Can you describe your career journey? What made you decide to join MacKay?

My career in research has spanned both the sell-side and buy-side.  Over that time, I have had coverage responsibilities in high yield, investment grade, loans and equities.  I joined Mackay 4 years ago from a different buy-side role for a few different reasons.  First, I was familiar with MacKay’s strong reputation in the market.  Second, I really enjoyed my conversations with members of the Global Credit and Global Fixed Income teams during the interview process.  And lastly, it provided me an opportunity to expand my responsibilities in both high yield and investment grade.  It was absolutely the correct decision.

What piece of advice would you give yourself at the beginning of your career?

One piece of advice that I received early in my career is to be comfortable asking any question once, but attempt to never ask the same question twice.  The way I interpret this advice is to not only be intellectually curious (an important quality in this business) but also thoughtful in processing and implementing any new information.  Said another way, while it is important to ask questions it is equally important to understand and gain something from the answer.  I try my best to abide by this rule, but as head of research for Global Credit and Global Fixed Income inevitably I do find myself having to be reminded on things occasionally. 

 

Tell us something about yourself that most people at Mackay would not know about you? 

I used to participate in distance events including a half ironman in California and a 200-mile relay in Oregon.  Now I just log those miles in my car taking my son to his weekend ice hockey games. 

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