APAC. In 2018, Nabila relocated to London and became Global Marketing Director. As the company continues to grow, Nabila finds it very rewarding to be able to “successfully lead a very diverse group of individuals around the globe who are all working towards a common goal.” While there are multiple aspects of the company that Nabila loves, one thing she feels makes us stand out the most is our unique vision and business model: “FDM identifies potential in a candidate and invests upfront in the future of ambitious people seeking to gain the skills and experience they need to launch their career.” Nabila spends a significant amount of time travelling and mentoring others. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, as well as volunteering. She initiated FDM’s global Women in Tech initiative and plays an active role in encouraging, supporting and promoting diversity in the workplace. One thing people may not know about her is that she chose to reside in a slum in Manila, Philippines for a month which has enabled her to see the world from a completely different perspective.

Nida obtained a Bachelors of Business Administration from York University and began working at FDM in the Toronto office as a Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator in mid-2018. Nida has previously worked in a variety of industries including journalism, education, and technology. During these experiences, she ran campaigns and events surrounding diversity and women in tech, leading to her passion of using the power of conversation to bring understanding and initiate change. It was this passion that attracted her to her current role of the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for North America. Her main responsibility is to champion and develop a strategy for diversity and inclusion initiatives taking place at FDM. The most rewarding aspects of her job are having meaningful conversations with her colleagues and external partners and ensuring a culture of inclusivity in the workplace of FDM. Nida loves that FDM is an international organization with employees from all backgrounds and experiences. She feels that “despite the distance between our global offices, it still feels like we’re one well-connected and cohesive unit.” Nida enjoys travelling, attending music festivals, and is an avid basketball fan. While she lived in London, England for two years, she often travelled and explored a new European city almost every month.

Norman’s first career was in the British Army where he served for 24 years in the Royal Corps of Signals. He joined as a private soldier rising through the ranks to the top of his career ladder retiring in 2001 as a Warrant Officer class 1, Regimental Sergeant Major. Norman then pursued a second career in the Arts, gaining a Master’s degree in Creative and Cultural Studies, continuing on to work as a Commission Artist, Chair of the Arts Development Forum and the Director of an International Creative Academy. Norman is now undertaking his third career with FDM in Glasgow.

“I joined FDM to help establish the Glasgow Academy and grow the Ex-Forces Programme in Scotland. Seeing ex-forces people come in, train then get a start in the commercial world gives me a real buzz.”

Olivia graduated from the University of Exeter in the UK with a master’s degree in Finance and Management. After completing the business analyst training programme in the London Academy she started her placement in China. She currently works as a Data Analyst in the Data Service team at one of FDM’s clients in Dalian. She says “I enjoy spending time with my co-workers from different functions and learning from them. Their advice helps me work in a smart way.”

As an Account Manager for Ireland, Padraigh’s main responsibility is working with clients to find suitable opportunities for our Irish consultants.

“FDM is such a diverse company; you meet so many different people with vast backgrounds and experiences. Everyone has a unique story. FDM’s model is one that creates opportunities for young people. We work with some of the world’s largest and leading companies and we are at the foothold of supporting them with the next generation of talent. Innovation is a key aspect of what we do, constantly keeping us on our toes and up to date with the newest emerging technologies.”

Before joining FDM in 2017, Pamela worked as an Executive Search Consultant specialised in finance recruitment. At FDM, she focuses on helping graduates launch their career in IT. “The best part of my job is getting to know a stranger, understand their experience as well as skill set and help them discover career opportunities with FDM. I love being able to change the life of an individual by placing them in their dream job. An interesting fact about myself is that I am a triplet”.

After attending the University of Manchester, Paul joined FDM as a recruiter in our Brighton office. His outstanding performance along with his unwavering love for personal growth and adventurous personality brought him to North America. Eager to take on his new role as Account Manager and maintain an open mind, Paul helped FDM grow the US and Canada client base to what it is today. He believes that the most gratifying part of his job is “building new client relationships at the different offices and hearing the success stories of former consultants.” Impressed by the company’s rapid growth, he enjoys “seeing FDM help kick-off thousands of careers in IT and business,” throughout the years. In his free time, Paul enjoys playing golf and snowboarding. Having moved from the UK to New York, one thing most of his co-workers may not know about him is that he has Italian-American heritage.

