Sapna Dattani, LEH 1987-1996

Managing Director, DWS

After leaving school, Sapna studied Maths and Computer Science at Cambridge. During her time at Cambridge she completed an internship in an investment bank in London and decided not to pursue a career in technology.

She ended up joining Oliver Wyman as a management consultant, working mainly for investment banks in London and New York, and took the opportunity to live in Manhattan for three years. On her return to London she decided to leave consulting and toke a role in the strategy team at an investment bank. Soon after she joined, the financial crisis was in full flow. She became part of a small knit group working closely with the head of the investment bank to recalibrate and reorientate the business. It was hard work but extremely rewarding; she was travelling around the world and helping her boss prepare for meetings with government officials, clients, investors, press and other senior leaders. She was promoted to Managing Director and worked for the CEO, a role requiring a broad set of skills from presentation and speech writing to negotiation and problem solving.

Sapna is married and now has three children under the age of 5, which is hectic but fun. She moved into asset management working closely with board members as well as helping to oversee operations and technology, so almost full circle back to her time as a compsci at Cambridge!