Masami Johnstone

Masami is currently leading buy side sales at Euronext as Head of Buy Side Sales. She is a financial markets professional with strong expertise in sales and analytics for both buy side and sell side communities. Masami joined the WIBF Mentoring Scheme to become a mentor, she tells us about her experiences.

What made you decide to become a mentor?

I joined WIBF mentoring scheme to become a volunteer mentor.I’ve been mentoring young women in the City for a while and wanted to do more. My goal is to pass on useful tips and techniques to help young people succeed in their career.

Did you have any expectations about mentoring before you started and did they match the reality?

Yes, I had expectations based on my previous experiences. In the past I mainly used emails to set up calls and meetings for mentoring session. The WIBF programme offers an app via Werkin to communicate with mentees, which made connection a lot easier. Using the app changed the way I connected with mentees. It made it much easier and speedier.

Can you tell us a bit about the first meeting with your WIBF mentee?
The first meetings with my mentees were always to introduce ourselves and also set a goals specific to their requirements. I then explain how my mentoring works including the framework I use to address specific areas.

How has the relationship developed?
We still keep in touch after the six month programme ended, and I hope this will continue.

What have been the benefits of mentoring to you?
I always think mentoring is rewarding, especially to see mentees transform into confident professionals.

Do you have any advice for someone considering mentoring with WIBF?
Mentoring needs strong commitment. Mentors also need good framework to guide mentees effectively. Ad-hoc chats and simply sharing our experiences with mentees wouldn’t work and sometimes can be more damaging than useful. I suggest mentors go through leadership training first.