Lumen Summer 2016 - Flipbook - Page 20
James McWha Award
The award recognises outstanding alumni who
have graduated from the University of Adelaide
within the past 15 years and are making a
significant contribution as emerging leaders.
Neuroscientist Professor Mark Hutchinson
and 昀椀nancial expert Christopher Koch are
the 2015 winners of the James McWha
Award of Excellence.
It is named in honour of former University ViceChancellor and President, Professor James
McWha AO in recognition of his significant
contribution to the alumni relations program.
Forging a career in finance
I
t wasn’t long before Christopher Koch
discovered that the world of finance can
be an exhilarating if not scary place.
The 2015 James McWha Award
recipient joined Macquarie Bank as a
graduate in 2007 – the same year that
the global financial crisis hit and world
markets went into meltdown.
It was a manic period during which
Christopher was involved in $35 billion
of transactions around the world,
working in equity capital markets
and equity syndication.
This was one of the busiest periods
for capital markets in Australian history
and he squeezed a lifetime of banking
experience into less than four years.
Working three or four days straight
without seeing a bed was not unusual.
“This was an extraordinarily busy
time with a lot of recapitalisation of
Australian companies that needed to
be re-equitised,” he says.
Macquarie was also severely impacted
as the crisis deepened with many of
Christopher’s colleagues either sacked or
opting out. “In the end I think I was one
of the very few left in my cohort,” he says.
Christopher came through the ordeal
with his enthusiasm for economics
intact – if not strengthened – and has
gone on to become an emerging leader
in Australian finance.
However, it’s a career that nearly
didn’t happen – when he enrolled at
the University of Adelaide he intended
to become a lawyer. He studied
economics alongside his law degree
and found that far more interesting.
... I loved
economics and
this influenced my
further study. I ended
up skewing my law
degree more towards
the corporate law
side and it proved
quite a good mix.
18 Lumen | Summer 2016
“After a year I realised the law wasn’t
for me,” he says. “But I loved economics
and this influenced my further study. I
ended up skewing my law degree
more towards the corporate law side
and it proved quite a good mix.”
Christopher graduated with a Bachelor
of Economics in 2004 and a Bachelor
of Laws with Honours in 2007. While
he was at Macquarie Bank, Christopher
also completed his masters in finance
at INSEAD graduate business school’s
campuses in France and Singapore.
Christopher later joined the
Swiss-based UBS Investment Bank in
Melbourne focusing on mergers and
acquisitions in the technology area.
During his four years at UBS he worked
his way up to the position of director
before joining Freelancer Limited as
Deputy Chief Financial Officer in 2015.
Freelancer is the world’s largest
freelancing and crowdsourcing
marketplace, connecting more than
16 million employers and freelancers
around the globe.
“It’s a business founded by Australia’s
leading technology entrepreneur Matt
Barrie,” says Christopher. “I’ve taken
on the role that is focused on the
finance function as well as mergers,
acquisitions and public markets.”
But after overlooking a life in law and
making a name for himself in the world
of finance, Christopher admits a career
change is not out of the question.
While studying at Adelaide he also
pursued his passion for politics, working
in the office of former Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer AC.
“I always had an interest in politics but at
that period in my life I felt I needed to do
something substantial outside of politics
before considering it,” says Christopher.
“That’s still a possibility – you can’t
rule these things in or out – it’s a matter
of waiting for the right opportunity.”
