Andrea Shalanski

“I firmly believe that if people understand the big picture, they’ll build something of value to MSCI which they can be proud of.”

As a Program Manager for our Analytics business, Andrea’s goal is to ensure alignment and transparency at every stage of our roadmap.

“I strive to help our engineers, researchers and data analysts understand the bigger picture, but they have the power to choose how to achieve it. We provide the top-down vision, but we trust our experts to know what needs to be built and how.” 

Our vision has moved from creating specific features for individual clients to creating technological platforms that are useful for everyone, such as MSCI Insights.

“We’ve been able to create a completely new offering for our clients. With MSCI Insights, clients can easily visualize how market movements have impacted their portfolio and dig into the details that interest them.”

And by working alongside counterparts from other MSCI teams, Analytics is integrating data from across the business into the MSCI Insights platform.

“For example, we’re integrating climate data as another factor for our clients to evaluate against. Instead of working in business silos, we’re taking a more holistic approach.”

This is what Andrea loves about her role – being able to work with so many different people from across the business. But she hasn’t always known that this was the role for her. 

“When the company I was working for was acquired by MSCI, I was co-managing the Analytical QA (Financial Engineering) team with another woman. This was great, because it meant we could both focus on what we were most interested in – and I gravitated towards project management.”

Looking back, Andrea is grateful for the space and opportunities she was given by her managers to figure out the role that was right for her.

“MSCI has been very supportive all along, and although I’m in this male-dominated industry, I’ve always felt that I’ve been given a lot of respect and freedom. I feel like I can just be me, and that makes such a difference.”

But although things are changing, Andrea is still sometimes the only woman in the room. That’s why she’s part of our Women in Tech community – to help more women like her to succeed in technological roles.
        
“This is a huge network, which means you can connect with people you don’t traditionally get to connect with. And that’s so important, because visibility and community are essential for helping women in technology figure out their path to success.