Linzander started working at Nordnet in 2006 and wearing different hats, she has stayed with Nordnet since. We met up with Ylva to learn more about her Nordnet-journey and her interesting work with FinDatEx.
Tell us about your background before you joined Nordnet.
I have a Master of Science degree in Electric Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm. Nordnet was my first “real” job after university and had before that worked in service and sales as well as travelled a lot and lived abroad.
You have been with Nordnet for 13 years – what has your journey here looked like?
I started as a backend developer in 2006 and soon advanced to also being a technical project leader. In 2009, I moved on to the business side as a Project leader, which was a big responsibility. When the company in 2012 took the decision to become a product organization, I became a Product Owner with the responsibility for Partners and Automation. The goal was to deliver best solutions to our Partners and increase the efficiency within operations. In beginning of 2017, I became a Regulatory Officer, with the mission to work with Nordnet´s MiFID II project. Since 2018, I now work within Product, as a Product Owner for RegTech & Strategic Initiatives.
You are highly involved in a big international association – can you tell us more about that?
Within the MiFID II project, one key issue was securing data exchange between producers and distributors. A European group was unofficial formed, called European Working Group (EWG), with the purpose of producing the templates needed for data to be exchanged. Together with Avanza, Skandia, and other banks, we collaborated and gave input to EWG concerning the templates, so that they would work for both producers and distributors. As I had a technical background, I had some influence during the discussions.
My efforts during these discussions opened the possibility for me to work further with the formation of those templates when EWG was formalized to be FinDatEx – Financial Data Exchange. I was nominated to FinDatEx via Nordnet´s membership in the European Banking Federation. The group consists of about 50 members from several European countries and in September, we met in Brussels to discuss the finalization of new version of the template, EMT 3.0. Even though the summer consisted of many conference calls, I find the work both interesting and rewarding.
So how would you describe your job in your own words?
I lead, structure and analyze difficult projects and initiatives that span over several areas.
What is the best part about your job?
The people. The atmosphere and culture at Nordnet is something else. The people here have a drive and a will to move forward. Nordnet still has a start-up attitude that means everyone can contribute to change and initiate new ideas. Something is always going on. In addition, you always get to work with exciting, if yet sometimes challenging, projects.
How would you describe Nordnet as a company to work in?
It is fast paced and you can always make change happen. We have a straight dialog and a high ceiling-atmosphere. The people here are good – if someone needs help, which we all do sometimes, colleagues are always ready to help out. We work together to bring Nordnet forward, not for our own personal gain. I feel that everyone at Nordnet always goes the extra mile for the sake of our customers, the company and their co-workers.
Last but not least – do you have any career advice?
Do great work wherever you are and keep on fighting. There will always be ups and downs, but in the long run hard work will pay off.