Meet the team

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Hi Everyone!

My name is Irene and I am the Founder & CEO at Sertie. I had a career in management consulting in the Financial Services industry for about 7 years where I focused on digital transformation, policy & regulation, post-merger integration and innovation in Capital Markets. After that, I was a Venture Partner at a venture capital fund in UAE with a specific investment focus on Education Technology propositions. 

What will surprise most of you is that I pursued academic studies that did not relate to any of the above; in fact, I did a BA in Politics, International Relations and Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London and a MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies at University of Oxford. 

With that in mind, I want to emphasise that you do not have to “become” what you study. I have seen many students struggling and not being able to land an internship/job because they think they are limited by what they study. In fact, the one thing that really matters I have seen is the ability to talk about what you CAN do (i.e. your skills + competencies) combined with your personal professional brand. 

That is why we built Sertie with the aim to not only help you with that; but also help you to become more competitive and prepared to land an internship/job. With more and more talented students holding a degree, it is key that you stand out from the crowd - and that is what we help you to do. 

Hi, this is Victor. 

I spent the past 7 years in the software space where I, like many graduates, started with little to no experience. I had no idea what my role exactly was and how I was contributing value in my career. Retrospectively, the one thing that allowed me to be with ONE company for more than 7 years was learning and becoming the best in what you do and stay obsessed with it.

From a customer success manager, managing single corporate accounts, to multiple accounts, building & leading a team all the way to executing strategic product roadmaps and establishing partnership relationships. All of this didn’t happen overnight. 

As hard as it is, try to enjoy the journey as much as possible. My journey has been tough, but if you celebrate your own personal wins along the way I am sure every single one of you will achieve big things. 

As your challenges resonate so much with my own personal journey I want to give back, be a mentor myself and contribute to the product that we are building - helping as many students as possible to enhance social mobility. 

Feel free to reach out to me.