Jonathan, please share some of the key moments in Citi's career

Holding Director Title in Citigroup Services and Technology (China) Limited at present, I am leading the technology group that is responsible for all aspects of application development and technical support for Citi global Institutional Clients Group.

My Citi journey started in 2002, joined Citi Consumer Technology as software engineer, and then transferred to Institutional Clients Group (ICG) Technology in 2004. Thanks to Citi’s diverse culture and support from team, I cherished many key moments and experienced various roles across Citi technology groups. I have been engaged with Futures and Options development team, Cross Product technology group and Citi Commercial Bank development team, which allowed me to gain an in-depth understanding of various aspects of the banking business. I have also been worked closely with my colleagues in development center to proactively promote the optimization and transformation of technical solutions via collaborating with global teams in London, New York and other locations. By experiencing these different roles and various projects, I have accumulated experience of the technical solutions for investment banking and the operation and collaboration of global technology groups.

Can you share some of the drivers in Citi's career?

During 18 years, I took the opportunities to engage with different projects and teams, and I personally believe that the willingness to "seek change" is a key contributor to help me constantly develop my career in Citi.

I consistently pursue the opportunities to improve the quality of delivered technology solutions, and I also spend lots of efforts to get the insights of how Citi operates as a leading global bank. On top of these, I keep thinking of the ideas to enhance our daily operations and finding innovative alternatives to optimize our solutions. In addition, communication is also critical in our daily work, which is one key factor that bring everyone on the same page and get commitment and support them.

What is your career advice for ambitious young people?

I have held many different roles and positions at Citi, having experienced success and experienced some failures during these various stages. However, failure eventually helps with my next success. This "pondering" is very important, to dive the reasons for failure and rapid change. Even successful stories should be reflected and examined about what else can be more efficient and reasonable.

In addition to "pondering", there is also "execution". Complaining with no action are the easy routine and people are likely to take it subconsciously, however to engage with action, and even to take the lead in solving problems is are the real heroes.

Finally, many Chinese colleagues should pay close attention to "communication." In a globally working environment, "communication" takes high priority. The bigger the collaborative team and the wider joint groups, the more important "communication" is. Reason being, you wish others to understand and support your expectations, and willing to make it happen. You need to proactively share your thoughts, communicate your progress with the team and share your success with the team.

"Pondering", "communication" and "execution" complement each other, follow it and develop yourself.