An Inside Look into the Leadership Rotation Network Program

While in their rotations, they are exposed to real-world challenges and sit amongst subject matter experts allowing them the opportunity to collaborate on effective solutions, deliver value and build impactful relationships. The program pillars foster an environment oozing with abundant personal and professional development opportunities including mentorship, community building, committee leadership and philanthropy involvement.

As the inaugural cohort embarks on their journey, we sat down with three “LRNers” to discuss their experience and learn about what excites them most as they navigate this rotational program.

Why DRW?

Jared (Business Management): I chose DRW for its vast opportunities -- a dynamic atmosphere that encourages asking questions and finding solutions. Every day presents a new challenge and it’s nice to be in a position where I am learning and growing.

Krish (Finance): I have a critical and quantitative mindset and I wanted to work for a company that could offer me the opportunity to leverage this. I chose DRW for its quantitative focus, logical thinking culture, and the unique principle of "Challenging Consensus." I was also intrigued by my conversations with new hires at DRW because the amount of knowledge and expertise they had gained within a year at DRW was incredible

Shirley (Risk): I joined DRW because of its diversity and commitment to employee growth. The culture also seemed to align well with my own values.

What interested you when deciding to join the LRN program?

Jared (Business Management): I was drawn to LRN because it offers exposure to various career paths in the trading industry, allowing me to discover the role that best suits my skills and interests.

Krish (Finance): I did not want to restrict myself to one career opportunity, I wanted to experience various roles and find the best fit for me. I joined the LRN program because it offered the opportunity to explore, grow, and gain knowledge about DRW’s industry and operations. LRN will allow me to explore my passions, interests, skills and create new relationships.

Shirley (Risk): The opportunity to gain behind-the-scenes insights into trading processes and the chance to collaborate with diverse global teams.

What have you learned so far in the program? Is there a special project that you enjoy?

Jared (Business Management): So far I have learned what goes on behind the scenes to grow the business and the different types of markets DRW is involved with. There are so many different teams involved with supporting the business and it is interesting to see how they all work in unison.

Krish (Finance): The greatest skill I have learned in this rotation is how to effectively analyze financial data, summarize important findings, and report it to DRW stakeholders. The most interesting project I worked on was building a report from scratch for the CFO and COO that aided in an important organizational decision. During this project, I interacted with 4 banks to collect relevant data, learned how to use Tableau and built a dashboard to effectively provide my analysis.

Shirley (Risk): I’ve gained knowledge in risk measurement techniques and how they contribute to the company’s overall strategy. I particularly enjoy monitoring the live risk limit spreadsheet for the trading desks. It offers real-time insights and allows me to actively engage in risk mitigation.

What is your favorite part about your role? What is the most challenging?

Jared (Business Management): *My favorite part of my current role is working directly with traders to get them started on new products or execution systems because I’m able to organize something that will be important for the business going forward. The most challenging part is that every assignment is different so there’s not a cookie cutter solution to each problem which keeps me on my toes.

Krish (Finance): My favorite part about my role is how much responsibility I am being given. Being a new hire, I expected to have a slow transition and did not expect to get any major projects initially. But from the first week in this rotation, the expectation was set high and I was given independent projects to work on immediately. I have been trusted with important tasks from the very beginning and given flexibility on how I want to do it. The most challenging part about this role is there is no margin for error. Since most of the reporting is sent to either the C suite, DRW partners or external stakeholders, I have to be very careful along every step and constantly review my work.

Shirley (Risk): My favorite aspect of my role is the opportunity to collaborate with risk managers specializing in diverse areas, which provides me with a rich tapestry of insights. On the flip side, the most challenging part is navigating and programming large databases, which can be complex but also rewarding.

As you continue to go through the program, what do you look forward to most?

Jared (Business Management): I look forward to exploring future rotations and being able to carry what I learned on one team to another. While we won’t be experts in our current roles, it’ll be helpful to our future teams to provide a new perspective and help them work together even better.

Krish (Finance): In this rotation, I am currently working on a project that will ultimately be presented to our CEO and other partners. I am excited to be a part of a project that is high priority for the firm. I'm also eager to put these insights from the finance team to use during my next rotation, and I'm enthusiastic about broadening my horizons and stepping out of my comfort zone to gain knowledge from other teams as well.

Shirley (Risk): I am excited to meet with the next cohort for LRN program!

As LRN participants like Jared, Krish, and Shirley continue their journeys, they embody the spirit of the program and contribute to the success of DRW's collaborative ecosystem. Learn more about this program.