Martin Kalemba, an Investment Operations Analyst
Martin Kalemba:He is an Investment Operations Analyst. He holds a first class degree in International Marketing at the University of the West of Scotland and an MSc in International Banking, Finance and Risk Management at Glasgow Caledonian University. He also obtained a diploma in Investment Operations from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment which set him up well to commence his corporate career in investment operations within the financial services sector.
Walk me through your education and career path
At a young age, I enjoyed being in school choirs and also perhaps applied myself too enthusiastically to school politics. Later, I joined St Henry’s Kitovu for O-Level, where I was blessed to make and consolidate friendships that continue to positively impact my life to date.
In 2002, I joined Namilyango College for A-Level. I had been told that there was some sort of college legend that nobody had passed English Literature with an A since the Norbert Mao circa 1993 and thus chances of anyone breaking that record were quite slim.
I managed to pass the subject with an A albeit with some controversy. When our A-Level results returned, there was an X where my A ought to have been. It turned out my paper 2 (Plays) had been misplaced before my score was recorded. I was shocked and riddled with anxiety.
Mr Gerald Muguluma and Ms Dorothy Matovu, the then headteacher and deputy headteacher worked tirelessly to investigate what had gone amiss at UNEB. My father also escalated the matter to the Kiddu Makubuya, the Minister of Education then.
It was fortuitous that the two were acquainted from their school days. With that high level of focus, my paper was found. Yes, I had scored that distinction to make the elusive A-grade but it came so late in the process that both my parents were supportive of my suggestion to further my studies in Scotland where my brother Philip was.
What or who has shaped your corporate career journey?
I think I was greatly inspired by my father. As an electrical engineer, he was a dedicated professional.
I have many childhood memories of my siblings and me tagging along to his work duties and spending time in his office.
My paternal grandfather was also an accomplished accountant, so I think from an early age I had a few great examples of devout professionals to look upto. However, as a singular reference my academic background has by far been the most impactful influence on my career. What courses I chose to study and where I pursued these studies are what have truly shaped my career journey.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were 25?
Trust the process. I was a very anxious fellow at 25 years, being only a few years into my independent adult life and still trying to figure out the trajectory of my diaspora journey.
I could then have enjoyed the experience of working towards my dreams more and perhaps been even more productive along the way. It is very important to be confident in the decisions one makes and to have the resilience to stand firm for the said decisions even when the going gets tough.
What do you consider your biggest career success, and why?
My first job in the financial services sector after graduation is my biggest career success. Without that entry role into the sector, my degrees and other academic and professional qualifications would have counted for nothing. Every position that I have held since, has built on that first experience.
What do you consider your biggest career challenge, and what lesson(s) did you learn from that experience?
Imposter syndrome continues to be an ongoing issue so I would say that is perhaps the biggest career challenge. Oftentimes I am in places where I am the only Black person in the room within a majority that enjoys an incalculable quantity of home and cultural advantages.
Sometimes it is the colloquialisms and other such small factors which affect one’s comparative networking potential and ability to obtain upward career mobility. With time I have come to appreciate that as human beings within high pressure corporate environments, we face similar challenges albeit to varying degrees.
It is important to see and try to positively understand the people behind the corporate image. I have in recent years applied myself to employee networks which aim to foster diversity and inclusion.
I also intentionally set out to build and maintain collegial networks even outside of the firm where I am employed. Through this I am able to have meaningful conversations which to a large extent help to alleviate such issues which evoke and exacerbate imposter syndrome. It requires a whole range of introspective considerations.
How would you mentor a fresh graduate to make good headway in today’s work environment?
I would encourage any fresh graduate to start out being very clear on the first job they want to get and be able to articulate why that ought to be the best start to one’s career.
On obtaining that ideal first job, I would focus my mentoring efforts to support the young professional to master their craft because no amount of networking or other attributes will compensate for technical incompetence.
I would also be supportive of any graduate’s effort to always bring one’s authentic self to work but with the caveat that that ‘authentic self’ be palatable to the professional environment.
When and what do you do to refresh and adapt to the dynamic corporate culture?
Every three years or so, I seek a new role which builds on my previous experience or earns me new skills which would ideally help my career journey. Working with different firms also offers opportunities to learn from different corporate cultures, which is helpful to one’s own resilience. It is also very important to keep up with new professional certifications.
What is on your wish list?
On a personal level, I wish for a big happy family. Professionally, I wish to improve my earning potential and diversify my income streams for posterity. I would like to be a published author in the near future.
ABOUT KALEMBA
Kalemba has worked for Barclays, BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley. For the larger part of his career, he has mainly worked in the trade management area which is focussed on the logistics of seeing transactions executed by the trading desk of an investment bank through to settlement. He ensures that transacting parties are matched in the market on all trade economics and that the transaction is settled in time within the correct market (country). There are additional operational risk management aspects to the role, aimed at improving efficiencies.
