Ben Avor
Capital One
Mc Lean, VA USA
"It’s hard to be discouraged when you are passionately pursuing something."
Career Roadmap
Ben's work combines: Writing, Business, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Accra Academy
Bachelor's Degree
Banking and Finance
University of Ghana
Graduate Degree
Real Estate Development (Finance and Investment)
Columbia University
Certification
Chartered Financial Analyst
CFA Institute
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Credit Risk Audit Manager:
Bachelor's Degree: Banking and Finance
Graduate Degree: Real Estate Development (Finance and Investment)
Certification: Chartered Financial Analyst
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Right after undergrad I started writing for a newspaper doing an op-ed on business and politics.
2.
Got into banking in 2010 as management trainee in a prestigious rotational program for wholesale banking.
3.
Got to work as a credit and relationship manager in China and Taiwan.
4.
Moved to South Africa and it was not exactly a good experience.
5.
Moved to NYC to attend grad school.
6.
Found myself working in 2nd line and 3rd line risk management.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Peers:
Get into IT instead – banking is for connected people.
How I responded:
Have a clearly defined goal and be sure it is indeed what you want for yourself. Do a gap assessment and determine what investment of sweat and other resources you require to get to that goal. If you find what is required manageable, then commit and work at it doggedly. It’s hard to be discouraged when you are passionately pursuing something.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Faced a lot of racism when I worked in Johannesburg, South Africa. To overcome this, I let my work speak for itself (competence matters) and I found comfort in associating with people who looked like me and with allies.