Abigail Amos

Ashley Przybyla is currently working in a senior commercial role at Barclays UK, since her graduation in 2015. A role that revolves around people and relationship development - building strong partnerships with the goal of delivering both business and customer outcomes.

Where are you now and what is your current role?

I am a Senior Commercial Manager (VP) at Barclays UK and lead a team responsible for driving customer acquisition via aggregator channels (eg. price comparison websites) and the management and strategic development of aggregator partnerships. Whilst I’m predominantly based in Northampton (UK), the role requires travel across the country to different partner and Barclays sites.

What do you like about it the most, and what are the most challenging aspects?

One of the best parts about my role are that every day is different, I’m motivated by learning and being challenged, which this role gives me in bucket loads! My role also revolves around people and relationship development - building strong partnerships with the goal of delivering both business and customer outcomes, which I find incredibly rewarding.

I was always aware that relationship building, emotional intelligence and stakeholder management were things I enjoyed but also skills that came naturally to me, and I am grateful that I’ve found a role and an organisation where these are so valued.  

Were you a UK or international student? If international, which is your home country?

I was a home student.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

Every day in my role is different but will always revolve around partners, commercial optimisation and ultimately trying to deliver the value to customers and potential customers.

A day could be as varied as contract negotiations, strategy development and partner onboarding in the morning. Followed by an afternoon of team 121s, pricing reviews, marketing alignment and risk and control sessions. 

Can you share a professional highlight from your career so far?

My most notable career highlight was in my previous role where I managed payment partnerships in relation to digital wallets. As part of this role I worked closely with Google to deliver Google Pay to customers, launch multichannel marketing campaigns and develop further partnership opportunities.

Given this, I was invited to present a keynote speech at the Payment Leaders Summit with my counterpart at Google on ‘The power of close collaboration in successfully launching a Digital Wallet’. The keynote was well received by industry peers and touched on the critical success factors in building a partnership between two large scale corporations - and the positive customer and business outcomes this can drive.

How did your time at Kent help you achieve your current career?

My time at Kent set me up for success in my career, though at the time I didn’t realise just how much! Being an international business student meant I was lucky enough to build connections with students from all over the world, allowing me to develop a real understanding for the importance of diversity of thought, experiences and perspective in business.

It also exposed me to no end of heat experiences, which has stood me in good stead for my career. The most memorable being attending the Universidad de Oviedo for a year, where I studied business modules in Spanish and immersed myself in another culture.

Also, the way many of the academics structure their modules (particularly in final year) emulated what is expected in a work environment, enabling me to develop the skills needed to be successful. I particularly remember having to present decks on a fortnightly basis for International Business: A Strategic Perspective, this was probably the most valuable form of seminar I had during my time at Kent Business School! 

What advice would you give to current/prospective students who are looking to get into the same line of work?

I took a very untraditional route to working in Partnership Management, not even knowing it was an option for many years. What helped me get here was: being aware of my strengths; building and maintaining connections; developing a reputation for delivering to high standards.

However, the biggest piece of advice I can offer is for students to start thinking about their network, it’s never too early. There are many ways to do this and it may take some trial and error to find what comes naturally to you eg. LinkedIn posts, regular email contact, face to face sessions. The most important thing being that it’s something that feels authentic as connections will pick up on this.

Kent Business School is a readymade network, and an amazing place to find what works before moving into the world of work (whatever that may look like).  

Are you still in touch with other Kent alumni or academics?

Some of my closest friends are those that I studied with at Kent Business School and also lived with during my time in Canterbury. We’ve even returned to Kent a few times to explore how the campus has changed - including the new business school building! 

What are your future ambitions?

At the moment, I’m fulfilling my love for continuous learning on the job - and this is keeping me more than occupied. However, in the future, I’d love to explore opportunities in getting a formal education (whether that’s a degree or another kind of qualification) around strategic partnerships/psychology of the workplace/fintech. Clearly I need to give this some more thought to narrow it down!