‘The world wouldn’t be very innovative or creative if we were all the same’

Karen Conway, director of technology management, has spent the majority of her career at Fidelity Investments, starting as a software engineer working on voice and web-based development. “Today, I am a director of technology, responsible for a number of programmes in the asset management equity technology area and currently growing our division to more than 90 associates.”

She works with partners in other global sites and divisions to establish best agile and engineering standards for their squads, define priorities for teams and determine the budget and workforce planning needed to meet the division goals.

Conway studied IT with business in NUI Galway, but commerce was her second choice on the CAO, so she thinks she would have worked her way back to fintech regardless. The role and the industry have changed significantly over the past 20 years and progressing at such a pace that “what I learned in college and early in my career is outdated now.

“We have smart watches now with more processing power than PCs back then and jobs exist today that we couldn’t envisage as careers 20 years ago, like game designers, graphic designers, cloud engineers, iOS and Android developers. So, whilst I have been in a technology career for 20-plus years, I have to be comfortable with change and continuous learning to stay abreast of the technology ecosystem.”

For those looking to get into fintech, Conway says “people often think of technology as coding. But if you are interested in art, design, business and finance, there is a home for you in fintech too.

“We need that varied thought-leadership to create products that suit a diverse customer base. The world wouldn’t be very innovative or creative if we were all the same. So if you have no experience, and you are willing to learn, there is a place for you in the fintech industry.”