Kambala Old Girl Josephine (Brazil) Linden ’69 is Founder and CEO of wealth management advisory firm Linden Global Strategies (LGS), based in New York, and offers an ongoing fellowship opportunity to Old Girls of Kambala who are curious about the world of finance and the life of a New York professional.

Old Girls Lucinda Bradshaw ’07, Claudia Yasukawa ’07, Annie Handmer ’11, Luisa Gidaro ’08, Carolyn Harris ’10 and Sarah Swan ’09 have all successfully completed a fellowship and Nicola Borton ’11 commenced with Linden Global Strategies in April 2018.

Sarah Swan ’09 discusses her experience as a Linden Fellow:

“Working with Josephine was an invaluable experience, professionally and personally. The LGS team’s acumen, thoughtfulness and diligence are incomparable to most organisations in the industry.

Working with the best in private wealth management within the context of a family office taught me to place our client’s goals and needs at the forefront of each investment decision. The team’s emphasis on client satisfaction inevitably results in strong performance in the short, medium and long-term. However, the focus is not merely on performance, but rather on the team’s desire to ensure clients are able to live the lives that they want to be living. One of the best ways in which Josephine does this is her ability to empower clients through financial education.

Each team member has something incredibly unique to offer. Throughout the experience I was able to work with each of them and canvass the various aspects of LGS. The team’s enthusiasm and willingness to train me in aspects of financial services, which were otherwise unfamiliar to me, was overwhelming and constant throughout the entire experience.

As a lawyer by trade, I was able to harness skills, some of which I already possessed, and expand them further by applying them to a completely new environment, context and legal system. The team encouraged me to explore my many areas of interest such as investment strategies, their multi-step due diligence process, estate planning and compliance and created various projects, which encapsulated these.

Living and working in one of the centres of global finance has broadened my perspective of both international and local businesses. Through various literary-driven projects, which were aimed at educating clients and providing market updates, I was able to grasp multiple dialects of the language that drives domestic and global economies, finance.

Spending productive time in New York City was of course about more than just working in finance. I was fortunate enough to live on both ends of Manhattan during my time, Harlem and China Town, each location an hour’s walk away from LGS’ midtown offices. My near outright refusal to even approach the subway afforded me the opportunity to explore the various neighborhoods both during the week and on the weekends. The plethora of food destinations and cultural wonders are tantalizing and endless.

This experience has also helped build relationships with the other Linden Fellows, all of whom are remarkable women.

Josephine’s personal emphasis on having a ‘board of directors’motivates her to ensure she is constantly mentoring others. The wisdom that Josephine has to offer professionally and personally is invaluable and ongoing. Of all the things that I have been able to take from this opportunity, her guidance is the most treasured.”