Upon finishing her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Southampton in the UK, Pippa joined FDM. She began her career as a Recruitment Consultant in our Brighton office and moved to our New York office in 2013 to take on her new role as the Head of Recruitment. With her continuous results and high energy Pippa soon became a NY Account Manager. During her time as an Account Manager she grew FDM’s client base immensely, especially in the DC metro area. After two years as an Account Manager she was promoted to Account Director and the NY Sales Manager where she enjoys the “vibrant, hardworking environment, as well as the innovative company culture.” In Pippa’s spare time, she likes to read fiction books, try new restaurants and run 10K races.

Prajna graduated from Rutgers University in with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics/Statistics. FDM was the first professional job for her after college, after taking some time off and studying music for a while. She was drawn to the people-focused aspect of the careers that FDM paved the way for. “Taking the skills that I already have and orienting them so that I can contribute to the people around me – that’s the dream!” The most memorable part of the FDM experience for Prajna is the people she met through the program. She became inspired by the consultants that attended the academy with her, and loved how much the trainers and her co-trainees encouraged her to go above and beyond. “In every situation, there was something to learn and some way to improve, and I loved that.” Prajna feels very accomplished in her fast-paced role with Neuberger Berman as a Business Analyst, where she was placed shortly after completing her training. Each day she is kept on her toes to complete projects successfully—and doing so makes every day rewarding. Pranja is new to New York, where she is placed, and spends her free time exploring the city. She loves walking around and feeling the energy—and also loves to learn new languages.

Rebecca studied at the University of New Hampshire and graduated with a BS in Biology and a minor in French. Before FDM, she was a research assistant for a beetle research project in Oklahoma. She enjoyed the statistics side of biology and using programming to find patterns in numbers, discovering she was interested in pursuing data science. During her online job search, she found the FDM program and joined in 2018. The most memorable part of her training was getting to know and learning from other FDMers, who came from diverse backgrounds but were all very smart, dedicated and a pleasure to work with. “I really enjoyed the training at FDM. The trainers truly care about our careers and happily go out of their way to prepare us for interviews or give networking advice or work through a project one-on-one.” Rebecca was placed with Common Securitization Solutions as a Business Analyst shortly after. The most rewarding part of her job is raking in new knowledge, from mortgage investing and securitization, to the software development lifecycle, to business architecture. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the DC area, hiking, watching new movies, and trying new restaurants. A fun fact about her is that she studied abroad in Grenoble, France.

Rim holds a degree in Electronics Engineering as well as numerous certifications in areas of such as project management, IT service management, network, systems and database administration. She started her career as a programmer and came to FDM with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. Rim has always been passionate about “conveying information, sharing my knowledge and experience, and witnessing the transformation of individual to IT professional, which led to 8 years’ experience as technical instructor.” Rim is both an Academy Trainer and a Global OS Admin Course Owner and is responsible for teaching courses in the Application Support Stream. Rim finds one of the most fulfilling parts of her job to be when FDM consultants are recognized by their placement companies for outstanding performance. She finds FDM’s culture to be an “an inclusive, supportive, respectful, and very friendly environment”. When she is not working, Rim enjoys cooking and spending time with her three daughters.

Rob attended the University of Massachusetts studying Sports Management, however, fell into HR while recruiting for IT professionals to start his career.  His career has covered multiple industries and prior to joining FDM, he worked for an international outsourcing provider for over 10 years managing the HR functions for the Eastern US and Canada.  Rob has a diverse background in HR that includes employee relations, benefits administration, recruitment, project management and training and development.  What he loves about Human Resources is that “it’s the gatekeeper for the organization, bringing in the talent and also helping to create and drive the culture.”  The draw to FDM was the opportunity it provided to the employees; “the company gives them training in a field they love, then helps place them at a Fortune 500 company where they can grow and begin hopefully their forever career.”  In his spare time, you can find Rob attempting to hit a small white ball in a 4 ¼ inch cup that some call golf, brushing up on his poker skills, or watching some quality sports on TV.

