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Nadia is Recruitment Agency Leader of the Year!
We are beaming with pride for our very own Nadia Edwards-Dashti, Recruitment Agency Leader of the Year! Nadia was crowned Recruitment Agency Leader of the Year at the Recruiter Awards! An absolutely outstanding recognition and incredibly well deserved.Congratulations Nadia! Your work is transforming the recruitment space and truly empowering the financial services industry. From an unwavering commitment to DE&I- be it through The DEI Discussions Podcast, your inaugural book, FinTech Women Walk The Talk, or The 19% List- to work building better relationships across the industry, you are a true force for positive change, walking the talk every day.And thank you to Georgia Richardson and Lydia Sear for their support on the evening.
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Nadia's Women of FinTech Podcast | Nichola and Calli of Working Wonder Consultancy
Joining Nadia in The DEI Discussions Studio for this special episode are Nichola and Calli, Co-Founders of Working Wonder Consultancy.This brilliant duo trace their distinct personal journey's, and reveal to us the experiences that led them to founding Working Wonder Consultancy. We are exposed to the discriminatory and damaging behaviours that prompted them to both to begin a new approach to work- one in which everyone has a voice and a space.From their Going Forward to Work Philosophy, to how Ian Wright inspired a new mindset, the pair chart the practices they introduce to organisations that allow each and everyone of us to walk the talk for change.Nichola and Calli's personal experience as parents is particularly revealing. Again, their distinct yet common experiences reveal to us all there is so much more we can be doing to support every demographic when shaping a better future for work.Stream the full episode on your chosen podcast platform:Apple:Spotify:
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Traditional and Decentralised Finance: The Era of Convergence?
A few years ago, the idea that virtual worlds could exist in which we might conduct relationships; enter into financial transactions; create, buy and sell works of art and otherwise engage as we do in the ‘real world’ was unthinkable. But here we are. There is no question that today’s financial markets are undergoing a seismic shift in new technologies and processes. And it’s not just a single technological shift; a slew of new ‘frontier’ technologies is evolving concurrently, driving immense change and heralding a new era in global finance. Blockchains, distributed ledger technology and digital assets including tokens and cryptocurrencies are key components of a digital technology revolution that is bringing together technological innovation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the ‘internet of things’ (IoT) and other technology-led trends, such as the creation of the metaverse, to drive fundamental change in the ways we invest, trade, transact and otherwise do business. The fast-accelerating volume and value of digital assets within decentralised finance infrastructures, measured in billions of dollars, is clear evidence that the world has moved on from a limited number of tech-savvy individuals speculating in bitcoin to the emergence of digital assets as an asset class in their own right. The rise of cryptocurrencies and tokenisation has led to the creation of a whole range of new digital assets beyond Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Security tokens are the digital form of traditional, fungible securities such as bonds, equities, property. Meanwhile some tokens act more like traditional commodities or utilities, giving users access to specific goods and services. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) typically represent a unique item such as a piece of art, a collectible fashion piece or a performance.The era of convergence is hereWhile all of this rapid innovation is taking place, many proponents of this new, shiny, decentralised finance ecosystem have recognised that financial markets – and market behaviours – don’t change overnight. To navigate successfully from old to new, and to shape a financial infrastructure fit for the future, innovators and disruptors still need to partner with industry incumbents, in terms of investment and business collaboration. While the wider context for digital transformation and convergence is a fundamental shift in the underlying infrastructure of the Internet as we shift from the “internet of information” to the “internet of value transfer” and to Web 3.0, we remain, at this time, very much in transition mode.There are always, of course, obstacles to navigate, including the pace of implementation, development of appropriate supervisory and regulatory environments and, overcoming specific technical challenges of blockchain interoperability.It is not just a question of the convergence of traditional and decentralised finance structures and products either. The “convergence ecosystem” investment thesis coined by venture capital form Outlier Ventures envisages a future in which data captured by the Internet of Things (IoT) is managed by blockchains, automated by AI, and monetised by cryptocurrency and/or cryptographic tokens. Decentralised Finance will likely combine with