NATHAN
JOHNSTON LOCKHART
Former Royal Navy Officer | Manhattan, New York | Institutional Sales | Global Markets
Former Royal Navy Officer | Manhattan, NY | Institutional Sales | Global Markets
I am pursuing a client-facing Global Markets Sales seat in New York, bringing a background across early finance exposure, international commercial experience, military leadership and disciplined markets preparation.
My path has taken me from a first-year Citi spring internship to M&A exposure in Beijing, wealth management in Dubai, instruction from former institutional markets professionals, a Royal Navy commission and now Manhattan.
The common thread is preparation, communication, judgment and earning trust in serious environments.
PROFESSIONAL OVERVIEW
My route into markets is not conventional, but it is coherent.
During my first year at university, I secured a Citi spring internship, gaining early exposure to finance inside a major global institution. That summer, I completed an M&A internship in Beijing, adding international corporate finance exposure early in my career.
At 19, I moved to Dubai and worked in wealth management, with exposure to prospecting, lead generation, client service and expat networking. It was a direct commercial education in starting conversations, building trust quickly and learning how financial products are discussed with real clients.
I later deepened my markets preparation through self-directed study and instruction from former institutional traders and portfolio managers, including ex-Goldman Sachs and ex-Lehman backgrounds. That work focused on macro, portfolio construction, options, volatility, risk management and cross-asset thinking.
I then commissioned as a Royal Navy Officer and trained within the Fleet Air Arm aviation pipeline, where preparation, risk awareness, communication discipline and responsibility were non-negotiable.
Since moving to Manhattan, I have approached the transition into institutional Sales as a serious campaign: targeted relationship-building across Global Markets, daily market study, structured product preparation and direct learning from people already operating in Sales and Trading.
My objective is clear: to become useful quickly in a client-facing Global Markets Sales role.
A DIFFERENT ROUTE INTO MARKETS
The traditional route into finance is valuable. Mine has been different.
The traditional route into finance is valuable. Mine has been different.
I found the direction early: Citi in my first year at university, M&A exposure in Beijing, Dubai at 19, structured markets preparation and then a Royal Navy commission.
That path forced me to build credibility without relying on a preset route. It developed the habits I now bring to institutional Sales: preparation before opportunity, clear communication, commercial curiosity, fast learning and the ability to operate in unfamiliar rooms.
Early finance signal
Securing a Citi spring internship during my first year at university gave me an early view of finance inside a major global institution.
Markets discipline
Self-directed study and instruction from former institutional traders and portfolio managers have shaped my preparation across macro, portfolio construction, options, volatility, risk management and cross-asset thinking.
International commercial exposure
Beijing and Dubai added cross-border finance exposure, client-service experience and the reality of commercial relationship-building.
Military operating standard
Commissioning into the Royal Navy and training within the Fleet Air Arm aviation pipeline developed discipline, composure, brief/debrief standards, risk awareness and responsibility under pressure.
EXPERIENCE
ROYAL NAVY
Royal Navy Officer | Fleet Air Arm / Navy Command
Commissioned as a Royal Navy Officer and trained within the Fleet Air Arm aviation pipeline, developing an operating standard built around preparation, risk awareness, brief/debrief discipline, communication under pressure and responsibility in high-consequence environments.
Served as Military Assistant at Navy Command Headquarters, supporting Force Generation senior-leadership activity through briefing preparation, action tracking, correspondence and cross-functional coordination.
Served with the Foreign Liaison Service at the Ministry of Defence, Whitehall, supporting Royal Navy engagement with international command officers and acting as a professional point of contact across stakeholder groups.
Supported Operation ISOTROPE as Battle Watch Captain, coordinating Royal Navy and UK Border Force vessels and assets while maintaining information flow and escalation discipline during a high-visibility national tasking.
The through-line was trust: being prepared, accurate, composed and reliable when the environment demanded it.
EARLY FINANCE & COMMERCIAL EXPOSURE
Citi | Beijing M&A | Dubai Offshore Wealth Management | Markets Preparation
My interest in finance began early and internationally.