Robert was introduced to FDM by his long-time friend and associate, John Plunkett, Head of Risk, Regulation and Compliance. He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Business and Psychology. After college, he worked in the financial service industry handling institutional management, trading and investing for large public and corporate institutions, and training financial professionals. Robert’s experience training people to work in the financial industry brought him to FDM, where he enjoys passing on his knowledge and experience to new trainees. His favorite part of his job is having Alumni come back and tell him they have applied all the terminology and practices they learned throughout his course while on client site. “The family orientated, enthusiastic and proactive corporate culture” at FDM makes his time in the office enjoyable, because there is “comradery at all levels of management, amongst the trainers, account managers, support staff and trainees alike.” At the office, his co-workers have come together like a small family. However, what they may not know about him is that he is “more spiritual than people may think.” When Robert is not working, he enjoys going scuba diving and road biking.

Samantha joined the Royal Navy when she was 19 years old as a Communications Technician and remained there for 11 years. Having had a technical role in the military, upon leaving, she pursued a career in IT and joined FDM after attending an ex-forces Insight Day. She is now placed at Amec Foster Wheeler as a Project Manager within the Ethics and Compliance Team.

“I look after a wide range projects, including training packages, software implementation and an internal awareness campaign. Every day I am dealing with people across different departments, from all over the globe.”

“The most rewarding aspect of the FDM Ex-Forces Programme is going through the process with a group of fellow service leavers. You have each other for support and get to share the journey with people who truly understand what you are going through. FDM has such an impressive list of clients, who may not ordinarily understand the benefits of taking on a service leaver, FDM removes this obstacle and places you with exciting companies across different sectors.”

Sarah was born and raised in Hong Kong and moved to the UK in 2009 to complete her education in Law and Psychology at university. She moved to London in 2012 and gained an interest and experience working in private healthcare as a business and personal assistant at two respected private practices. Sarah joined FDM in April 2018 after moving back to Hong Kong. She has been an integral part of the team and her knowledge and understanding of care and support shine through her work in the Academy. “FDM is a great company to work at, I thrive working in a fast-paced environment and honoured to be a part of such a strong working team.”

Scott studied Games Design at Leeds Metropolitan University and joined FDM when looking for a career change six years after he graduated. He completed the Software Development stream and is now placed at HSBC as a Digital Content Developer and Deployment Co-Ordinator.

“Part of my role is to make changes for HSBC, Marks and Spencer and First Direct public websites. I work on specific campaigns often I get a brief and then I can get creative on delivering it. Another aspect of my role is as a deployment coordinator; I coordinate releases through different environments and liaise with marketing, testing and developers and manage different parts of the projects.”

“I really enjoy my job and I feel like my professional life is developing successfully due to FDM. I’m happy to be on a 16 month and counting placement in my hometown of Leeds with HSBC.”

Sean graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in English and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the United Kingdom. He began his career at FDM in 2015 in Recruitment and later made the transition to Account Management to now being an Account Director. Sean’s role is to provide FDM’s clients with tailored and strategic solutions in order to “leverage the FDM model and capabilities and add value.” He also supports newer Account Managers throughout their training to aide in business development and growth. He finds that “hearing positive feedback from clients regarding the impact that our FDM trainees have had on projects and culture” to be the most fulfilling part of his job. His colleagues may not know that Sean lived in Tokyo for four years and he was featured in television commercial during that time.

