Ten minutes with Kristine O’Shea of Northern Trust
Northern O’shea, Head Services Investor Trust For Of Kristine
Kristine O’Shea is the Head of Investor Services for Ireland Transfer Agency, Northern Trust.
Utilizing multiple communication channels and location strategies, the team is responsible for investor support, including handling complaints for a wide range of multijurisdictional clients.
Kristine joined Northern Trust in November 2017 as a manager and was subsequently promoted to Head of Investor Services in 2023. Prior to joining, Kristine spent 10+ years working in the financial services industry where she gained extensive knowledge and experience setting up and managing customer facing teams in large financial institutions and highly regulated environments.
Kristine graduated with a first-class honours in Executive MBA from the University of Limerick in January 2022. She also holds a bachelor's degree in Business and Marketing and is an Accredited Product Advisor and a professional member of the Institute of Banking Ireland.
As a member of the Northern Trust Abilities Resource Council (ABRC), Kristine is passionate about diversity and inclusion as well as growth and development which she supports through various mentoring opportunities within Northern Trust.
I have always been very passionate about customer experience and the impact it can have on the individuals interacting with an organisation. Financial services, by nature, play a significant role in our everyday lives and we are quite sensitive to how we perceive and interact with financial institutions.
Having started my career as a customer service advisor, I knew early on that this was an area that I wanted to dedicate my time and focus to, so I immersed myself into the role, and proactively looked out for opportunities that allowed me to deepen my knowledge and experience in this field which naturally led to career advancement and ultimately, to the role of Head of Investor Services with Northern Trust.
I joined Northern Trust because of its reputation in the market, but it was only after joining that I was truly taken aback by its culture, people, commitment to community and growth opportunities.
Northern Trust’s culture and values are very closely aligned with my personal views so working here has been truly fulfilling for me. We are an organisation that is grounded in trust, appreciation for one another and always striving for excellence. The organisation invests heavily in people's personal and professional development, always looking at how we can support people better to achieve the best that their career has to offer.
Recognised as a service excellence centre, the team has gone through significant growth in the last 12 months, continuing to expand its Limerick office due to location strategy and new business wins.
In addition to expansion, the digital adoption and continuous Investor experience enhancements are at the top of the priority list for 2025.
One of the best parts of my role as Head of Investor Services is having the privilege of working alongside an incredibly dedicated and talented team. Their passion, commitment and drive to deliver exceptional results inspire me daily.
Collaborating with individuals who consistently go above and beyond not only ensures we provide the highest level of service to our investors but also creates an environment where innovation and excellence thrive. It’s both motivating and humbling to lead such a team and be part of their journey.
I also thrive on creating strategies that ensure seamless, transparent, and personalised service delivery, which helps investors feel confident in their decisions. Leading a team that aligns client needs with organizational goals allows me to drive innovation in investor relations and create long term value.
I particularly enjoy the opportunity to solve complex challenges, and having the ability to make a tangible impact on both the investor experience and the businesses reputation is incredibly rewarding.
One of the highlights of my career has to be the ability to pursue and complete an Executive MBA from the University of Limerick whilst working and supporting the team through the Covid crisis.
It grew my perspective not only through academic learnings but also collaboration with various industry professionals, and those lessons have been invaluable to me.
I think the following two pieces of advice I received stuck with me;
1) Focus on continuous learning and opportunities.
Never stop learning because the moment you do, you will stop growing. Industries evolve and staying curious and adaptable will keep you relevant and open to new opportunities.
2) Stay true to your values.
Integrity is doing the right thing even when it’s hard and no one is watching. By staying true to your values, you will build trust and long-lasting relationships that will be the bedrock of your career.
Careers don’t have to follow a straight-line progression.
Continuous learning and development have been one of the most fundamental aspects of my career, however, if I was to start over, I would have encouraged myself to look beyond the straight line career progression path and at times explored more lateral moves allowing me to tap into other fields of business, albeit probably still within financial services. The value of broadening your experience and network at the early stages of one’s career I think are invaluable pieces of advice.
During my career, I have applied for roles and interviewed people for various roles myself, so my advice is universal.
Firstly, do your research and understand the role that you are applying for. You have to be excited about the prospect opportunity so doing your research will be crucial.
I am a firm believer that the role has to match your personal expectations otherwise you are going to find it hard to achieve job satisfaction. Once you have done your research and are happy to go forward, go through your career journey and make a note of the highlights that you want to showcase in your interview.
Pay particular attention to how you have demonstrated leadership during change, how you have applied client centric strategies, driven process improvements and achieved service excellence.
All of these are very important when it comes to managing customer experience in the financial services industry. I would also emphasise the importance of building a connection during the interview process by being your authentic self, demonstrating engagement and genuine interest in the role.
Being responsible for a team that manages direct contact with investors requires some practical skills such as strategic planning, industry knowledge, data driven mindset and analytical skills but in my opinion, the most important skills are the ones you get to curate and develop over the years by observing and learning from the various leaders you encounter in your life.
These encounters can be positive or negative, but they have an overall impact on your leadership style development. For me, being able to appeal to each individual with the team and understand their inner motivation and provide opportunities for people to foster their development and career goals is one of the most crucial elements of my role. I firmly believe that it is through those interactions that trust is developed, and the team is empowered to drive change, elevate customer experience, take charge of personal development and ultimately, achieve its full potential.
On a personal level, I believe you need to lead with courage and compassion, you need to trust your team and empower them to do their job well and you need to be continuously ‘horizon scanning’ for risk, challenges and opportunities bringing these into your strategic planning.
As the book by Marshall Goldsmith states “What got you here won’t get you there”.
As your career advances, the expectations and the responsibilities change too. Whilst you once may have been the first person on call to resolve a particularly critical issue, you may now need to coordinate the resolution through other people. You need to be able to adapt and evolve whilst keeping true to your authentic self. To help navigate the ropes of the career ladder, I have learnt that networks and relationships are extremely important.
Finding a mentor or a group of trusted peers who can act as an independent sending board can be particularly beneficial. Northern Trust has many employee-led business resource councils, as well as mentorship programmes and I would really encourage anyone who is navigating their career to utilise the networks within their circles, they have been instrumental in my career.
During my studies, I got to read quite a lot of papers and a professor who stood out to me was Herminia Ibarra. She has a number of articles published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) on organisational behaviour, leadership and career development. I would recommend giving her a follow-on LinkedIn as well as looking up some articles on HBR.
I would recommend staying open to opportunities and not being afraid to take a risk. That sort of approach opens the door to various resources, be it a network development opportunity through volunteering, a new contact through mentoring, or further development through taking on a new course/ project / stretch assignment.
Be courageous to step outside your comfort zone and you will be amazed how much experience and growth you will achieve by doing so.
Somewhere warm, sunny with great food, access to beach and walking trails.
Yellowstone. My next holiday may be to Montana.
All things sweet and chocolate.