the Internet of Things (IoT), creating new opportunities for automation of financial services. Although convergence is happening, there are a number of factors impacting the pace of change, not least a lack of understanding of these technologies at senior levels of business and within policy-making circles. As the increasing ‘electronification’ of financial markets processes shows, technology-led innovation has the potential to make many traditional capital markets processes redundant, which can constrain the enthusiasm with which new technologies are embraced by traditional participants. While there may be some movement, albeit cautious, with respect to embracing digital assets within diversified investment portfolios, this professional investment community is also more cognisant of the need for appropriate regulation to protect themselves, their clients and investors from ‘bad actors’.At the same time, technology providers offering financial products should, according to many, be subject to the same rigour and regulation around transparency, capital adequacy and risk exposure as traditional regulated firms. (“Same business, same risks, same rules”)Forming a predictable regulatory regime will be key to accelerating the convergence of traditional and decentralised finance as well as to further investment in this transition.Interoperability is a particularly tough nut to crack,with multiple blockchains and diverse functionalities that often do not work together. For example, yield farming (where investors search for the best returns using DeFi platforms) is not easily done across multiple blockchains. Digital ID is another challenge. Morestandardised forms of digital identity are an imperative to make it quicker for people to verify themselves (and/or to be verified) by multiple providers. While KYC utility services do exist, a standardised and truly utilitarian digital ID service – particularly with respect to blockchain/DLT participation – would speed up the pace of convergence considerably.Initial circumspection from traditional financial markets participants about new ‘disruptor’ technologies, and industry suspicion of their intent beyond scams and frauds, is giving way increasingly to a greater readiness to embrace change (and to look more rigorously at the enormous opportunities that they present).There is, however, a clear need for market participants to work together to bridge the gap between traditional financial markets infrastructures and new technologies, products and services. Collaboration and cooperation between the ‘old guard’ and the ‘disruptors’ will be a critical factor of success in effecting a seamless transition.
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What Will the Era of Convergence Mean for the Finance World? | FinTech Focus TV with Helen Disney, Director of The Realization Group
Welcome back to another episode of FinTech Focus TV. Today, Toby is joined by none other than Helen Disney, Director of The Realization Group.Named a "blockchain guru" by Barclays, Helen's impressive background in digital assets, cryptocurrency and blockchain– paired with now working in the traditional finance (TradFi) services arena– has positioned her perfectly in the middle of the two worlds merging together.This is an exciting time for the finance world and we're thrilled to be working with Helen and The Realization Group to produce our upcoming documentary, The Era of Convergence. In this podcast, Toby and Helen discuss what this documentary will showcase within the 'TradFi Vs DeFi' conversation and share some of the compelling conversations we've had so far. Find out more about the documentary here.Finally, Helen shares her thoughts on the future of finance and contemplates the role that banks will play in a post-digitized world where technology could be the sole middleman.You don't want to miss this episode, and keep an eye out for our documentary which is due to launch at the end of November this year! Watch or stream the full episode via your chosen platform below. YouTubeSpotifyAppleBuzzsprout
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Nadia's Women of FinTech - Una Keller, Senior Manager, KDB+ Developer at Macquarie Group
On this episode of The Women of FinTech Series, Nadia is pleased to welcome Una Keller, Senior Manager, KDB+ Developer at Macquarie Group to the show.From a global perspective, there is a shortage of female tech talent. But what are the barriers and how can we increase the numbers? Una tells us about her journey in tech and how she became part of the team at Macquarie, as well as all of the initiatives she is running to help recruit and retain diverse talent in the industry. The pair also discuss Macquarie's upcoming Women in Tech event on October 6th. It will be filled with food, drinks, informational sessions led by senior leaders and the opportunity to talk to experienced developers, analysts and operations staff about your background and experience.Register here.Stream the full episode on your chosen podcast platform:
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How a Fast-Growing Technology Company Attracts and Engages Talent