At College of the Holy Cross, an Introduction to Coding course lit the way for Shannon’s passion for Computer Science. The problem-solving nature of the material was fulfilling and exciting in a way that she rarely found in other coursework. Upon graduating, Shannon knew that a career IT was the best fit for her. “It was difficult to relate my classroom experience to potential employers and bridge the gap from student to professional. FDM helped to match me with a unique position that integrated technical knowledge and problem solving with my love of collaboration and interaction.” After joining FDM in 2017, Shannon was motivated by working side-by-side with like-minded peers and soon was placed as an Environment Manager with Murex. She delivers trainings on Database Management, where her professional skills honed with FDM allow her to do so confidently. The most rewarding aspect of her is, “the responsibility and independence I have in my role. My position here does not feel like a short-term job that will expire at the end of my contract. Rather, I work in a team that relies on me and sees me as a valuable contributing member.”

Shannon graduated from the University of Lincoln with a degree in Games Programming. After being approached by an FDM Graduate Recruiter and attending an FDM Women in Tech event, she applied and went through the Graduate Programme on the IT Service Management stream.

“FDM opened the door to so many possibilities I would have never otherwise considered; I am now working as a System Administrator for Virgin Money Giving based in Norwich. I have a great team around me who offer me plenty of support. I am having fun exploring Norwich, a city which I hadn’t visited before with my new colleagues and housemates.”

Sheen holds both an undergraduate degree in Computer Science which she received in India and an MBA in Information Systems from McMaster University. After working in the IT Industry in India, she found that moving to Canada offered some unique challenges: “Being a newcomer in Canada, finding a job was really difficult. I was not aware of the expectations of the employers and expressing myself in the interviews. FDM has been a great help in bridging that gap…I worked towards getting my certifications in Business Analysis and ITIL, which are great additions to my profile.” As a result of her training, Sheen also developed an interest in Finance which helped her to land a role as a Business Systems Analyst at RBC. Her responsibilities include gathering and soliciting business requirements and finding solutions as well as sanity testing before solutions can be delivered to the business. The most important things she learned from FDM were “continuous exploration with a purpose, accepting the challenging situations and handling them to best of the ability, and most importantly, discipline.” When she is not working, Sheen likes to read, cook and explore new places through travel.

Sheila worked at Save the Children for 14 years as an International Project Manager before taking a planned career break to take care of her young family. Although she was immensely grateful that she had the opportunity to support her children, her family would have struggled financially on just one salary alone. She therefore made the decision to join FDM’s Getting Back to Business Programme.

“It’s not easy returning to work after a break. With many recruiters and potential employers it seemed that my years of experience didn’t count for anything as all they could see was the gap in my CV. FDM’s Getting Back to Business Programme was just the opposite. I’ve been able to refresh and update my skills, regain confidence and work for a company that recognises the huge vale returners offer to the commercial world. “

Sheila is now placed at the Home Office working as a Project Manager in the Border Forces team.

Sherry graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University with an Accounting and Finance degree. She is fascinated by the way IT influences people’s way of living and working. With her Finance background and interest in IT, she decided to join FDM to pursue her career in this innovative industry. FDM’s training equipped her with the IT skills she needed and strengthened her finance knowledge. She is now on-site at RBC in the KYC and Account Management team supporting APAC client on-boarding and account management.

“I really appreciate the diverse and energetic culture at FDM. The Graduate Programme has brought so many possibilities to my career and it is definitely a great way for graduates to develop and paint their colourful life.”

Sophie worked in the UK Marketing Team on joining FDM in 2014 and worked predominantly in PR and Events as well as developing campaigns to promote our diversity. When the opportunity arose to set up the Diversity and Inclusion Team at FDM and make visible all our work in this area, she joined Madeleine Field to deliver and expand FDM’s D&I footprint.

“I am interested in the ever evolving conversations around D&I, the importance of an authentic approach and the ability to forge meaningful conversations with business and higher education.”

Sophie leads the team based in London and oversees all initiatives and projects, the overall D&I strategy and focuses on our partnerships with clients.

