Finding a way in
Laura wasn't specifically looking for a career in financial services when she spotted a Third Bridge posting on LinkedIn. What caught her attention was the culture.
"After going through the website, I felt like culturally it seemed like a good company,” she explains. “I saw the awards for Best Workplace It just looked like a very young, dynamic environment."
She joined Third Bridge as an Operations Associate in the Library team and hit the ground running: "It was very operation-focused. They needed someone who was organised, very attentive to details and could multitask."
She started her first professional role entirely remotely, building relationships through screens at a time when the world had largely ground to a halt.
"Everything was done online. It was a bit brutal," she laughs. "But they still made it work."
What made it work for Laura was the people. She gravitated towards colleagues on the Research team whose roles focused on expert outreach, financial projects, and hands-on research, and found herself increasingly fascinated by what they did.
"Through understanding their day-to-day tasks, I developed an interest in the Research role," she says. "My friends in that team were very encouraging. Eventually I decided to pursue that path.”
How a career setback fueled success
After about a year in Operations, Laura applied for an opening on the Research team. She went through the interview process, competing against external candidates, but didn't get the job.
It was a huge disappointment and Laura describes feeling sad and demotivated at first. But then something shifted.
"Because of the rejection, that really ignited a fire in me. I was going to do everything I could to prove how wrong that decision was."
Over the next five to six months, Laura made herself impossible to overlook. She attended every training session for the role and shadowed colleagues whenever possible, studying their workflows and shadowing every task.
"Whenever there was an opportunity for me to learn or get exposure on a day-to-day basis, I took every single opportunity. I proactively put myself into that learning situation, consistently, for months."
Eventually, the manager of the Research team noticed and not only offered her a place on the team, but increased headcount specifically for her:
"They saw how keen I was, how proactive I'd been with all the learnings. I was very grateful for that."
The comeback story
Laura describes what happened next as her defining career moment. She joined the Research team, worked hard, and built strong relationships along the way. Her performance spoke for itself. When her manager pursued a different opportunity within the company, Laura applied for the managerial role and got it.
"It’s a comeback story" she says with a grin. "Because after being rejected at first, I worked hard to earn my place on the team, and then went on to manage it. That's when I really felt proud of my journey."
She became the Research Team Lead for Pan-Asia, overseeing a team across Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Tokyo. It was a role that pushed her well beyond her comfort zone, not just because managing people was new to her, but because the team was simultaneously expanding into entirely new territories with vastly different working cultures.
"We originally only had a research team in Hong Kong, and suddenly I had to manage nine team members across completely different geographies, remotely. Even till today, I'm still learning about those cultural differences."
Rather than waiting for support to find her, Laura went looking for it. She identified two female leaders, one in Hong Kong and one in London, and reached out directly.
"They taught me so much,” she says. “Because they were also female leaders, I could relate to them on a different level. If I was in a situation I didn't know how to handle, I would ask for their advice."
That experience also shaped how she leads today. One piece of advice she now passes on to her own team came from a former manager: seek out perspectives from leaders beyond just the one you report to.
"I don't want people limiting themselves to one voice or one style," she explains. "Expand that. Hear from as many people as you can."
A move nobody had made before
After two and a half years as Research Team Lead, Laura was ready for something different. The opportunity that emerged was a unique one for the Hong Kong office: a secondment into the Client Services team.
"Usually it's the other way around here," she explains. "People move from Client Services to the Library team. The Client Services team is seen as more commercially driven and fast-paced. I don't think anybody in Hong Kong has moved in that direction before." She pauses. "Knowing that, I still went for it."
The secondment lasted three months before Laura officially stepped into the Manager role in April this year. She's candid about how it's felt: "From the moment I said yes to the secondment, it has been extremely uncomfortable."
But the discomfort, she's quick to add, has been exactly the point. Client interaction was new to her after five years in the Library team, and she’s already seeing early signs of success.
"There was one experience where I was really able to build rapport with a client, get them ramped up to use our services. It seemed like I added value to their day-to-day work. That's the most rewarding part."
What she looks for in others
Now actively hiring to grow her new team, Laura has developed a clear picture of what makes a candidate stand out. She describes it as a panel of four dials, each representing a different attribute.
The first is proactiveness. The second is mindset: never giving up, being open to feedback, and being diligent. The third is intellectual curiosity about financial markets, and the fourth is confidence – a real can-do attitude.
"To be the best," she says, "You have to turn every single dial up to the max."
Her management ethos is shaped directly by her own journey: "I'm empathetic, but I also maintain high standards. I want people to push themselves to be the best version of themselves, because one day, when they look back, I want them to be proud of what they've achieved. That's what I went through, and that's what I'm still going through."
Why she's still here
Ask Laura what keeps her at Third Bridge after six years and four roles, and she answers without hesitation.
"Every time I change role, I'm learning something new,” she explains. “I’m still being challenged.. It's like I'm a sponge and when I move to a new role, I just continue to absorb more."
The culture, she says, has always made that possible. Third Bridge is a place where asking questions has never felt embarrassing for Laura and support has never been far away.
"Every manager and mentor I've had has been so supportive. That's a mindset I've continued to maintain and pass on to my own team."
Life beyond the office
When she's not navigating a new role or building out her team, Laura is most likely in the kitchen. A serious and enthusiastic home cook, she spends what she cheerfully describes as most of her salary on equipment and ingredients.
To balance things out, she lifts weights most mornings. It's partly for the feeling of strength it brings, but also because of what a hard session does for her outlook on the rest of the day.
"If you can get through a really tough workout in the morning, everything that comes after feels easier," she says.
At home, she's kept company by her dog Churro, a rescued mongrel. Churro featured in a Halloween costume contest dressed as a Coca Cola bottle last year on Third Bridge's “Furry Friday” Slack channel, a social space created during COVID where employees post pictures of their pets on Fridays.
"Talking about the things that interest us, like our pets, helps us bond as colleagues. And I think it’s also a way to lighten your mood. When I'm feeling stressed, I look at the photos people send and it helps me to get on with my day.”
Advice for new joiners
For anyone considering a career at Third Bridge, or wondering whether to make a bold move within it, Laura's advice is characteristically direct.
"Take charge of your own career. You are the main driver of it. If you see an opportunity, just go for it. If you trust yourself that you can do it, you will actually make that happen."
Coming from someone who turned a rejection into a promotion, built a team across three countries, and became the first person in her office to make a particular career leap, it's advice that carries its own proof.
