People focus

Alana Barron    

Director, Institutional Equities & Head of Client Solutions           

Institutional Equities     

With a background in investment banking and international trade, Alana's role involves building relationships with corporate clients across Jarden. She delivers relevant company insights, supports teams across Jarden in developing customised client solutions, and helps listed companies engage with potential investors around the world.

Alana began her career on Wall Street, as an investment banking analyst in the consumer retail M&A team at JP Morgan.  She then spent seven years in the New York office of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, latterly as Trade Commissioner and Consul. With her family she then moved to Sydney and spent eight years with Deutsche Bank’s equity research sales team in Sydney and Hong Kong, and returned home to NZ in 2015.

She joined Jarden’s institutional equities research sales team covering international accounts for three years, before moving into corporate access and relationship management.  Alana has a BCom(Finance)/LLB from the University of Otago. She qualified as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of NZ and is an NZX Associate Adviser. She enjoys skiing, tennis and hiking with her family and looks forward to getting back on some planes to visit investors with NZ companies.

You began your career as an analyst on Wall Street, then stepped away to work as New Zealand Trade Commissioner in New York. What brought you back to the world of finance and stockbroking?

At NZTE I led a small team tasked with helping New Zealand companies grow their presence and sales in North America, and we also worked to identify North American investors for various opportunities in New Zealand.  I learned how valuable it is to understand, and clearly articulate a company’s unique proposition and the key points of their pitch, and to present that in a way that a potential business partners can get to grips with quickly.  It was an exciting time, with great colleagues and diverse clients in the North American region, and a unique opportunity to live in Manhattan yet be able work with New Zealand companies, building connections with really interesting people across investment, corporate and government sectors in the US.

After seven years with NZTE, I was ready to return to finance, in a stockbroking capacity, rather than investment banking. I knew that I would enjoy the flow of information and stories that public markets bring. I was lucky to join Deutsche Bank’s insto equities desk in Sydney in late 2007, and while the following years were a challenging period for markets and investors globally, it was an excellent environment in which to learn more about relative valuation, equity markets and their correlation with other markets and asset classes.

Tell us about your role at Jarden

In the institutional equities team, every day we have a wide variety of information to assimilate from global markets, whether it be geopolitical or market-related news overnight, economic data, earnings updates, or other company insights. It’s our job to convey research analyst views, other data points and insights, and provide corporate access to our clients to add value to their research process.  No day is the same and it can be very exciting and dynamic.

At Jarden we have a mission to connect insights, people and capital. This might mean supporting others across the business to come up with an innovative solution for a client, or introducing a corporate client to our Jarden wealth adviser or Jarden Direct teams, or working with Jarden’s growing team in Australia to ensure our corporate access offering is seamless across the Tasman, regardless of whether we’re travelling or Zooming.  Many of our wealth advisers work with individual clients who run really interesting businesses, and we’re appreciative when they are able to share their perspective with our insto client base, from time to time.

Another rewarding area involves supporting listed companies with investor relations. We get to know the business and its CEO, CFO and Investor Relations manager, if they have one.  We can help them connect with potential investors around the world, ensuring those investors are up to speed via analyst research and calls, and connecting them via local and international roadshows and inbound investor programmes.  Information flow back to sales teams and traders in both New Zealand and Australia is important too. With COVID-19 and travel restrictions, we've utilised and adapted to different ways of reaching investors, including through video calls, to stay connected. 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy getting to know clients, learning about their needs and challenges, then connecting them with others for mutual benefit. Outside of Jarden, I love collaborating and connecting with interesting, intelligent people from across the New Zealand business community. It’s inspiring to get to know business leaders and hear their philosophies on how to run the business, and also their thinking on how they plan to leave it in better shape. I particularly enjoy when these chats can take place at events such as our annual Jarden Snowplanet Sunday, where we talk while watching our kids have a lesson on the snow or flying down the toboggan track.  Events such as these - as well as the long hours in airports around the world - are a great way to get to know people better.

I also value the opportunities that come with working for a fast-growing business that is also able to partner with other innovative entities such as Icehouse and Banqer. Our relationship with Icehouse enables us to help foster growth of emerging businesses across a range of sectors, and I enjoy learning about that next generation of great New Zealand companies via the platform that Icehouse offers. Banqer’s platform and purpose is focused on having a meaningful impact on the next generation of New Zealanders, by helping thousands of students develop financial capability and curiosity. I’m excited that we can partner with them to support their programme in high schools.

You’ve worked in some large, global financial institutions. What’s unique about Jarden?

Jarden is a relatively nimble and fast growing business, so there are plenty of rewarding projects and challenges here. Although Jarden leads the market in several areas, there’s no complacency - there’s a real sense of humility and a continuous drive grow the business and provide better service. That’s inspiring.

The culture at Jarden is dynamic and entrepreneurial. It’s a meritocracy and when you have a good idea, you’re encouraged to develop it. Also, although we work hard and it’s a fast-paced environment, we are developing some flexible working styles which can make our roles more family-friendly.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in finance?

Take advantage of graduate rotations if they’re available, to understand and try different parts of the business. Ask questions of colleagues in other areas about their experiences and listen to clients too -  think about what they need and what you have to offer.

Pay attention to what you enjoy and work out which parts of the business suit you well, but be interested in other initiatives too. You won’t do the same thing forever, so whatever you are working on, do it as well as you can and try to learn from each experience, as it may open doors to the areas you want to be in next.