Branch Administrator, (Economics, BA)

Deanna Holland, CIBC Wood Gundy

Upon receiving her BA in economics in 1992, Deanna headed out into the workforce to pursue her passion in finance. Fascinated by the intricacies of the market and economies at large, Deanna’s career began as a client service representative at Royal Trust Main Branch in Toronto. After six months, she was promoted to client service officer, a position she held for the following four months before becoming a client service officer II. At this time, Royal Trust merged with RBC and Deanna was given the opportunity to create her own job position and associated duties to help integrate the two company’s internal policies and procedures – becoming a senior client support officer.

Having completed the Canadian Securities Course and Conduct and Practices Handbook while at RBC, Deanna decided to broaden her career in finance and enter the brokerage industry. She contacted a former work colleague and was advised of the many opportunities available at their associated brokerage company CIBC Wood Gundy. After six months working as a financial assistant, she was asked to fill the position of branch administrator for a maternity leave.

Deanna’s role as a branch administrator is to effectively manage all administrative aspects of branch operations including the hiring, training and supervision of all support staff and ensuring compliance of all audit requirements. Deanna also maintains branch profitability by monitoring the branch budget and controlling expenses. She also acts as a liaison with all other departments and divisions within the company and assists the branch manager as an investment advisor.

During her time as a student at Laurier, Deanna gathered relevant experience and believes that this aided her in transitioning to the workforce. Her experience included serving as secretary/treasurer for Co-op Residence where she worked on a committee involved in making decisions that would affect the lives of every resident, thus developing her staff management skills. She also worked as an English as a Second Language tutor, which taught her the importance of patience, understanding and empathy for others, which later became critical when training and managing staff.

Deanna believes that, “it is important to be reminded throughout one’s career transitions and advancements, that every career path does not necessarily have to move in one direction. Sometimes by taking a lateral or backward move, interesting opportunities and challenges arise. Stay focused on your goals but not to the exclusion of other opportunities from which you can learn and grow. Always maintain balance between your professional and personal life and you will be more productive and effective in your career.”