Deena Vekaria

Deena has over 17 years’ experience in financial services of which 15 years have been in Regulatory Reporting Change Management: CIMA qualified Business Analyst, Project Manager, Portfolio manager & change team lead delivering mandatory regulatory rule implementation, Strategic system implementations, Release Mgmt., Book of work Mgmt. and designing change mgmt. R+R. Prior to WF, industry experience has been across two Tier 1 firms in addition to Wells Fargo.

Key responsibilities in her current role at Wells Fargo: International controller change lead for Regulatory and Accounting changes – Setting the Intl Controller Tech and Data Strategy, responsible for providing oversight and execution of the portfolio of Change initiatives impacting Intl Controllers and leading a digitalisation team that can leverage the digital toolkit (Alteryx, Power BI, Power Aps etc.) to enable digital solutions to enhance business processes and control environment.

How does it feel to be nominated for the Tech Leader Award, and have you been involved with WIBF before now?

I am incredibly grateful and honoured to be nominated for this award, it is extremely humbling to be recognised alongside the other candidates under this category.  For me, this nomination is a testament to the work my team and I have done to ensure technology plays the required impactful role within our solutions to meet requirements within finance. This recognition is a reminder in a world where its go go go to take a breath and look back and what you have been able to achieve and inspires me to keep pushing the boundaries in tech.  I have been a member of WIBF for a while now and I look forward to collaborating more to drive meaningful change.

Can you tell us about your career journey in tech so far and how you got to where you are today?

I have spent most of my career within finance with a focus on Regulatory Reporting Change Management, Tech and Data strategy within the controller organisation. Although, I have not worked in the technology function, everything we do goes hand in hand with technology either as we work with our technology colleagues to champion enhancements and improvements and come up with new technology strategies or whether we spend time investigating new business tools which we can enable to improve our day to day. I have got to where I am today by always focusing on learning, challenging the status quo where appropriate and with a constant focus on problem solving and execution. To champion technology you do not need to work in technology, we are all responsible for using the tools around us to improve our processes and the control environment.

How do you personally contribute to creating a more inclusive environment for women and underrepresented groups in tech?

Creating an inclusive environment where certain groups have been historically underrepresented starts for me by leading by example, creating an inclusive environment is an ongoing commitment and I continuously aim to create a space where all feel supported and empowered. Things I try to focus on include promoting inclusive language, ensuring I encourage learning and collaboration by creating safe safes for individuals to speak up and reiterating to the teams the importance of diverse perspectives and the strength it has created within our teams.

Is there a skill or area of tech you’re currently focusing on to grow or improve?

Technology is critical in improving our processes, areas that I am currently focused on include how we can use technology to help us with data analytics and identifying data quality as well as understanding how technology could help with identifying new regulatory requirements. Machine Learning and AI are buzzwords in the industry at the moment, but with the right use cases and controls they have the potential to be very powerful in both these areas.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in tech, especially in financial services?

Starting out in technology within financial services can be exciting and challenging considering how fast paced it can be. The advice I would give to someone would be to always be curious and focus on continual learning. Embracing change goes hand in hand with technology and so being nimble is important. Additionally, building a strong foundation in your core skills will put you in good stead, whether that be programming, digital tools or learning more about the financial concepts that are relevant to you. Other areas that should not be under estimated include focusing on your soft skills such as communication, creating the appropriate networks within the Fintech industry and getting yourself a mentor!