From her academic roots in Madrid to her strategic role at Mizuho in London, Evelyne Gomez-Liechti’s journey is a compelling blend of intellectual curiosity and cultural fluency.
In a recent interview, she shared insights into her background, a typical day at Mizuho, and the values that drew her to the firm. Her story offers a window into the human side of financial strategy where data meets intuition, and global perspectives shape local decisions.
From academia to the trading floor
Evelyne’s path to finance began in her hometown of Madrid, where she studied economics with a strong quantitative focus. Her academic interests were shaped by a dual fascination with numbers and human behaviour.
After university, Evelyne initially worked towards becoming a state economist – a move that helped her build a solid foundation in the subject. These highly trained Spanish civil servants undergo a competitive examination process of multiple stages, including written tests on economic theory, a practical case analysis to advise on public policy, and oral presentations of randomly chosen themes.
There are over 150 themes to choose from, ranging from neoclassical economic growth models to analysing the accounts of a company. It also encompasses statistical tools, financial economics, international relations, and public administration. However, Evelyne ultimately pivoted toward financial markets, drawn by their dynamic nature and the opportunity to apply practical economic theory.
Her transition into finance was marked by a brief apprenticeship in FX trading and a bold move to London during the pandemic. “I applied for the graduate programme here at Mizuho and that’s how it all started,” she said.
Collaboration across teams and borders
Now a multi-asset strategist in Mizuho’s Fixed Income and Currency team, Evelyne plays a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s macro strategy. Her focus lies in rates and derivatives – specifically government bond yields and deciphering the economic and political forces that influence them.
“I’m responsible for building the EMEA house view on where Government Bond yields will go and how all these associated derivatives will move,” she explained. The process starts with assessing the fundamentals of an economy and how the central bank interprets the outlook, which informs our view on policy rates.
From there, she analyses factors like bond issuance, long-term growth, inflation expectations, and investor appetite on holding duration to estimate the yield curve. These forecasts and views are then shared across teams within and beyond EMEA, forming Mizuho’s house view on the potential opportunities in EMEA markets.
Evelyne’s role is deeply embedded in the organisation’s operations, bridging strategy with trading, sales, banking, and risk management. She works closely with the sales and trading teams on the floor, offering insights that help them pitch ideas to clients. These range from concise summaries on regulatory changes and political developments to any notes highlighting unusual market moves that diverge from historical patterns or fundamentals.
“Not all teams have the bandwidth to dive deep into data, so they rely on strategy and research teams like ours,” she noted. “My role here is to provide digestible, actionable analysis on key topics for them to share with their clients.”
Evelyne’s insights also help clients navigate complex market reactions, such as interpreting whether a political event signals a longer-term trend or is merely noise. Her collaboration extends to support client discussions around portfolio management, hedging strategies and issuance timing. Her insights and views help clients understand whether it’s a good (or bad) time to execute certain strategies and provide well-rounded insights on technical topics. She and the wider team stay on top of future risk events like data releases, elections, rating reviews, and Central Bank meetings.
“It’s about taking events that take place in the real world and how that can affect financial markets… depending on the type of client you have, looking at how that could impact their profitability or their decisions in the future,” she said.
She also works closely with colleagues, not just in EMEA, but also in Asia and the Americas. “We hold cross-regional calls and publish together when possible. It’s a role that requires global collaboration, which is great,” she said.
From the office in London, she also sees strategic opportunities in cross-currency analysis, particularly as Mizuho strengthens its role as a bridge between Japanese and European markets.
“We’re in a privileged position. There’s plenty of business opportunity in EMEA, and we can offer unique insights to both sides,” she said. The key point of focus for us in EMEA is always Japan – whether it is analysing political developments, a Bank of Japan meeting or the latest investment flow data from Japanese investors. This Japanese perspective, she said, is one of Mizuho’s key differentiators compared to other global banks.
Culture, opportunity, and growth at Mizuho
She credits her development to a combination of mentorship and team dynamics.
“It has given me the opportunity to grow and have exposure to senior leaders. I don’t think other places would have given me that,” she said. “You can go to a Managing Director or trader, and they’ll make time for you. That is something I find invaluable.”
Beyond Finance, Evelyne is a polyglot and able to speak in Spanish, French, German, and English. She values the firm’s cultural diversity: “Just on the trading floor, we have more than 15 nationalities. It’s refreshing to hear French, Japanese, Spanish, and English all in one place.” This diversity, she believes, enhances the quality of strategic thinking and decision-making.
Drawing from her own experience navigating the steep learning curve of financial services, Evelyne offers grounded and practical advice for newcomers to the industry. “My first piece of advice would be to breathe,” she said with a smile, acknowledging the intensity of the early career phase.
In the workplace, she encourages humility and initiative. “Use every opportunity to learn but be humble. Network as much as you can and try to give back when a senior person dedicates you some time,” she said.
“I think my career is a blank canvas and I'm in the process of drawing as I explore different corners of the market,” shared Evelyne as she reflected on her journey.
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