Her Story
About Emmy
Emmy Pepper began her career with a biochemistry degree and a year working in a laboratory before pursuing an MBA in 2011. She transitioned into finance, working as an economist at the Inter-American Development Bank focusing on investment impacts, then moved into portfolio management there and later commercial banking. After 12 years in investment management, including a role as portfolio manager at Societe Generale, she pivoted in 2012 onward to AI model training for platforms like Mercor and Handshake. In this role, she creates prompts and workflows to train models on tasks such as legal document summarization and financial modeling for investment jobs. A CFA charterholder active in the organization, Emmy values autonomy, deep professional connections, and work-life balance, often spending time in California while maintaining her base in Ottawa. She attributes her success to redefining her path for greater flexibility after rigid corporate structures and advises others to consider holistic lifestyle factors when choosing careers.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Emmy
01What do you attribute your success to?
I feel like I'm redefining myself after 12 years in investment management. Success for me is being able to pivot and try new things using the skills I have, especially gaining flexibility after the pandemic when everything became more virtual. My last corporate job was rigid with tracking, and now I value the freedom to work from anywhere and set my own pace.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
A boss at StockGen coached me on confidence during a presentation, telling me never to start out apologizing for something like ugly slides because all my information is great. She helped me deliver with a different tone and I've always struggled with taking myself seriously in a serious field.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Think about what type of life you want to have holistically, not just career, money, or what parents and friends think is successful. Consider lifestyle, social relationships, work-life balance, and flexibility. The world is changing quickly with opportunities for radical approaches to work, so decide based on whether you want to travel, work when you want, or have autonomy over your day.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The work is not consistent or stable because the AI companies are still figuring out how to improve the models. Projects pause and restart as parameters change, and there's no guarantee of workflow. It's a new industry with about 10 platforms handling projects globally, requiring constant applications for leads.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In personal life, family and friends, spending time in person, because we take time and health for granted after the pandemic and losing close family members. Time and health are our wealth. In the workplace, accountability to colleagues, building deep connections, autonomy without micromanagement, and controlling my own life rather than asking permission for things like vacations.
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