During my first year at university, I secured a Citi spring internship. That summer, I completed an M&A internship in Beijing. At 19, I moved to Dubai and worked in wealth management, focused on prospecting, lead generation, client service and expat networking.
Those experiences gave me an early view of capital, clients and commercial judgment: how trust is earned, how people communicate around money and how technical knowledge only matters when it can be used clearly.
I later deepened my markets preparation through instruction from former institutional traders and portfolio managers, with focus on macro, portfolio construction, volatility, options, risk management and cross-asset thinking.
That early finance thread has become more focused over time: institutional markets, client judgment, market color, risk framing and the Sales seat where product knowledge has to become useful in conversation.
INSTITUTIONAL SALES PREPARATION
Global Markets | New York
Since moving to Manhattan, I have approached the transition into institutional Sales with the discipline of a campaign, not a passive job search.
I have built a targeted network across Sales, Trading and adjacent market-facing roles in New York, while preparing daily market views across Rates, Credit, FX, Equities, Commodities and macro data.
My preparation is built around the realities of the seat: understanding what moved, why it mattered, how clients may be positioned, what risks they are trying to solve and how a Sales professional becomes useful before asking for trust.
The focus is commercial rather than academic: market language, product understanding, timing, client psychology, trade-offs, follow-through and judgment.
The objective is simple: walk into the room prepared, speak the language of the business and become useful quickly in a client-facing Global Markets Sales role.
WHY INSTITUTIONAL SALES
Institutional Sales is where markets become a conversation and trust becomes franchise value.
The best Sales professionals understand products, but they also understand people: what clients are trying to solve, how they make decisions, where they need clarity and how to build long-term credibility through consistency.
That is what draws me to the seat.
My background is not traditional, but it is relevant. Citi gave me an early institutional finance signal. Beijing added international finance exposure. Dubai tested me commercially. Markets instruction from former institutional professionals gave structure to my preparation. The Royal Navy gave me discipline, pressure-tested communication and senior-stakeholder experience. New York has given me the arena.
I am pursuing institutional Sales because it sits at the intersection of markets, judgment, communication, ambition and relationship-building.
MARKETS PREPARATION
I am building market fluency for one purpose: to become useful in a client-facing Sales seat.
That means studying products, but also studying how clients use them, how risk is framed and how market color becomes a conversation. My preparation combines daily cross-asset review, instruction shaped by former institutional traders and portfolio managers and a structured process for translating market moves into client-relevant judgment.-
Curves, duration, inflation, Fed policy and how macro views become implementation questions for institutional clients.
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Spreads, carry, issuance, structure, downside protection and how clients balance income, risk and relative value.
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Dollar direction, rate differentials, hedging, policy divergence and how clients express macro views through currencies.
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Index leadership, sector dispersion, earnings, positioning, flow and how clients think about exposure, timing and risk.
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How policy, liquidity, positioning, volatility and macro data connect across asset classes.
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How hedge fund clients think about financing, balance sheet, operational reliability, execution quality and long-term relationship value.
CURRENT FOCUS
I am focused on building toward a client-facing institutional Sales seat in New York.
The goal is to become the kind of junior who can prepare properly, listen carefully, understand the client’s problem, follow through without being chased and earn trust through repeated reliability.
Product Fluency
Understanding the major Global Markets products well enough to ask better questions and contribute intelligently.
Client Instinct
Learning how institutional clients frame risk, evaluate ideas, use liquidity and decide when to act.
Market Judgement
Developing the ability to explain what moved, why it mattered and how it may affect different client types.
Coverage Discipline
Building the habits of a serious coverage person: preparation, concise communication, accurate tracking, clean follow-up and respect for people’s time.
I am product-flexible across Rates, Credit, FX, Equities, Cross-Asset, Prime, Commodities and broader Global Markets. The common thread is the client-facing nature of the work: preparation, trust, communication and the ability to translate market complexity into useful conversations.
CONNECT
I am grateful to connect with people working across Global Markets, institutional Sales, Trading, Structuring, Research, Capital Markets and adjacent client-facing finance roles.
For conversations, introductions or opportunities, please feel free to reach out.
johnstonlockhart@gmail.com
Résumé available upon request