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“You’re always part of a bigger story, bigger issue or bigger deal in the Commodities and Global Markets Finance team,” says Stuti Aggarwal who is currently an Associate Director and began her career at Macquarie 13 years ago as an Executive. Since then, she has been exposed to a range of Macquarie’s operations while following her ambitions.
Stuti Aggarwal joined Macquarie’s Gurugram office in 2011 after working in financial services for five years. “There were a lot of large, international companies bringing opportunities to India around that time,” Stuti explains. “Macquarie drew me in because I’d heard about the culture, people and opportunities.”
The potential to build her own career was also a drawcard. “Macquarie’s culture places emphasis on the individual to deliver, and you receive exposure to its different businesses as well as the leadership team and their vision,” Stuti says.
When I joined, the Gurugram office was small, but that ended up being an advantage and allowed me to establish myself, contribute, and build teams. At Macquarie, it's about your ambitions.”
Stuti joined Macquarie as an Executive within the Trading Finance team (now Product Control). “We supported Asian markets and the trading, Metals and Energy business,” Stuti explains.
Over time, she experienced mobility across Macquarie businesses, including Fixed Income and Currencies, and Group Treasury. She also spent time in the Sydney office, getting to know the Commodities and Global Markets business.
“It had a real impact,” she explains. “I created strong relationships that I still draw on today.”
Stuti says these global networks also helped her carve out a niche between BAU and transformation projects. Her work included simplifying the internal funding hierarchy for the organisation. She was also integral to a project which involved upgrading the platform for profit and loss reporting for Macquarie’s Fixed Income and Currencies, and Treasury businesses.
Stuti says these projects triggered her career moving in a slightly different direction. “It led to me becoming more than a process person,” she explains. “People came to me with bigger questions, and we were able to establish new work streams in Gurugram.”
In 2017, Stuti took parental leave but initially had reservations about being away from the office. “I found my work very rewarding and worried what would happen when I returned after parental leave,” she explains.
In reality, Stuti says she was given the space to prioritise and balance her personal and professional life as she returned to work. “I gained a lot of confidence in the support that was offered from my managers and those reporting to me, too,” she says.
She was promoted from Assistant Vice President to Vice President in 2019, taking on more responsibility. “In 2020, I took parental leave for the second time without any reservations,” she says.
On her return to work in 2021, Stuti played an integral role in launching the Maternity Returners Framework through the Women in Finance Employee Network Group.
“It was an issue close to my heart,” she says. “Being a professional and mum, I knew not only what many women would want, but I also wanted to support women in that journey at Macquarie.”
The new Framework aimed to increase engagement with Macquarie employees on parental leave. It provided a structure for keeping in touch and communicating changes to workflow and operations. It also empowered employees on parental leave to speak to their manager and more easily navigate their return to work.
Stuti says the support she’s received from Macquarie, personally and professionally, is a major factor in enabling her success. Stuti now balances her personal and professional life by working three days in the office and two from home.
In 2023, Stuti was appointed Associate Director. Over 13 years in the Commodities and Global Markets Finance team, she’s been part of its growth to more than 100 people globally.
“Macquarie is always changing, so the processes, businesses, and the structure of the teams and support functions have had to grow too,” she says. “That brings challenges, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
“We were one team across regions, now we have three different verticals: Financial Control, Transactions Management and Advisory, and Product Control.”
Stuti was responsible for setting up an additional strategic vertical within the team integrating Controls, Systems and Transformation, which she now leads.
“It’s a global role, and while our team of around 20 people is in Gurugram, we support Commodities and Global Markets Finance globally,” Stuti says. “It’s a big responsibility, but it puts my team on the map.”
Stuti says her transformation team brings more opportunities for people to upskill and try something different, just as she has been able to. “That was my story - always asking, do I have enough of a challenge?”
One of the strategic transformation projects she oversees is the manual journals elimination project to reduce risk in manually posted balance sheets. It sees her interact with stakeholders in Sydney, Houston and Jacksonville, as well as the technology business change teams. At the same time, she leads the Gurugram team around timelines, strategic discussions and delivery.
“There’s a lot of communication, strategic thinking, project and risk management, and team leadership and development,” Stuti explains.
Stuti counts her journey from Vice President to taking on more leadership as Associate Director as a highlight.
It is an exciting place to work because there is a different challenge every day. You’re always part of a bigger story, bigger issue or bigger deal in the Commodities and Global Markets Finance team.”
She says being able to adapt to change and challenge yourself is well-rewarded at Macquarie. “Change brings great opportunities,” Stuti says. “I have experienced a lot in my career at Macquarie because I’ve always embraced opportunities to do something different.”
“While I’m accountable for stretching myself professionally, I’ve been given the tools and support to execute on that, which is rewarding and makes me feel empowered.”
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