Staffing & Culture | 11.30.22
Circle of Excellence Q&A: Ram Nagappan
by: BISA Staff, Ram Nagappan
In this third installment of BISA Portfolio’s Q&A series with 2022 Circle of Excellence awardees, Ram Nagappan shares how BISA has provided value to him throughout his career. As a committed BISA member with outstanding curiosity, innovation and career achievements, Ram is incredibly deserving of this award.
The Circle of Excellence Award, BISA’s most prestigious award, honors and celebrates extraordinary leaders for their long-term commitment to the profession and association. To be eligible for this distinguished award, candidates must be senior-level executives in their institution with a minimum of 20 cumulative years of experience in the financial services industry and have made meaningful contributions with a lasting impact to the association. Candidates should be recognized among their peers for their outstanding vision, innovation and career achievements.
What is the moment, decision or result you are most proud of from your career?
RN: I wouldn’t say there was one specific moment, but a series of inflection points along the way.
In the early stages of my career, I authored the Pong Game in Home Computer, which is the first-generation evolution of what we see as high-end video games today. Later, when I moved into mainframe development, I created the IBM Sort Utility function which is core to any programming you do in mainframes to date.
On the financial services side, I developed the first ever market-making system outside of an exchange floor, trading system and ticker plants, that are designed to handle massive market data streams and the electronic stock exchange systems (Boston, Philadelphia) in the US. One very particular innovation that is close to my heart is the capability that enabled NYSE to reach the milestone of trading a billion shares a day.
In the late ’90s, I was part of the team that built the first online trading platform (PC Financial Network) — a significant market disruptor. In the last few years, under my leadership, BNY Mellon Pershing launched the award-winning, open architecture-based wealth management products (NetX360®, NetXInvestor®) in the US.
Being a hardcore technologist, I’m proud that I’ve been at the forefront of innovation at the right time. I had the opportunity to build industry-first solutions by crafting the right team or being on the right team!
Tell us about one person who has inspired you on your career journey. What was their role in leading you to where you are today?
RN: I’ve been a proponent of the concept of a “learn it all” versus “know it all” culture, as put out by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Rather than just one person, I would like to say I have different mentors or people who have inspired me about different areas.
From a product perspective, I would say Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. These folks are true leaders in their space and have revolutionized technology as we know it. Next, if you take Client Experience / Service angle, I consider Howard Schultz from Starbucks as a clear leader. He managed to normalize paying more for a cup of coffee than a gallon of gas! He knows what his clients want. Finally, on inspirational leadership, Indira Nooyi, who grew up from simple backgrounds from Chennai, India to lead one of the most iconic American firms (Pepsi). I also follow Simon Sinek, Sadhguru and Devdutt Pattanaik for personal and spiritual development.
My philosophy is that it is important to not just be any leader but to be a mindful leader. For this to happen, you have to be multi-dimensional and surround yourself with diversity of thoughts. Today, we are incredibly connected to each other and there is opportunity everywhere to learn. I’m thankful for the same.
What do you believe will be the most impactful technology trend for the financial services industry over the next five years?
RN: This is a very common question, but the way I approach is different. I always start with how technology helps to solve a business problem. We shouldn’t pick a technology and look for a problem. I generally consider the technology impacting when it helps solve the challenges associated with business growth, operational efficiency or enhance the client experience.
Another dimension to think about is whether these technologies are making a difference for our clients every day now, or are they showing signs of potential but still have some way to go before they make a big impact, or is it in the horizon that most players just don’t know how to really monetize or use quite yet.
My top picks in terms of trends at this point of time are as follows:
- Super Apps — Mobile or web apps that provide multiple services including payment and financial transaction process, becoming a self-contained commerce and communication online platform. Financial services/wealth would see a huge growth in this space with the primary differentiator being the ease of integration with third parties and vendors. Famous example includes Ant Financial in China, Revolut in UK and SoFi in the US
- Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ops allows for greater efficiency by leveraging data and machine learning to automate operations processes. For example, in the manufacturing industry, it can be easily related to physical process or design or industry automation which people can feel and connect. However, in financial services, it would be more of a digital twin enabling businesses to visualize different operational scenarios, optimize workflows and deliver continuous innovation
- Digital Interactive Ecosystem (Conversation UI, Web 3.0 and Metaverse) — Mostly, we would have seen this as individual technologies highlighted over different time horizons. I see that these three would together make a big impact in terms of client experience — how to interact with clients, how data will be exchanged between interested parties without sending huge files and, more importantly, how it allows people to replicate or enhance physical activities through VR, AR, MR.
- Distributed Ledger Technology — The world of capital markets will potentially be disrupted with blockchain removing the need for a trusted third party to act as a governance/enforcement body. This decentralized approach would change the potential power dynamics within the financial system, shifting power from institutions to users.
About Ram Nagappan
Ram Nagappan is the Chief Information Officer for BNY Mellon | Pershing. With more than 30 years of information technology experience, Ram oversees the firm’s technology and deployment of digital, experience-centric wealth management solutions. As a member of Pershing’s Executive Committee and BNY Mellon’s Global Operations and Technology Executive Council, he is closely involved in setting the firm’s strategic direction and actively collaborates across the enterprise.
Ram is a distinguished technologist as well as an accomplished innovator instrumental in building industry first solutions. In the last few years, under Ram’s leadership, Pershing launched the award-winning, open architecture-based wealth management products (NetX360®, NetXInvestor®) in the US.
Prior to assuming his current role, Ram served as managing director and chief technology officer at DLJdirect and CSFB direct, pioneers in online internet brokerage. During late 90’s to 2000, he led the efforts in establishing BNY Mellon India Technology (earlier iNautix Technologies India Private Limited at Chennai, India), that provides an array of technology development service.
As a spokesperson on technology trends and issues, Ram has been featured in a number of technology and financial publications including InvestmentNews, ThinkAdvisor and on Bloomberg Radio. He is a regular keynote speaker and panelist at industry events and conferences. Most recently, Ram was recognized by ComputerWorld as a Premier 100 IT Leader and by the New Jersey Technology Council as “CIO of the Year.”
Over the years, Ram has served as a member in a number of industry positions - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Operations and Technology Advisory Committee and Technology Advisory Committees for various national securities exchanges.
A graduate of Anna University Chennai (India), Ram earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication. He has also completed the Securities Industry Institute® (SII) program, sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.