What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
Madonna University, Okija

What made you apply for the Mountbatten program?
My high school friend who did the program in New York, about 2 years before me. I was inspired by his career progression and exposure to world class organizations and quality work experience.

Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
My sponsor company was UBS AG and my role was Risk Weighted Assets Analyst.

On the role I was responsible for part production and reporting of Basel III regulatory Risk-Weighted Asset (RWA) figures to the Swiss financial regulator, FINMA. I utilized SAP BusinessObjects to generate reports, perform monthly topside adjustments, extract data on exchange-traded derivatives, and report on large exposures. My other responsibilities included reconciling daily reports, analyzing Risk-Weighted Assets and exchange-traded derivatives, assessing global entity portfolios, and managing all related sourcing information.

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?

Meeting and working directly with new people from different cultures and all parts of the world.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?

Going to the pubs and clubs with friends, black Friday shopping (the queues were unbelievable) but most especially hanging out with my French boyfriend at the time.

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship

1. “Never judge someone by their race, nationality, or accent, for the most unexpected people often hold the greatest joy and fulfilment.”

2. “Everybody else knows something that you do not, be unbiased and unassuming towards others.”

Upon reflection, what do you consider has been the biggest impact of your Mountbatten year?

Exposure to higher possibilities, learning about ecommerce and also learning how to trade stocks and shares through my personal investment banking.

What happened after completing the year – what did you do next?
I did some entrepreneurial work, some short term contract jobs with a few organizations and I wrote https://www.amazon.com/MyCrypto-Manual-Guide-Crypto-Space-ebook/dp/B07W76GT8W to keep people safe online. I have found peace in cybersecurity and I am transitioning into it fully.

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?

I am currently a Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) consultant in the field of cybersecurity and am actively working on getting fully certified.

In this field my role involves a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, governance, and risk management. Here’s a streamlined breakdown of my responsibilities:

Risk and Control Assessments: Evaluate and assess risks and controls in alignment with the corporate Cybersecurity Framework.

Policy Development and Review: Create, review, and update policies, procedures, processes, and internal controls.

IT Assurance and Governance: Oversee IT assurance, governance, and risk management practices.

Security Awareness Training: Identify needs and support initiatives for security awareness training.

Security Assessments: Conduct assessments of projects and third-party vendors to ensure compliance and security.

Cybersecurity Oversight: Manage and monitor the company’s cybersecurity posture to identify, understand, analyze, and mitigate risks.

Stakeholder Collaboration: Work with management and stakeholders to enhance security practices.

Security Assessments and Gap Analysis: Perform assessments and gap analyses using standards such as ISO 27001.

Security Risk Register: Maintain and track the Security Risk Register, ensuring issues are resolved.

Third-Party Security Audits: Conduct audits of third parties to test the effectiveness of security controls according to standards (ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, GDPR).

Policy and Standards Review: Continuously enhance and review policies and standards to maintain the integrity and security of business information.

Guidance and Support: Provide guidance, feedback, and support for risk management and ensure continuous monitoring and mitigation of risks across the business.

This approach ensures a thorough and proactive management of cybersecurity risks and policies within the organization.

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?

For my career, I plan to become a fully certified cybersecurity professional so that I can practice in different countries.

For my social life, I hope to get married and plan to have between 4 to 7 biological children. I want to raise my own family and contribute my quota to prevent population decline. I love the idea of family and will surely want one of my own J

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I sew at least 70% of my clothing and I make my own beaded accessories.

Is there any other information that you would like to be included?

If anyone wants to learn and embrace cybersecurity, I can help out for free. I would also love to connect with and get to know Mountbatten students and alumni. You can find me here www.linkedin.com/in/ifeoma-c-n-725a77116 .