Download the full magazine here.One of the success indicators of a company is how it takes care of its human capital. A leading talent attraction tool is offering a learning experience starting from the selection process. Thus, Talent Acquisition is one of the most strategic areas in HR at Pismo.With the technology market extremely hot, our differential to attract talent is to offer an experience of exchange and self-development. Above all, we want to provide a selection process that respects the candidates.This means providing reliable information about the company, with its positive and negative aspects, which aligns with one of Pismo’s core values – total trust, that is, transparency at all times. In addition, we make the selection steps clear and give all candidates feedback at the end of the process.We reinforce our culture from the first interactions a future employee has with Pismo. So, if this person accepts the challenge of being part of our team, they will know what they will find in their daily routine, with no surprises. We show them that building a dream company is part of everyone's job. More than accepting things the way they are, every team member must do their part in creating a safe and pleasant work environment.We do not have the illusion that the candidate’s decision of working at Pismo will remain for eternity. On the contrary, we know that an integration process takes place over months in the company, and this sometimes leads the person in a different direction. Considering this, during the onboarding process, we provoke some employees to reflect: if you feel it’s time to depart our team, it's not a problem; we're here to support your decisions, even if it means leaving for another challenge. Your well-being and psychological safety must not be compromised in any way, and it is essential that you signal if you are not satisfied for any reason.With this proposal to encourage a protagonist's attitude, Pismo does not presume to be a perfect workplace. Our firm is an environment that provides learning with enormous challenges. Moreover, we are a global and complex company, and undoubtedly many dreams and goals can be achieved here.Retention is a word that doesn't fit our culture. We identify more with engaging our people. We follow some engagement indicators. One that catches our attention is the Glassdoor grade: 4.7. We’ve managed to keep the evaluations high while attaining accelerated growth and geographic expansion – and enduring the pandemic. Another important indicator is the large number of nominations we receive from our teams. Our Referral Program fills most of our vacancies. Yet the achievement we are most grateful to receive was certification as a great place to work by GPTW, with 91% favourability, awarded in 2021.Given our growth and global challenges and our effort to encourage a protagonist’s attitude and autonomy in everyday life, we believe we are on the right track to sustain our teams’ motivation. Consequently, we think Pismo can be where talented professionals want to be. These are the first steps of an incredible journey, and a lot is still to come. Do you want to be part of this story?Download the full magazine here.
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Nadia's Humans of FinTech Podcast | Liam Chennells, CEO at Detected
Welcome back to another episode of Nadia’s Humans of FinTech Podcast. Today, Nadia is joined by the brilliant Liam Chennells, CEO of Detected.Liam is all about people investment and this episode is brimming with his inspiring stories and ideas, that showcase some of the best talent in the industry. He shares the story behind the origins of Detected and how challenges from the pandemic triggered an innovative and thriving business.He states, “there were so many people just trying to make a quick bit of money during that period and that wasn’t my motivation, which I think is so important, and it’s a part of why things have gone so well because it wasn’t that; it was actually just trying to sort out a problem.”The conversation then turns to accessibility within the industry. Liam shares his ideas on building a culture that is in favour of an underserved generation and why universities– and the education system as a whole– aren't tailored for everyone.You can stream the full episode below.SpotifyAppleBuzzsprout
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Securing Tomorrow's Hub of Innovation | FinTech Focus TV with Roei Samuel, CEO and Founder of Connectd
Joining Toby in the FinTech Focus TV Studio is Roei Samuel, CEO and Founder of Connectd.To all founders out there, no matter where you are in your journey, this episode is for you. Roei provides us with a masterclass on the mentality, approach and drive that lies behind every founding journey.Given current marketplace climates and emerging uncertainty, conservatism creeps in and opportunities become seemingly sparse. But in Roei's conversation with Toby, we're reminded how we can become more opportunistic. From the obvious of ensuring you have an exceptional team by your side, to the more unconventional admittance that founders require a certain degree of delusion, Roei imparts his knowledge on dealing with turbulent times.And the pair explore the current state of funding. Again, that uncertainty is making funds more sparse, but it is out there. What does it take for a business to acquire it?Thank you Roei for joining us on FinTech Focus TV! Watch the Full Episode now on YouTube:Or Stream the Full Episode on your chosen podcast platform:Apple:Spotify:
