How I Got Here: Jerome Leslie, Technical Expert

What do you do here at the firm?

I’m a Technical Expert on the End User Computing team, which means I provide daily technology support to users across the firm and focus on troubleshooting issues users are having.

Tell me a little bit more about your day-to-day. How do you juggle everything?

That actually is one of the things I love about Point72—there is so much to do and no two days are the same. I love being able to help my team with both tactical and strategic initiatives—responding to support requests and helping to strategize at a higher level about what the support model should look like for the New York region. The goal is to be able to anticipate user needs going forward and think through how we can raise the bar in terms of the service we provide. In terms of juggling these things, you’re always exercising judgment when it comes to how urgent something is and what needs to be prioritized.

That makes sense. What else do you enjoy about your role?

I love how even though I provide support, I find myself learning something almost every day. For example, even if I’m looking at a platform I’m already familiar with, the user I’m helping may have a different use case or perspective on how to use it which they’ll share with me. I love how it’s not just taking user requirements, instead it’s talking through the issue together to determine what the best solution is. 

What makes you well suited for your role? What qualities or experience do you rely on to do it well? 

In high school, I was a varsity athlete in three different sports (football, basketball, and track), which really taught me how to balance my time, prioritize the things that are important, and be consistent. When I got into the workforce, I realized that a lot of those skills and habits were applicable, and relying on that foundation helped me as I was getting up to speed. I’ve also learned how important it is to just listen, even if you think you understand the problem or have a resolution in mind already. You have to be patient and take the time to understand what the ideal outcome is for the user you’re working with.

We work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, where technical issues can have a real impact on our firm’s success. How does knowing that impact how you respond to issues?

You have to have a real understanding of the different businesses at our firm. If an investment professional reaches out with an issue, or we’re experiencing an issue that impacts the front office/live trading, it goes without saying that it becomes the top priority for my team. I give our end users a lot of credit for communicating how urgent their issue is, which also helps my team prioritize. So knowing our businesses and their pain points is critical. And having a great user base helps us too.

Do you think developing strong relationships with users is crucial to providing great client service? 

Definitely, and that’s something I’m always striving to do better. I always try to make sure that I’m developing a two-way dialogue where users don’t feel like the conversation is over, even if a particular issue is resolved. Just because the support ticket is closed doesn’t mean the dialogue is over, I try to let users know I’m always here if they need anything.

Stepping back from work for a minute: where did you grow up and where did you go to college?

I was born in California, where I spent the first third of my life before we moved to New Jersey. I went to the University of Memphis where I studied management information systems with a minor in finance. So technology, but still under the business umbrella.

What do you do for fun outside of work?

I really enjoy traveling. I continued to run track in college, and traveling to different schools for track meets on the weekends made me realize how much I loved to travel. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to get to travel more internationally and develop a broader perspective on the world we live in. I also enjoy spending time on the water and recently got a boating license, which I’m excited to use. When I travel I’ll try to rent a boat for a day or two to get out on the water and explore.

Final question: which qualities do you think make someone successful at Point72?

We have so many smart people here who come from different backgrounds where they’ve done things in a multitude of different ways. You have to be willing to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know, build a relationship, and not be shy about asking questions. Building relationships, as we talked about earlier, are so important to being successful here, in my opinion.