Rebecca Skipworth

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Bunge

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

After graduating, I continued to work events for the rest of the summer and then decided that I wanted to do a ski season. With this booked, I worked some temp jobs until I left, one of which was on reception at Viterra (now Bunge). After a month there I fit in with the company and they asked if I would like to try out on the trading and risk desk. I did and it was good but I still wanted to go on my season. Once I came back, they offered me a full-time position doing risk management and statistics for the trading desk. I did this for a bit over two years, gaining experience management position limits, including contracts and futures. From there, I became a junior trader assisting in trading the malting barley and oats books.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I think the career found me. I studied economics at Exeter learning about futures and options and I grew up in agriculture so the combined job of trading agricultural commodities was really the perfect fit. It wasn’t a job I knew was out there until it appeared in front of me, then I just needed to jump at the opportunity.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

I was a part of snow sports, wine Soc, Cal Soc, golf and intermural hockey. I loved them all and miss some of the amazing events.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I enjoyed how much variety I could pick for my modules and the choice between doing a dissertation and doing a selection of modules. I chose not to do a dissertation and it was a much better fit for me. Futures and options was one of my favourite modules and it’s now so useful in day to day.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

I loved the campus, it’s such a great place to be. All my friends and lessons and sports all so close that you couldn’t go without bumping into someone you knew.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

Exeter is a well renowned university which was important to me when choosing. It also had the course I wanted BSC Economics, whereas some placed only offer a BA in it and a BSC played more to my mathematics brain. It is a campus and I wanted that small uni feel and it was near a beach where I spent a lot of time.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Being kind and welcoming got my initially noticed on reception, which comes from putting yourself out there in different societies. That’s when they looked at my CV, saw my degree and moved me to the trading desk. Exeter life and degree got me where I am today.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

There’s always another route to where you want to be. Just because something doesn’t turn out quite how you think doesn’t mean you won’t end up achieving the same things. Look at unusual trading jobs, I didn’t know grain traded in the same way stocks do and now it’s what I do.

What are your plans for the future?

I plan to continue developing my trading skills in my current role. This might keep me where I am, but it might involve travelling to other offices in other countries. That’s the beauty of a big company.