Aine Stennett

I have been working with FD for 6+ years specialising as a Lead QA I have gained excellent experience in Agile environments and release processes. I am based in Newry in Northern Ireland and enjoy being close to the cities of Belfast and Dublin but still being close to nature and the Mourne Mountains. I am happiest when I get to spend time on the wild Atlantic coast of Ireland.

My path to FD was a little unorthodox. I studied chemistry in university but was never confident of my career goals. After I spent a little time figuring out what I wanted in life, a colleague in FD told me about the graduate scheme and how great it was to work here, how FD were on the cutting edge of technology and how I would enjoy the company culture. I applied not thinking I would have much success as I had no experience but to my delight, I was accepted on to the graduate scheme which provided the training I need to succeed. Nearly 7 years later I know it was a great decision to try despite my initial misgivings.

Most of my time in FD so far was working with a top Tier 1 investment bank in regulations as a QA lead. I like to call it my baptism of fire because I learned so much from my time there going from a junior QA to running the team ; they were amazing! After this I have worked on proof-of-concept projects, establishing and guiding QA teams, my most recent work being for a new product that may revolutionize resilience working in DORA and CERD where I am acting as QA lead and PMO so dipping my toes into new things and working closely with our partners. Outside of my project work for clients I also put a lot of effort into the Neurodiversity Networks one of the DEI networks here in FD and I get a lot of fulfilment in delivering training around Neurodiversity as part of our graduate program and being a part of such a great community that supports each other. I also mentor colleagues within FD and that brings me a lot of satisfaction and has taught me so much.

As a girl from Fermanagh, Ireland I was pretty certain I didn’t want to be too far from home long term so FD has been a brilliant place to work as I only had to move as far as Newry which has been great for my work life balance. In saying that I have also had the opportunity to work in London for short spells which was also great but I know I am a home bird.

Feel the fear and do it anyway! It’s ok to have reservations or nerves when we need to step out of our comfort zone, but I have found my best growth professionally (and personally) is when I have had to step up and do the hard things, have the difficult conversations and challenge myself.

It’s hard to pick one so I am cheating by saying two. Being shortlisted last year for the Step Up Awards for Corporate Citizen of the Year and being invited to attend the Aspiring Leadership Programme which was an amazing opportunity to connect with leaders and learn from their insights and experiences.