London Calling
Panmure Gordon internships give Colby juniors an edge in finance careers
Just days from boarding a transatlantic flight bound for London this past Jan Plan, Jacob Thousand ’23 and Nicole Huebner ’23 had to make other plans. With the rise of the Delta variant shutting down UK travel, the opportunity of a lifetime—an internship at prestigious investment banking firm Panmure Gordon—seemed like it would slip away.
But internship organizers Joe Chambers, director, and Abbey Robertson, people business partner, weren’t going to give up that easily. They turned a Jan Plan internship into a full-blown summer in London, with eight weeks in person to learn what investment banking is like first hand.
“We tend to take rising juniors and seniors for our internship classes,” said Chambers. “But they’ve done remarkably well and shown resiliency. I come from a background where I was given a chance as a young person, and at Panmure Gordon, we wanted to do the same for these Colby students.”
Generous DavisConnects grants paid for their housing and transportation costs, allowing them to experience a new city, new culture, and new industry all at the same time.
“Having American students as part of the mix adds such a great dynamic for our intern class,” said Robertson. “And we’ve put the precautions in place for everyone to be in the office, so they’re really getting the full experience. When there’s a deal in progress, they see it happen from start to finish.”
“Everyone I’ve encountered here has been so incredibly welcoming and generous with their time. They’ve done such a fantastic job structuring it so we can get to know everyone, get a feel for what the culture is like, and understand the different functions of the bank and how they work together.”
Nicole Huebner ’23
What makes interning at Panmure Gordon so special is a sense of ownership and trust not usually seen at such a junior level. The executive leadership team makes the intern experience a priority, providing in-house training on everything from financial modeling to public speaking. But there are opportunities for smaller interactions too, like grabbing coffee with CEO Rich Ricci or sitting down with board member and Colby Trustee Bob Diamond ’73,
“We make sure every intern has a buddy, someone who is an analyst or an associate that can help them navigate their way around the organization,” said Chambers. “The entire experience culminates in a final presentation to the executive team, which are all around real projects that we can and do use in the future.”
Government and global studies double major Huebner did her internship in the equity research group, analyzing market research and building investment cases in the real estate, technology, and healthcare industries and preparing reports for the larger team.
“It’s been such a cool experience because the team really emphasizes that the work we’re doing is real work, and they’re highlighting it across the whole company. It’s all hands on deck here, so you get exposure to a lot of different things.”
Jacob Thousand ’23
“Everyone I’ve encountered here has been so incredibly welcoming and generous with their time,” said Huebner. “They’ve done such a fantastic job structuring it so we can get to know everyone, get a feel for what the culture is like, and understand the different functions of the bank and how they work together.”
Thousand, an economics major and mathematics minor, spent his time in the investment group, helping his team of bankers with deal flow execution, IPO analysis, and how to assess M&A opportunities.
“It’s been such a cool experience because the team really emphasizes that the work we’re doing is real work, and they’re highlighting it across the whole company,” said Thousand. “It’s all hands on deck here, so you get exposure to a lot of different things.”
For Huebner, exposure to investment banking connects what she’s learning in the classroom to her future career. “It’s been such a wonderful experience. I’ve really loved it,” she said. “Working in finance this summer, the analytical, writing, and communication skills I’ve learned at Colby have been absolutely key to being successful.”
This internship affirmed for Thousand that investment banking is where he wants to be after graduation. “This has been such an eye-opening experience for me,” he said. “Finance is extremely competitive, and I feel so lucky to have been able to have this opportunity so early on in my Colby career.”
