Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones graduated with a degree in History & Welsh History in 1985.  In addition to his successful career, Andrew also acts as Aber's unofficial ambassador in Singapore and he is willing to assist any Aber alumnus with locating and/or doing business there.  Contact him at singapore@alumni.aber.ac.uk

What do you remember most about your time at Aber?

I loved the stunning journey across mid-Wales to start each term, Aber's dramatic geography and the weather! In my memory, the academic months are windy, wintry and wet, from the dark morning climb up Penglais Hill to the evening pub tour.  Aber's size and distance from the 'real world' made for a closeness and community where it was easy to make friends.

It was a great atmosphere for studying History, and the National Library made it unbeatable.  The best memories are: long afternoons looking at paintings in Edmund Fryde's seminar room, and listening to Brian Howells delighting in the inventories attached to Tudor wills.

I look back and appreciate the freedom to read and explore new perspectives.

What are you doing now career-wise and how has your Aberystwyth Degree helped?

I am a Managing Director in  Global Technology & Operations at Deutsche Bank AG, in Singapore.  Thanks to the Careers Service I discovered voluntary work while studying at Aber and, after I left, I continued with the CAB while I worked out what to do.  I got a basic education in technology at Exxon, then did consulting work and moved into the HR field.  Since 1992 I have lived in Asia and taken roles across HR, IT and Operations.  From 1998 I have worked at Deutsche Bank in various roles.  Now I am leading the Global HR Transformation program.

I studied History for the love of it, though now I can see how it helped me professionally. History gave me an awareness of different cultures and the appreciation that we all think differently, which has helped managing across cultures.  I appreciate the basic training in intellectual rigour and the ability to form and express my own judgment from diverse material.

The substantial Historiography component was particularly useful.  I value the critical thinking skills to deconstruct points of view, and test for cause and effect.  Managing change is a large part of what I do; and History is a rich stock of Change Management archetypes showing what can go wrong and how change has been documented, championed and derailed.

The Art History that I studied and wrote my dissertation on has stayed with me as a passion to this day.

What advice would you have for a student doing your course now?

Follow your passion, experiment with different points of view and take risks.  You will not see this opportunity again, so live all aspects of it 100% - adventure off the reading list; seek out people who have nothing in common with you; take a deep breath and express your own ideas.   The more that you listen and read, the more you will understand yourself.