After Steve graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with a BS in Business Marketing & MBA, he joined the English south coast football powerhouse Saltdean Utd, a club that has provided connections between many employees across FDM. He was introduced to the opportunity of being part of the FDM Sales Team in 2007 and jumped at the chance. Steve’s enthusiasm for his role comes from a passion for “believing that I’m serving our employees and clients as well as moving the industry forward. Creating new tech talent and helping those individuals get their IT careers started is what drives me every day.” Steve believes it’s important to be authentic and always ensure you’re serving those you impact in the best way possible, and sales is the vehicle that allows him to do just that. Now, Steve is a Senior Account Manager based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He feels most rewarded from his work when a consultant gets placed with their first job on-site. According to Steve, there is a contagious atmosphere for growth within FDM, and that is precisely what he loves about it. “We’re not a company that’s happy with the status quo. If it’s a new region, new client, new school, or new IT discipline we’re always looking towards how we can continue to innovate and solve our clients’ challenges.” Steve spends his free time with his wife Jessica, daughter Emma, and 75lbs of furry fun—his dog, Stella.

Tanuj graduated from McGill University in Electrical Engineering and always knew that he wanted to pursue a career in IT because “all major industries from banking to pharmaceuticals have IT at its core.” FDM’s academy not only provided Tanuj with the technical and professional skills needed to succeed, but provided him with an understanding of what it means to be part of something bigger than himself. In his current role as an IT Project Control Officer, Tanuj has gained a deeper understanding of the entire project lifecycle at CIBC. Tanuj relocated from Montreal to Toronto for his training and placement, which allowed him to fulfill his dream of working in Toronto’s bustling Financial District. When is he not working, Tanuj can be found taking in a local Maple Leafs or Blue Jays game but admits he is often conflicted when either team is playing Montreal. He is passionate about the environment, nature and quantum physics and admits to seeing almost all of Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries.

Tracy travelled the world for eight years in the United States Navy where she became an Intel Specialist and received a Top Secret clearance. Without saying too much, she monitored the whereabouts of ships and aircrafts. After all the traveling Tracy decided she wanted to stay local, which brought her to FDM. Now after being with FDM for more than five years, she is the Academy Admin Manager for NA and a Proskills Trainer in the New York Academy. Her main responsibility is to make sure the trainees have a smooth transition from trainee to consultant. “I ensure they are fully equipped to work in a professional environment once they leave the academy so that they will be successful on client site.” She also enjoys coming to work every day where the culture is inclusive among each department. Tracy finds that without a doubt the most rewarding part of her job is when, “I’m running down the hall to tell a trainee they’ve been placed, the look of relief and excitement they have when they know they’ll be starting their new career soon.” On the weekends she loves to spend time with her two nephews on Long Island and catch up on the latest episode of SVU.

Thomas, a La Salle University graduate with a degree in Marketing, worked as an Advertising Project Manager for a pharmaceutical company for two years prior to joining FDM. His role as Project Manager entailed creating websites, banners, advertisement and mobile applications which sparked his interest in the technology field. Thomas is currently an FDM Account Manager and finds that the most rewarding part of his job is seeing new candidates start their career journey at FDM and ultimately getting full time offers with our clients. He enjoys getting to know the new trainees and “building close friendships with consultants, which often last long past the training period.” Thomas likes to stay active so he combined the best of both worlds and started a basketball league at FDM for internal staff and trainees.

Tim graduated from Queen Mary, University of London with a degree in Physics and then joined the Army where he travelled the world, serving for nearly 30 years. He joined FDM in 2016 as the Lead Trainer of the Ex-Forces Advanced Course Training Programme. He now is responsible for the entire London Academy, where he ensures the smooth-running of the training taking place for all the courses run out of FDM’s London base.

“The most fulfilling part of my job is the people I meet every day. The energy the Trainees bring into the Academy and their anticipation, as they begin their careers in IT, is wonderful to see. This, together with the experience and professionalism that the Trainers demonstrate as they prepare FDMers for their roles, makes FDM a unique place to be.”

Tolu started working at FDM in 2014 in the HR team. Tolu manages the Consultant Support team in the London and Leeds office which provides HR Support to all consultants across the UK.

“What I love about FDM is that it is a fun and vibrant place to work; it is truly a unique place. As part of my role I coordinate the FDM Stars peer recognition scheme and it’s great to see others across the business that are as passionate about FDM as I am, who consistently go above and beyond in their role.”

