Name: Tobi
Role: Head of Trading Execution, Investment Engine
Background: Tobi joined Bridgewater in 2019 and serves as the Head of Trading Execution. This team is responsible for the systematic execution of Bridgewater’s trades in line with our investment objectives and evolving our execution strategies and capabilities through time. Prior to joining Bridgewater, Tobi spent 20+ years in the equity and equity derivative space. Most recently, she was Head of Equity Derivative Sales at BNP Paribas. Throughout her career, Tobi has been a leader in diversity and inclusion, serving on boards and leading committees of various women’s organizations.
How has your role at Bridgewater differed from roles you’ve held in the past?
In my previous roles, performance was very tied to profit and income, and, if that was going well, the feedback was generally positive. It was rare to get meaningful feedback that would help you evolve which is clearly very different than our culture at Bridgewater. I have probably received more feedback in the two years here than I have in all my career prior.
What is an interesting business challenge that you’re trying to answer?
We are in year three of a multi-year transformation to automate trading and systemize our investment logic. We are automating what we do in ways that are on the cutting edge, shaping the industry. It is very exciting to be a part of that journey. Additionally, as we transform our capabilities, the role of a trader is changing. There is less pressing of buttons and picking up the phone to trade and more thinking critically about what we are doing, our strategies, our systems and how we can continue to evolve. We are shaping our desk for what the future of trading here looks like and that is exciting.
What are some examples of meaningful relationships you’ve been able to build here?
Even though I have been on Zoom most of my time at Bridgewater, I have built wonderful relationships with my team, my partners, and my manager. We have all been through a lot over the past year and a half together and it is hard to not build strong relationships after going through what we have.
What meaningful impact have you been able to make here?
I would say managing the team through such an incredibly difficult period is my biggest success thus far — keeping our critical on-site staff safe during COVID while they worked in the office, maintaining excellent outcomes through extreme volatility of COVID, all while making sure we continue to meaningfully evolve. Of course, I didn’t do any of this alone and have an incredible team that helps make this happen, but I think my leadership through all of this was impactful. I have made some significant improvements to our team in terms of people, design, and strategic plan. Looking back to where we came from, I am very proud of this work.
Published: November 2021