Ahead of the release of the full list, meet three of this year’s rising stars and find out about their career challenges and when things haven’t gone to plan.

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Francesco Allamandi
Managing director, Emea industrials
Bank of America

Age 36

Francesco Allamandi secured promotion to managing director at Bank of America in December, one of only a few to make the cut within its European investment bank.

He has spent his entire career at the US bank, joining as a graduate in 2012, and was initially focused on the consumer and retail sectors. Allamandi moved from the consumer sector in 2014, focusing on European M&A and corporate finance, but soon shifted towards the automotive sector with the 2015 spinout of luxury sportscar brand Ferrari.

For the past two years, Allamandi has led Bank of America’s coverage of the automotive sector, leading its relationships with big firms such as Volkswagen, Stellantis and Pirelli. Born in Italy and raised there as well as Canada, he worked on the 2022 €9.1bn IPO of Porsche, and more recently advised Brembo on its acquisition of Ohlins Racing from Tenneco for $405m.

What has been your biggest career challenge over the last 12 months?
The challenge is always to achieve more with the same amount of time at my disposal, while also being present for my family and my young daughters. I answer this challenge by trusting my team, investing in their development and empowering younger bankers to step up and take responsibility.

When have things not gone to plan and what have you done to remedy it?
In a couple of instances during my career as a mid-level banker, there has been movement within the teams at the organisations I have worked for, introducing an element of uncertainty in my career planning. I have always approached these moments of uncertainty as opportunities rather than challenges, and used them as a springboard to redefine and step up my role, embrace more responsibilities, broaden my network and increase my internal and external visibility.

In fact, it is the times when things have deviated from plan which have been the most positively defining moments of my career so far, and contributed to where I am today.

What advice would you give to someone starting their first job in financial services?
Be curious and entrepreneurial: finance is a dynamic field characterised by continuous innovation, a lot of talent to learn from and flat organisational structures. It offers unique opportunities for young talent to gain direct exposure to high profile deals and successful individuals early on in their career, but it is up to oneself to step up and grab these opportunities by taking initiative and not shying away from responsibilities.

Find your mentors: while finance can be a highly quantitative and technical field, building human relationships of trust and respect is what will propel your career forward.

Education
Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering – University of Toronto
Master of Finance – Bocconi University

First job
Allamandi spent the summer of 2007 interning in the University of Toronto’s Civil Engineering department, building concrete specimens and testing their resistance under heavy loads.

Hobbies
Skiing, cycling, running and spending as much time as possible with his two daughters.

Kavita Davis
Partner, finance practice group
Gibson Dunn

Age 38

Kavita Davis joined Gibson Dunn as a partner in September 2023 to spearhead the development of the London finance practice. As well as advising on some key deals since her move, she has been involved in graduate recruitment and mentoring, and helped to hire 10 fee-earners to the finance practice in the past year.

Davis led the team advising Redbird IMI on financing for the acquisition of All3Media from Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global, which was completed in May 2024. She also led the team working with BlackRock on the financing for its acquisition of a minority stake in Saudi Bahrain Pipeline Company from Bapco Energies — one of the fund manager’s most complex infrastructure investments in the region to date. Prior to Gibson Dunn, Davis worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Herbert Smith Freehills.

What has been your biggest career challenge over the last 12 months?
Building a team and a European leverage finance practice from scratch at Gibson Dunn alongside David Irvine has been extremely challenging but rewarding at the same time. With major shifts in the leveraged finance market, intense competition for talent, and other law firms pursuing similar strategies — all while integrating into Gibson Dunn — it’s been an exciting and dynamic 12 months for our finance team.

When have things not gone to plan and what have you done to remedy it?
The timeline for a deal got significantly accelerated from four weeks to one week due to macroeconomic circumstances. We set up a cross-border team sitting in London, Dubai and Hong Kong so that we could deliver round the clock service to the client and meet the deadline while maintaining the sanity of the team.

What advice would you give to someone starting their first job in law?
Be open to new experiences and seize opportunities to work on different projects. This will help you learn, grow, and enhance your problem-solving skills. Also, always be focussed on the long game.

Education
BA LLB (Hons) – National University of Juridical Sciences in India

First job
Davis tutored high school students who were sitting the entrance test to get into law schools in India.

Hobbies
She is a trained classical Indian dancer, but time constraints make that difficult so she tries to teach her four-year-old daughter on the weekends.

Marianne Zangerl
Deputy global head of fixed income & head of ESG – fixed income
Aberdeen

Age 39

Marianne Zangerl oversees Aberdeen’s global fixed income business, including managing several of its multi-sector private credit funds. She directly leads a team of more than 20 people within the division, which oversees around £130bn. She also has oversight of ESG across more than £40bn of fixed income assets.

Zangerl joined Aberdeen in 2015 as an investment director in private credit. She previously worked in institutional banking in Sydney and London at ANZ, where she focused on project and structured finance. In 2024, Zangerl established the Women in Fixed Income network at Aberdeen with a focus on retention and growth of existing female talent within the Edinburgh-based group.

What has been your biggest career challenge over the last 12 months?
Six months ago, I was promoted to deputy global head of fixed income, with a particular focus on illiquid fixed income while continuing to head up sustainability in fixed income. While our growth ambitions within fixed income are incredibly exciting, they need to be balanced with maintaining the high performance we achieved over 2024. My expanded role requires strategic planning, effective leadership and a laser focused approach to prioritisation, but also an emphasis on talent development and culture.

When have things not gone to plan and what have you done to remedy it?
In a period of significant market volatility and new frontiers being reached e.g. repricing in German bunds following changes to their defence spending approach, I’d be amazed if anyone working in financial markets said everything has gone to plan this year. For me, the key is to be adaptable; nothing will ever go exactly to plan but it’s being able to pivot and ensuring continuous improvement.

What advice would you give to someone starting their first job in financial services?
Learn as much as you can about the wide variety of roles available. It’s easy to focus on a small segment of the industry, but financial services are incredibly broad. Take the time to explore different areas, network with colleagues, and seek out opportunities to gain diverse experiences. This will help you understand the ecosystem of the industry and find the path that best suits your interests and skills. I started out working at a bank and I find that background and knowledge on how banking works incredibly valuable to me in asset management.

Education
Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts — University of Sydney

First job
Zangerl started working at her local fruit shop in her early teens. It taught her the importance of mental arithmetic and the importance of customer service.

Hobbies
She’s a big fan of Pilates and food — she enjoys trying new restaurants and cuisines.