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Daree Lewis
Director, Alumni &
Philanthropy Programs
SEO
30 West 21st Street, Suite 900
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 646-435-9567
dlewis@seo-usa.org

Donald Ruff
Acting Director, Scholars Program
SEO
126 East 31st Street
New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-532-2454
druff@seo-usa.org

www.ml.com
AtlanticFellowship@seo-usa.org
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01 Introduction

Welcome

The families of a taxi driver from the

northern city of Leeds, a train driver on
the London Underground, the proprietor
of a dry cleaning shop in Docklands and
a chauffeur from South London all have
reasons to be proud. Their sons and
daughters pictured here were chosen
from 160 candidates for a place on the
Merrill Lynch 2004 Atlantic Fellowship.
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02 The Atlantic Fellowship

The Atlantic Fellowship is an exchange Candidates are carefully selected, based

programme managed by Merrill Lynch
and endorsed by the UK Foreign
and Commonwealth Office. It provides
opportunities for young students in
their final year of school to experience
and learn about the world of investment
banking and financial services, whilst
further developing relations between
the US and UK. Under the patronage
of Merrill Lynch Chairman, CEO and
President, Stan O'Neal and the British
Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Jack Straw
MP, the Atlantic Fellowship targets UK
and US students from economically
and socially deprived areas.
on a number of criteria with the emphasis
on diversity. The objective is to develop
their business, financial and entrepreneurial
skills during an intense programme in
London and New York. Participants must
be age 16 to 18, in full time education and
studying relevant academic or vocational
subjects such as business studies,
mathematics, politics and culture.
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03 Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP

Message from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the
launch of the Merrill Lynch Atlantic Fellowship in 2004

The UK and the US share a commitment
to giving everyone in our societies the
opportunity to thrive and exploit their
talents to the full. So I was delighted
when Stan O'Neal first approached me
with the idea of setting up a transatlantic
exchange programme aimed at opening
up the world of commerce and finance
to disadvantaged young people.
to even greater things. They will, too,
add yet more strands to the web of
partnership and friendship between
Britain and America, which so benefits
both our countries.
I wish all involved in the Merrill Lynch
Atlantic Fellowship Programme every
success.

The Merrill Lynch Atlantic Fellowship

Programme sent a first group of British
young people to New York this July, to
discover the workings of Wall Street
and to learn more about the US as
a whole. I have no doubt that it will
greatly benefit those who are privileged
to participate in it, and that they will
build on their experience and go on
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04 Atlantic Fellowship Programme

2004 - UK to US
The students spent two and a half weeks in New York and Washington during the summer
vacation period. The safety and welfare of students is paramount and individual mentors
are appointed to look after each student. Two full time qualified facilitators remain with
the students throughout the programme, sharing the same accommodation and organising
social excursions.

Week one where senior staff members gave an

The first five days were spent on a carefully
designed training scheme offering core
skills and competencies, based on the
Merrill Lynch internship programme.
• Information Technology
• Leadership training
• Business skills and entrepreneurship
• Careers training
• Communication & presentation skills
• Off-site team building day
• Introduction to financial markets
Week two
In week two it's time to put theory into
practice and the students spent each day
in a major business unit at Merrill Lynch
introduction to the work of the unit.
They had opportunities to shadow
individual workers and to talk informally
with team members. The students were
also given team projects and with an
opportunity to present their work to
senior managers.
Week three
After completing the programme at Merrill
Lynch in New York, the students travelled
to Washington DC where they had an
introduction to American politics, culture
and history. There were visits to Capitol
Hill and the British Embassy and the
students had meetings with senior political
figures, diplomats and civic leaders.
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05 Haroon Ahmed

Born in Britain to native Pakistani parents, One of the highlights of the trip was
Haroon has always been intent on a career the meeting with CEO Stan O'Neal.
in the financial sector. He plans to study
Politics and Economics at Manchester “We have figureheads in the sporting world
University. He thinks he was chosen such as Amir Kahn the boxer, but not many
because of his passion to succeed. in the corporate world. It is important for
young people to have role models from the
“From the moment we went to Merrill ethnic minority community. I want to follow
Lynch in London I was excited about the Stan O'Neal's example, I will take every
experience. Shadowing different workers challenge as it comes.”
gave me an insight into the day-to-day
business of investment banking and helped
me to improve my work and conduct within
the corporate environment. The political
leg of the tour was very relevant to
my studies, which include US politics.
The whole programme was a milestone
in my life.”
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06 Roxanne Black