Toto graduated from the University of South Australia with an Environmental Science degree. After returning to Hong Kong where she is from, Toto decided to join FDM to start her career journey on the business stream. She was the first consultant to be placed at Manulife (International) as a Reporting Analyst in the Project Management Office. She is responsible for providing direct portfolio reporting and analysis support to senior members of the team. “I like the fact that FDM opened the door for me to develop my career within the IT and Finance industry. The comprehensive training programme bridged the gap between my academic background and the commercial world. Thank you to FDM for bringing me this fruitful career and giving me the opportunity to meet amazing people along the way.”

Tricia graduated from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh with a degree in Marketing Management. After graduating she began her career at a global digital marketing agency, where she gained experience in SEO, PPC, affiliates and social media. After a short break freelancing while she had her two beautiful children, Tricia joined FDM Group in early 2018 as the Digital Marketing Team Lead based in Glasgow.

Tricia has aided the growth of our digital footprint, working on exciting video, social and SEO projects. She thinks that the best part of the job is “getting to work with a group of passionate marketeers who are excited by the work we do. I also love meeting our consultants, trainees and internal staff and sharing their interesting stories, I love helping to launch or in some cases re-launch the careers of our fantastic workforce.”

Tristan graduated from Oxford Brooks University in Oxford, England, with his BSC in Business. Before joining FDM, he worked in sales for a number of different software and hardware vendors who focused on things like Backup & Disaster Recovery and Application & Desktop virtualization. While working these jobs, when Tristan closed his first deal, he discovered just how passionate he was about sales and how what you give is what you get. Although he originally came across FDM at graduate fairs while he attended university, he didn’t join until 2017, moving to FDM’s Sales Team in January of 2018. “The vibrant and dynamic culture and the exciting group of enthusiastic individuals I get to work with on a daily basis is what I enjoy most about FDM that makes it so unique from other places of employment.” Tristan loves helping clients solve complex problems through his role at FDM, especially by pairing them with just the right consultant that they need. Tristan eats 3 bananas a day without fail—no exceptions—and enjoys fishing and playing golf outside of the office.

Victoria obtained a Bachelors of Arts from University of Toronto, majoring in communication, culture, and information technology. Her journey with FDM began in 2017 when she started as the Receptionist and Travel Coordinator and later joined the Recruitment team as a Recruitment Coordinator. Her main responsibilities consist of running interview days at FDM by looking after the logistics of running interviews and managing candidates. The best part about Victoria’s role is that “I get to interact with most people in the office. It’s a very collaborative role!” She also embraces the culture at FDM as she believes “Everyone is social, team-oriented, and enthusiastic. I love the open concept work environment, which makes me thrive in a space like this.” Outside of work, Victoria enjoys attending concerts, discovering new music, and eating sushi.

Academy Trainer Vijayanti Ramsaran completed her BSc with Honors at London South Bank University in Business Information Technology.  After holding various positions in the IT industry for over 12 years, she realized there was a common element in all of her roles—she always ended up teaching and helping others. Vijayanti then decided to focus on her post-graduate training and completed a two-year Graduate Training Program to become a Certified UK Teacher in Information Technology and Business Studies. Now, Vijayanti teaches within FDM’s IT Service Management, Project Management and Business Intelligence streams. The most rewarding aspect of her job is helping trainees prepare for placement by providing them with the technical and the professional skills that they require to be successful in their careers.  She loves that she has the opportunity to build good relationships with each of them, so that they feel comfortable to reach out for help, even while they are on site. For V, nothing beats working with her team. “There is a lot of togetherness, love and laughter in our team and that makes everyday a day to look forward to.  The FDM culture is definitely reflected in our team, as we work together more like a family than colleagues.” Outside the office, V spends her free time with her family, especially her two little boys and all of their extracurricular activities, as well as participates in social and cultural activities with her church.

