What’s it like to work at 9fin? We ran a quick-fire round with some of our employees (9finners) in this interview series.

Their answers were punchy, powerful, and the perfect boost of energy in the morning — just like an espresso ☕

In this interview you’ll hear from European managing editor, Sayed Kadiri, on selfless collaboration and our internal #tennis Slack channel.

Hi Sayed. Firstly, what does the editorial team do?

Our job is to uncover information and provide insights into what this means for the credit markets.

It ends up being a role of two halves, the first part of which is robustly sourcing information, and we can only do that by having trusted relationships with key stakeholders in our market.

But then we need to be thoughtful about the way we present it — not just taking things at face value, but digging into the different layers to uncover aspects which might be easily overlooked.

It’s particularly satisfying when we can report in a way that opens up to new ideas to our audience and brings to light situations or scenarios they may not have otherwise considered.

Describe your team in three words.

Intelligent. Vibrant. Passionate.

What made you decide to join 9fin?

There were a few factors:

1. The culture — it’s built around teamwork and creating a positive working environment. That creates the foundation to get everyone pulling in the right direction with 9fin having the ambition to be the number one player in debt capital markets.

2. The growth of the company. 9fin had already achieved so much, it was on my radar as an up-and-coming business that moved fast and had big plans. I wanted to be a part of the journey.

3. The way ideas turn into action. If you have a good idea that can add value then 9fin is the place to bring those ideas to life. Things move very quickly here!

What’s the one thing you’d tell people about 9fin that they can’t guess through the website?

The culture, in terms of sharing information, may not be obvious. We have a large editorial team working across different countries covering different beats, but I’ve found that the way our team comes together is frictionless. It’s organic and almost selfless.

The collaboration across different markets and areas of expertise helps us create sophisticated and differentiated content.

What makes people successful?

Hard work. There’s no secret formula — you have to put the time in and the rewards will follow.

Can you share your biggest achievement so far?

I’m actually going to cite other people’s achievements here, as the most rewarding part of my job has been to see some of our journalists learn on the job and develop rapidly. I can see the next generation of world-class reporters right here at 9fin.

What excites you?

I’ve started playing tennis again after a break of nearly 20 years. I’ve been playing in leagues across north London having got back into the sport post-lockdown.

I’m looking forward to pursuing it more competitively, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done on my serve!

Playing in the league format has been a cool way of meeting fellow tennis enthusiasts and, although my subset is small, the tennis folks I have encountered have been some of the nicest people I’ve met.

Do we have a tennis-related Slack channel?

We do! The #tennis channel is our own informal league — one of the rules is that after each match, players need to take a selfie with their opponents.

What advice would you give someone who wants to join the editorial team?

Curiosity and a willingness to learn are the most important traits. To join the team, you need to be inquisitive and have the appetite to dig into certain situations to get to the story underneath.

I’ve enjoyed working with people who are new to the business, new to leveraged finance, and are keen to learn on the job.

Thanks, Sayed. 🎾

If you want to work at a company that values new ideas, and practise your tennis skills along the way, we’ve got you covered — check out our careers page here.