Leaders in Investment Management: Camilla Love

Brief Overview of  Your Career to Date: 

I have been in the industry for over 20 years, really focusing on marketing, sales, strategic insights and governance roles. I have built boutique businesses and supported their growth. I have had some fantastic opportunities building offshore and Australian clients and even built an ETF business. Today, I’m taking my superpower as a connector, and I’m supporting stellar fund managers in their distribution, marketing and supporting their strategy moving into the Australian market or offshore into global markets under Alpencrest Capital.

I wear a number of other hats as well. I am the Chair of the Abbotsleigh Foundation and Chair of the UNSW Alumni Advisory Committee. I am also on the Perennial Responsible Entity and Venture Capital Boards.

I am also the founder of F3 – Future Females in Finance and the host of “Shares not Shoes” podcast.

Well, actually, I said no to two graduate recruitment roles in two of the big retail banks. Whilst I’m sure it may have been a great opportunity, I didn’t want to do the roles I was offered. I knew I wanted to be in funds management, and I knew I wanted to do marketing. While business banking might have been fulfilling, it wasn’t what I really wanted to do.

By saying no to these roles (and yes, people thought I was crazy) meant that I patiently waited 6 months before landing my first role. I got this application through an agency.

Actually, over two decades! 22 years, in fact, and I am still on their Responsible Entity and Venture Capital Limited Partnership Boards and connected from a governance perspective. What kept me engaged was a multitude of things. Firstly, when I joined, the business was in a massive growth phase. It was amazing to be a part of it. I think when I started, we had just got our first institutional mandate, and from that, lots of opportunities exist. It was a thrilling time.

Secondly, the leadership of the business. I enjoy working with people who own their own business. It makes the culture different. It’s more accountable. It’s more nimble. It’s more fun.

Thirdly, the opportunities that were extended to me. I was able to manage a team at a young age. I was able to grow offshore clients from Sydney. I visited some amazing places to pitch our investment capabilities. I was able to start and grow their ETF business. I became a board member. I think as I proved my strategic aptitude and my ability to execute, the more opportunities the business was able to afford to me.

Finally, I guess it was the growth and learning opportunities that I was either seeking or being offered to me altogether. It’s important to ensure that you keep growing, no matter your age and ability. It keeps you relevant and interesting and switched on.

I was inspired to set up F3 because I really wanted to make a difference in the industry. I also wanted to solve a problem through a more practical, grassroots, scalable solution that was truly impactful for the industry and individual talent. In short, F3 aims to educate young women about a career in finance through panel sessions, careers days, “Shares not Shoes” podcast (check it out here). Still, the back bone of it is a 6 week work experience opportunity where a group of five females work together to research, analyse and solve a business problem inside a corporate partner and alongside a mentor.

It’s a win-win outcome. Corporates have a project completed, are able to see talent in action and have an important “cultural boost” tool in the tool kit for staff.  The female talent gains the skills, gather knowledge on the sector and have a supportive environment to have their first entrée into the Finance industry.

I believe a good leader exhibits the following traits:

1. They listen and ask questions more than “preach”.
2. They nurture a business or team culture that offers a safety net, is supportive and allows you to bring your authentic self to work.
3. They drive excellence, lead by example and are open to testing and learning new ways.
4. They make difficult decisions more palatable
5. They are happy to step forward and take accountability when things go wrong but yet step backwards when things go right and let others have the limelight.
6. They leave a positive legacy.

1. Relevancy to the pipeline of talent by better storytelling of purpose and opportunity
2. Keeping up with and embracing the digital revolution e.g. AI/ML, Cyber security, blockchain etc.
3. As the industry continues to mature, our governance bar moves higher.
4. There will always be changes to regulation. We need to engage better with the regulators and create better industry guidelines.

Only one piece of advice… that’s difficult. Be curious and ask the next question… whether that is “what do you do?”, “can I have a coffee with you?”, “why is it like this?”, “can you tell me what this means and how you calculate it?”, “can I help you in this project as I’m interested in learning a new skill?”, “can you show me how do you do this?” etc. It’s important to continue to learn, be inquisitive and put yourself forward.