Wendy spent 14 years working in the finance sector prior to moving to Hong Kong in 2012. She joined FDM in 2015 through the first Getting Back to Business Programme in Hong Kong and took up an internal position within FDM. As the APAC Operations Manager Wendy is responsible for analysing the performance of the business and employees as well as finding new FDM centres in APAC as the business continues to grow in the region. “I am passionate about performance analysis and strategic planning. I enjoy being part of a fast growing team that demonstrates a strong ability to work towards challenging targets”.

Wenting joined FDM in 2017 as a Graduate Recruiter in Singapore. Originally from China, she has lived in Singapore since 2005 and graduated from National University of Singapore in 2013, majoring in Economics. Before joining FDM, she worked at the Career Services Office at NUS Business School. Wenting is keen to build her career in talent acquisition and enjoys helping fresh graduates land their dream jobs. In her spare time, she loves doing yoga, cooking and hanging out with friends.

After graduating from Newcastle University, Will started his life in the British Army at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On commissioning, he joined the Army Air Corps as a helicopter pilot and served on various operations and deployments around the world, including tours in Northern Ireland, Canada, Germany and Kenya. Will accumulated 1100 flying hours in his military career.

He left the Army as a Captain in 2007, working in the insurance industry before joining FDM as Chief of Staff for the FDM Ex-Forces Programme, contributing to all areas of the programme including but not limited to: recruitment, assessment, training, business development and supporting our ex-forces consultants.

“Having left the military myself, I know how hard it can be for people to transition to a civilian life. The team here are fantastic and it’s extremely rewarding to see so many people come through the programme and go onto fulfilling second careers”.

Will lives in London and is a Freeman of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. Other interests include skiing, rugby, travel, cooking, real ale and marathon running. He is a qualified PRINCE2 Project Manager and an accomplished presenter and communicator.

Yesim has a background in technology, having completed a degree in IT and Finance and worked on multiple IT projects throughout her professional career. After her career break of 15 years, she was concerned that her knowledge of the industry was outdated and was looking to refresh her skills and regain her confidence.  She joined FDM’s Getting Back to Business Programme to update her IT skills and is now placed at the Home Office within their Biometrics team.

“In this current climate, national security is more important than ever before. Working on biometrics means I’m making a small contribution to this very important matter. I feel excited to be making a difference and resuming my career.

It was great to meet a diverse set of people who were in a similar position to me through the Getting Back to Business Programme. I love the camaraderie. The training was extremely challenging but the trainers are excellent and very understanding about your other commitments. Everyone is so supportive of one another and are rooting for you to succeed.”

After graduating from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Master’s degree in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation, Yoyo decided to polish her technical skills by joining FDM’s Graduate Programme. She has long been fascinated by technologies that benefit society such as cloud computing and social media applications. FDM provided both business and technical training for her to be well equipped before entering the technology industry; from mastering professional skills to technical skills such as SQL and Python she also gained her ITIL and PRINCE2 certifications. Yoyo is currently placed at Allianz Global Investors in the Enterprise Architecture Change Management team as a Project Analyst. Her main duties are to provide support to her managers on IT project governance and project reporting. She is also helping to create a process management framework for improvising the current workflow.

“I would really like to thank FDM for offering me such wonderful opportunities and allowing me to enhance my different skills sets. I have been given the chance to meet innovative individuals with similar minds. These valuable skills acquired during the three months training will definitely stay with me in developing my future career.”

Zhi Wan graduated from National University of Singapore with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics. Following a 15-month stint in the construction industry supporting a major government project as an executive, he joined FDM’s Graduate Programme, specialising in project management and business analysis. Zhi Wan is currently placed at LanciaConsult, a management consultancy firm, where he works as a technology consultant for the freight forwarding industry. His responsibilities include business analysis, solution design, and end-user training as part of a global implementation project which took him abroad to Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia.

“FDM is a great starting point as it ensures you get relevant training, industry recognised certifications, and a two year placement with leading clients. For myself, even with some prior experience, I was seeking a more structured development opportunity – firstly to deepen my expertise and fill up any knowledge gaps, then to get a more holistic breadth of experience in other industries.”