Ann Qureshi, IT Quality & Compliance Consultant
Ann Qureshi graduated with a MA Honours degree in Medieval History in 2000. She has worked in the financial sector, and is currently an IT Quality & Compliance Consultant at Novonesis, a Danish biotechnology company.
“When I started doing medieval history, I definitely had this vision of myself in museum work or archives,” she says.
Originally from Denmark, Ann took modules in English literature, anthropology, and Scottish history when she arrived at St Andrews, but medieval history was her favourite. Her dissertation explored “Margrete I of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – The Use of Power by a Queen in the Late Middle Ages.” Outside the classroom, she was a member of the St Andrews Ladies’ Lawn Tennis Society and the French Society.
Ann remembers her favourite professors, Chris Given-Wilson, John Hudson, and Ann Kettle, not only for their teaching, but for “the time they took.” “Chris Given-Wilson would have us for cake and coffee for our special subject.” Whether discussing academic challenges or personal concerns, Ann remembers her professors and lecturers as consistently generous with their time.
Looking back, Ann describes St Andrews as the place where she discovered her independence: “St Andrews is where I became me. I was away from my parents; I was away from everything I’d ever known. St Andrews was a safe place to test myself, choose different paths, and experience different things. For me, it was a safe haven.”
After graduating, Ann continued her studies with a master’s degree in Medieval Studies at Fordham University in New York City, completing the degree in 2005. She began a PhD in History at the University of Sheffield the following year but ultimately decided not to continue. “I became aware there were very few jobs,” she explained, particularly in Denmark, where medieval history was an especially niche field. “I had a degree with a name on it that people back home couldn’t really relate to.”
Returning to Denmark, Ann joined KommuneKredit, a public finance institution where she was offered a role in the legal department in 2007. It was there that she first recognised how directly her history degree translated into the workplace. She found that “the analytical work you do as a historian,” was crucial in her work which involved “reviewing contracts, research, learning new law material and how to apply it.”
Alongside her career, Ann continued to develop professionally, completing qualifications in commercial law, financial transactions, and capital market law. She enjoyed continuing to learn and challenge herself, eventually becoming Senior Communications Specialist in 2016, after more than a decade with the organisation. There, she established an entirely new communications function. Although proud of what she achieved, she eventually realised that communications was not the right fit for her. “It wasn’t really me,” she reflected, deciding to leave the company in 2024.
In 2025, Ann joined Novonesis as an IT Quality & Compliance Consultant despite not fitting many of the technical criteria listed in the job description. Laughing, she recalled that she could confidently tick only two of the eight listed requirements: “are you structured?” and “are you fluent in English?” Instead, she focused on demonstrating her ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt.
For Ann, this ability is one of the greatest advantages of studying history. “You get a confidence in knowing that I learned to do this, so I can definitely learn to do that.” Rather than relying on the title of her degree, she found success by articulating the analytical, research, and problem-solving skills she had developed as a historian.
Those skills have proved invaluable throughout her career. During the global financial crisis in 2008, Ann was the only legal specialist at the finance company. “We had billions of dollars in investments that were insured by Lehman Brothers,” she recalled. Faced with an unprecedented situation, she had to quickly understand the legal implications and help the company navigate the crisis.
Alongside her professional career, Ann has remained committed to supporting other women in the workplace. In 2021, she became Chairwoman of the Danish chapter of Global Mentoring Walk, an international initiative that promotes women’s professional mentorship. She was motivated by a desire to help other women progress in their careers but found that she gained just as much in return. To Ann, the most impactful part of her experience was helping to “pull us all forward.” Leading the Danish chapter remains one of her proudest achievements. “I would even put it over my career,” she reflected. “I made my mark there.”
Looking back, Ann believes her history degree provided far more than subject knowledge. “I was taught how to do research, be analytical, how to not give up if I ran into a wall.” Beyond reading about the past, she describes history as “languages, manuscript studies, archaeology, and more.”
For current history students, Ann’s advice is to remain open to unexpected opportunities. “Don’t get locked into one path, and don’t be afraid to try new things.” The skills developed through studying history, she believes, can take graduates far beyond the careers they initially imagine.
This profile was written by Sophia Kazan, MA Modern History (2026), who interviewed Ann Qureshi in July 2026.