Lea Alonzo

Day in the Life of  Lea Alonzo, Data and Operations, Client Request Management at MSCI

"As part of MSCI’s Data and Operations team, I help build MSCI’s factor models so our clients can better understand and manage the drivers of portfolio performance. It’s work that keeps evolving and challenges me to continuously learn. 

One of the most interesting parts of my role is that I get to work with people around the world. I mainly collaborate with colleagues in Hong Kong, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, but I also work with Research and Product Managers across multiple locations. I often adjust my schedule to connect with teams in different regions — sometimes it’s a morning call with California, other times it’s an evening discussion with New York. Even though we’re far apart, it really feels like we’re working side by side toward our shared goals. 

Some days I work from home, which gives me even more flexibility to adjust my schedule for calls with international teams. Other days I go into the office, where it’s easier to collaborate in person, ask quick questions and share ideas with colleagues face-to-face. Both settings give me different ways to stay productive and connected. 

Here’s how a typical day looks like for me; since my work is project-based, no two days look exactly alike, but my routine is the same: "

Starting the day 

"Once I arrive at the office, I begin my mornings by checking emails and messages I received overnight. Sometimes there are incoming client queries that require immediate attention, or questions from the Research and Product Management teams in the United States – in that case, I prioritize those. Once that’s done, I review all ongoing projects and map out the rest of my day around my deliverables. Since my meetings are often in the afternoon, I can work on my projects in the morning without interruption – testing data on our data science platform, checking methodology updates or preparing enhancements for release. I code Python and SQL scripts to analyze data and create visualization tools in Python as well."

Connecting with the team 

"When I’m in the office, lunch is a team ritual. My colleagues and I always grab food together from the same food stall downstairs – it’s become a habit. My go-to is chicken cordon bleu, while most of my teammates opt for local favorites like sisig. These lunches are a chance to catch up and reset before heading back to work."

Collaboration and focus 

"After lunch, I continue the hands-on work, until my daily Scrum call with our developers in Hong Kong and India, where we quickly sync on progress and challenges. On Thursdays, our project team meets for an hour as well to share updates and how we’re progressing on our tasks. The rest of the day is dedicated to project work. Recently, I’ve been working on visualization tools to support our operations colleagues in quality assurance and even exploring the use of AI agents. I also joined a companywide AI hackathon with my team, where we placed among the top 14 finalists out of 70 teams!"

Wrapping up 

"Before finishing for the day, I share updates with the Research team whenever their input is needed and schedule alignment calls with Product Managers if required, to ensure we’re ready to release new content. By 6 p.m., I head home to wind down. Having recently completed my CFA exam, I have more free time in the evenings for myself."

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