Staff Profiles
thecitysecret employs around 30 people. Some are recruited from the local area whilst others have been attracted to us for the way of life we can offer being based in a market town a stone's throw from the dales. Here are a few profiles of some of the people that work at here.
Jonathan
 | Jonathan and his family were keen to get out of London. In 2002 he and his wife fell in love with a house in the centre of Richmond. Torn between his dream and facing the implications of weekly commutes down to London and long periods away from home Jonathan then discovered thecitysecret and realised he could have the dream of being out of London, but also continue to work on interesting projects in the Investment banking industry. Jonathan has been working with an Investment Bank client for a long period of time and has built up a very good and trusting working relationship between thecitysecret and the client.
"I find the company personnel a very friendly and talented bunch. I love walking to work and having my home life so close. Unlike working in London, I actually meet people I know when I walk home or into town and that is a great pleasure for me. Because I live so close to everything that is going on, there are rarely conflicts getting home soon enough to go out in the evenings so I never need to bother to plan the day with the detail and contingencies I always had to consider when working in London." |
Lee
 | Lee joined thecitysecret in 2006 as part of thecitysecret graduate training programme. Having achieved Sun's Java certification and business training, Lee started working within a large team for a Financial Information company. During the training programme Lee proved to have strong development skills and on completion of the programme he moved to work with a Hedge Fund client. Lee currently offers development and support for the middle and front office software within a Swiss based Hedge Fund.
"thecitysecret has a dedicated Training Manager, so during my time at thecitysecret I have had the training opportunities required to help me improve my skills. My co-workers have a vast wealth of both business and technical skills which they are happy to share." |
Chris
 | After leaving IBM, Chris moved to the North East. To achieve the career he wanted Chris started contracting for Investment banks in the City whilst commuting from the North East to London.
"Prior to working at thecitysecret I was commuting to London on a weekly basis. Working for thecitysecret gives me the best of both worlds, I can continue to work in Investment Banking, but I get to keep the quality of life."Whilst with thecitysecret Chris has worked with different teams within several different areas of Investment Banking. |
AJ
 | Having visited the area and met the team, AJ decided the thecitysecret would be the right move for him. Working on a financial trading product for a large financial information company, AJ has had opportunities to work on individual isolated projects as well as delivering large pieces of work with the whole team.
"As well as the team development work I have worked on a number of projects separate from the team focusing on very specific work like memory management and external API development. I enjoy the opportunity to work on a project from the start right through to the end - seeing the full development lifecycle. I have found working at thecitysecret to be very rewarding. The work ethic, work-life balance and general commitment to doing the best work possible makes thecitysecret a hard company to beat." |
Ales
 | In 2007 Ales moved to the UK with his family after securing a role with thecitysecret. Working on a global 24/7 electronic trading application for a large financial information company, Ales has expanded his knowledge and skills and he now has technical and work-stream lead responsibilities.
"I have the opportunity to work on interesting projects, and at the same time have a healthy work-life balance with enough time for hobbies and the family."As a keen climber and snowboarder Ales makes the most of the local area: "There are three different places to ski or snowboard on real snow locally, and a 5 minute walk to the office is what you dream about!" |
Janet
 | Having grown up in rural North Wales Janet found that after almost 3 years living and working in London the novelty of being in a big city had worn off.
"The decision to relocate was difficult as I really enjoyed my job in the City and I didn't hold out much hope of being able to find a similar role up North keeping within the Investment Banking industry."Janet had chosen to relocate to the Leeds area to be closer to family, so when a position became available at thecitysecret it seemed to be a perfect fit. During her time at thecitysecret Janet has worked on both financial and non-financial projects, including a number of large Java, C#, database projects for the Stock Lending desk of a major investment bank client and a Java xml/xslt project for the processing of Swap Confirms. "I like the variety of the work, having had the opportunity for work for a number of different clients and enjoy the challenges of learning new skills and understanding the business." |
Alistair
 | Having previously worked in Australia and then in London, Alistair was keen to get back to his native Yorkshire.
"I was looking for a company that was able to offer interesting work without the expectation of a 60 hour week - a company that 'understood' work-life balance."Alistair has designed and developed a position management tool for an Investment Bank client, as well as working on a reconciliations project for a Hedge Fund. Alistair is currently a technical lead on an internal development project. "I enjoy the variety of work through being able to work for multiple clients. My current project is a technically challenging Greenfield project where there is scope for developing innovative solutions." |
