Where Are They Now - Alexandra McGuigan Stigsby

 What years did you attend Vinnies? 1995-2000

 Were you a day student/border? Day girl. I grew up in South Hurstville and used to walk to the bus stop in the morning. Then caught the bus to Hurstville station and then caught the train into school. And repeated the process in the afternoon. I loved catching the bus and train. This was before mobile phones (can you believe) and there was a big group of us from all different schools that would travel together every day. The train and bus were where all the exciting things happened!

What was your fondest/funniest memory of your time at Vinnies? 

I loved the school dances and sports and performing arts competitions. I still remember what I wore to my first school dance. I had an offspring t-shirt that I borrowed from my older sister, a red tartan skirt and doc martin's boots (please remember that this was the 90s).

The sports carnivals were always great fun as the girls would dress up in their house colours and sing chants to each other. I was in Ignatius but was always secretly jealous of the girls in Carmel who could paint their faces black and white like KISS.

The Performing arts festival was also always a highlight. I was really into drama and the arts and usually got to perform at the showcase. Each house used to prepare what was called a ShowStopper. One year we performed the Cell Block Tango from the Broadway show called CHICAGO. In the scene Roxy has just been taken to prison and is talking to the other female inmates who have been accused of murdering their husbands. The dance was extremely simple choreography but the effect was quite visually spectacular.

What was your favourite subject/teacher at school?

I loved Art, Drama, English, Maths and Ancient History. In fact I really loved school and found a love of learning at Vinnies which I have continued throughout my life, My absolute favourite subject though was Drama. My teacher was Mr Tsolakis. He was a very nice man and a wonderful teacher.

I was so enthusiastic about drama that every spare minute I had in year 12 I spent working on my final project. I had chosen the Director's project and had directed the play 'Into the Woods' by Stephen Sondheim. In the musical the story starts off like a traditional fairy tale but takes a darker turn. I had decided that the characters would start the play as more caricature and I used lots of colour and glitter in their costumes. After one assessment, Mr Tsolakis pulled me aside and said, smiling

'Marking your work is always a double edged sword.' 

'Why?' I had questioned, to which he replied 'it is difficult enough being a male drama teacher at an all girls catholic school. Let alone having lunch in the staff room to realise that you are covered in glitter.'

Luckily he was good humoured, but I do still have the image of Mr Tsolakis eating his lunch covered in glitter from my work book, being given a hard time by the other teachers. It does still make me smile!

What is one piece of advice you would give to your 17 year old self?

You don't have to have it all figured out, you have time. That said, if you study hard at school and study a broad spectrum of subjects including Maths and science, you will have a greater opportunity set in life.

I don't think we were encouraged enough to do the difficult subjects. I don't think women were encouraged enough to do difficult subjects. It seems like a small thing at school, but you will realise that this can limit your opportunity set later in life. Women have never had a greater opportunity to seize anything that they want to achieve, so dream big and work hard. The world is your oyster. 

What have you been up to since graduating from Vinnies?

I have had a 20 year career in financial services which is a funny turn of events for someone who was totally focused on becoming an actress. When I didn't get into NIDA, I did my undergrad degree as a BA Media Communications at Sydney University and majored in English. I did an exchange at Cornell in the USA and then travelled the world for a year. Came back to Australia and worked in the wine industry as my first job out of uni. That was fun but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. So I decided to do an MBA to learn more about business. I took a job as an Executive Assistant in an Asset Management firm called BNY Mellon Asset Management so I could work during the day and study at night. My boss who was the CEO saw something in me and mentored me. He told me that I was really good with people and that I was smart enough to work in asset management but I would need to catch up on the finance and economic subjects in the MBA. From that moment on I was completely dedicated to succeeding in Asset Management and being like my boss who was my hero.

I did manage to work my way up and have raised over $3bn in assets in alternative investment products. I now live in Singapore (and have been here for 8 years) with my husband and two sons. I am the Head of APAC for a Danish quantitative asset manager called Qblue Balanced and I provide investment solutions to institutional investors such as superannuation funds. 

The way to think about it simply is that I am in sales, and I sell financial solutions. When an Aussie adds money to their super fund each pay cheque, then a fund manager like my company invests that money for you and tries to make more money so you have enough money to live on when you retire.

What attracted you to that field?

I fell into the industry but met someone who saw something in me and helped me to get my start. Once I was in asset management I realised how interesting the subject matter was and how many super smart people were surrounding me. They say you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so choose those 5 people well.

Working in financial services doesn't mean you need to be a maths whizz. It does pay well though (which isn't everything, but it does give you choices), the industry has an ever changing and interesting subject matter and offers the opportunity to travel the world. 

What do you do in your spare time?

I love sports, running, yoga, pilates, and weight training. I meditate more these days but this is a new thing. I enjoy being active with my kids. We travel a lot as I am married to a Danish man, so really travel, keeping active and exploring the world with my family is how we spend our time.

What do you think has changed the most since you left school?

The environment for women in male-dominated industries has changed dramatically. It was a tricky place to navigate even only 20 years ago but it has gotten better. Particularly with more senior women in leadership positions in companies. 

Technology - this is the biggest change. But make sure you are using it to educate yourself and not skip corners. Those who upskill and can use AI to improve efficiencies but still have emotional intelligence. Make sure you are networking as much as possible. As they say, it's not what you know but who you know. Use the extra time enabled from AI improved productivity to dedicate to building out your human contact.

A willingness to work hard - This is where I run the risk of sounding like I am past my prime but I am going to say it anyway. Younger people don't want to work hard anymore. I have seen this with my own personal contacts who have spoken about their 'contracted hours' etc. Which is of course fine, but it isn't going to get you ahead. If you want to have a great career and life, you are going to have to work hard. If you do that then you will be ahead of 99% of people. I always say that I can teach anything but enthusiasm. If you want to succeed, be keen to work hard and be interested.