Roanna McLeod

Roanna’s journey into economics started long before university. “Ever since I picked up economics at college and visited the Reserve Bank on a school field trip, I couldn’t get it out of my mind,” she recalls. Initially drawn to the University of Waikato by the Management School’s strong reputation and triple crown accreditation, Roanna completed a Bachelor of Management Studies before spending several years working in marketing and event management in Auckland and London. But that long-standing curiosity about economics never went away. After a few years overseas, Roanna then returned to the Waikato Management School to complete a Master of Management Studies in Economics.

Finding a path in economics

Waikato Management School alumna Roanna McLeod has built an impressive career at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), where she works as a Senior Analyst in the Money and Cash Policy team. Now five years into her time at the Bank, Roanna is currently on a year-long secondment with the Capital and Solvency team in the Prudential Policy Department, a move that has deepened her understanding of how different parts of the organisation contribute to New Zealand’s financial system.

Roanna first joined the RBNZ as a Summer Intern during the final months of her master’s degree at Waikato, later securing a place in the Bank’s three-year Graduate Programme, which led to a permanent position.

I’ve been really lucky to work across three completely different areas of the Bank — Financial Stability, Economics, and Money and Cash,” she says. “It’s given me a wider perspective on how we help to maintain economic financial stability in Aotearoa.

Roanna says her time at Waikato was both personally rewarding and professionally formative. “I loved my time at Waikato and especially appreciated having lecturers who really cared about my learning and future career. I knew I wasn’t just a number, and I still feel connected to this day.” Alongside her studies, she worked in the university library with the Collections Team — a role she describes as a “supportive and happy place” that gave her balance during her studies.

She credits her degree with developing not only her technical knowledge in economics and econometrics, but also essential transferable skills such as critical thinking, analysis, public speaking, and writing, all of which she uses daily in her work at the RBNZ.

Reflecting on her journey, Roanna encourages students to take opportunities and back themselves. “If I’ve learned anything, it’s to seize every opportunity you can — even if it takes you out of your comfort zone,” she says. “I only applied for the RBNZ Summer Internship after two lecturers suggested it — I might not have thought I could otherwise. Growth really does happen outside your comfort zone.”