Though born in Hackney, one of London's
poorest boroughs, Roxanne has her
eyes set on a career in one of the major
professions. Her parents are both from
the Caribbean and migrated to the UK.
Roxanne admits to being a shy person so
it took extra determination to get through
the various interviews and presentations
to win a place on the Atlantic Fellowship.
Like the other winners, she found the
experience a revelation but for Roxanne
it was life altering.
suits, but it's not like that at all. It's
obviously a high pressure job, dealing
with other people's money, but the
rewards are also high and you get
a lot of job satisfaction. Stan O'Neal
inspired me to believe that people
from different ethnic backgrounds
have unlimited horizons.”

“I was originally intending to study law but

after the Atlantic Fellowship I completely
changed direction. I have now decided
to read business studies at Westminster
University. My original impression was of
a stuffy world where people wore pin-stripe
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07 Pinar Parlar

This had already been a good year for
Pinar with her appointment as Head Girl
of her school. Her family originally came
from Turkey and have a small business in
London's Docklands. Pinar plans to study
Management and International Business
at Royal Holloway College in Surrey.
“Merrill Lynch has a strong ethnic diversity
policy and it's not done in a token way.
You see people from every background
in their offices. I think this makes the
whole business much richer because it
benefits from everyone's knowledge
and experience.”

“I have always seen myself as working in

the financial sector. The Atlantic Fellowship
gave me the will to get through my exams
so that I can do what I want to do. The
people at Merrill Lynch had mostly studied
business, maths or economics so that
helped me choose my university subjects.”

One of the things that most impressed

Pinar during her stay in New York was
how seriously Merrill Lynch takes diversity.
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08 Tomi Peters

Tomi's strong card has always been Tomi was pleasantly surprised by the
maths and he sees no difficulty gaining reception he received at Merrill Lynch.
the necessary grades to study Economic
Studies at Manchester University. Tomi's “I thought going in as a seventeen year
parents are from Nigeria though he was old that the workers would see us as
born in the UK. a distraction but they were very friendly
and happy to answer all our questions.
“The Atlantic Fellowship cemented my The training and team building activities
ambition to pursue a career in investment improved my time management and
banking. It was motivating to see the problem solving skills. I would love to
workings of a major Wall Street bank work for Merrill Lynch when I graduate.”
and the success of people from so many
different backgrounds. It also showed
me that there is far more to investment
banking than trading shares. I found
investment management particularly
appealing.”
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09 Atlantic Fellowship
2005 - US to UK
Building on the outstanding success of the first Atlantic Fellowship, Merrill Lynch
has expanded the programme for 2005, which is the US to UK part of the exchange.
Up to a dozen American students from diverse backgrounds will travel to the UK during
the summer months. The programme will be similar to the US visit in 2004, featuring
financial training and an insight into the culture and political dynamics of the UK.
This is a significant educational opportunity which also exposes students to the
real world of business.
Sue Henley, Head of Diversity for Merrill Lynch EMEA, comments on the Atlantic Fellowship:
"At Merrill we are committed to building an inclusive workplace which recruits the
exceptional without exception. The Atlantic Fellowship, as part of wider group diversity
initiatives, is an excellent example of working in partnership to make a difference to the
lives of young people who otherwise would not have considered a career in our industry."

The Merrill Lynch Atlantic Fellowship is managed by the Windsor Fellowship in the UK
and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) in the US.
Windsor Fellowship Sponsors for Educational Opportunity
The 2004 Atlantic Fellowship was managed (SEO) is a non-profit organization that was
on behalf of Merrill Lynch by the British founded in 1963 as one of New York City's
educational charity, Windsor Fellowship. first mentoring programs for high school
The Fellowship's work covers several core students of colour. Over the past four
challenges including educational under- decades, SEO has assisted some 4,000
attainment, achieving greater race equality, students and their families. It has also
valuing diversity and community cohesion. expanded its programs to benefit a wider
It works in partnership with leading age range of students, helping them
global corporations, FTSE100 companies, develop throughout high school, college
government departments, schools, and their careers.
education authorities and parents.
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