Ahead of the World Federation of Exchanges’ WFEClear conference this month, AST speaks to the federation’s CEO, Nandini Sukumar, and head of research, Pedro Gurrola Perez
Putting your hands in
“I was just reflecting that in July, it will have been a decade since I joined the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). My gosh, how quickly the time goes,” Nandini Sukumar says in disbelief. The CEO of WFE joined the federation after spending 14 years at Bloomberg.
Now close to a milestone at the WFE, Sukumar reflects on her journey from being a journalist writing about exchanges and clearing markets to leading a federation of exchanges. She is joined by WFE’s head of research, Pedro Gurrola Perez, who is also closing in on a milestone.
Gurrola Perez begins explaining that he has been at the WFE for four years before Sukumar jokingly interjects to let him know he joined in 2019, so it has been five years. The head of research at WFE laughs off his colleague and friend’s reminder.
Like Sukumar, Gurrola Perez did not begin his career in clearing or exchanges. The former professor of financial mathematics spent years teaching before leaving academia to join the Financial Services Authority (FSA, the UK regulatory authority that preceded the Financial Conduct Authority) and then the Bank of England as a technical specialist.
He draws a comparison of his career to that of a medical professional, he says: “My story is different [to Sukumar’s] because I started doing pure mathematics. When I then became interested in financial mathematics, I realised you cannot know how to really do mathematical finance without putting your hands in [and getting practical experience], there is something missing. I think about the medical profession in similar terms, you can teach medicine, but you cannot know until you go into the actual practice.”
After putting his hands into the industry, Gurrola Perez still missed something — his research. “My intellectual curiosity with finance is in a setting that is not only academic, but has some practical aspects. One way of doing that is going directly to the investment bank, but then you probably won’t have the chance to do research because of the demands of the work.”
He has found that balance as head of research at WFE, finding it rewarding to “do meaningful and serious research that directly impacts policy discussions and industry conversations.”
Sukumar shares a similar belief. “I was always fascinated by the [exchanges and clearing] issues and I’d been writing about them.
“When I was at Bloomberg, I was always known for campaigning to get clearing stories onto the front page and I used to be asked what clearing and CCP’s are.”
Sukumar’s knowledge and interest in clearing caught the attention of WFE and she left her journalism career to join the federation as chief administrative officer in 2014. Within nine months she had already become CEO.
Being in the room
“I was fascinated by the topic and continue to be so. When I wrote about the industry, I found the market infrastructures had integrity, they were different, they had social purpose. That was my reason to come here to represent them and be part of the conversation,” Sukumar explains after sharing an anecdote about her first forays into the industry.
“When I first took the job [at WFE], a very senior investment banker who I have known through industry deals for decades asked me, ‘are you enjoying being in the inside of the room?’” Sukumar’s mind flickers back, “And I thought, I love being inside of the room and being part of the conversations.”
Sukumar and Gurrola Perez are particularly excited about conversations that will take place at WFECLEAR 2024, the federation’s annual conference on clearing and CCP’s to be held in Madrid from 19 to 21 March.
“The WFEClear conference really grew out of the belief that we needed a specific forum to convene and discuss clearing issues,” Sukumar explains. “As an industry, we need to be able to engage with ideas in addition to working on public policy issues.”
The federation’s CEO continues: “Every year, we ask for submissions from academics on the leading CCP and clearing papers they’ve been working on. You have a combination of the academic thinking and then industry perspective on that paper, because both sides bring different things to it.”
Sukumar describes the conference as a ‘larger roundtable’, expecting close to 100 attendees from various institutions across the globe. The various nations represented at the conference are reflective of the international nature of the federation.
“It’s part of our DNA,” Sukumar says proudly. “You will only truly understand WFE and the organisation once you get to meet members. I’ve never worked anywhere as international as WFE.”
Aside from the ability to make social change through her role at WFE, Sukumar describes the federation’s interconnected global community as one of the best features of her work.
“What is wonderful about WFE is that you can have a conversation about digital assets or T+1 with different members from different geographies, in different sized markets, infrastructures in different stages of evolution of their market and we all come together.”
Given the international network of institutions and people in the federation, those involved in WFE are from all walks of life. But how do Sukumar and Gurrola Perez consider their roles as leaders not only in title, but in helping new members into the federation?
Being a leader
As head of research, Gurrola Perez oversees a team of academics breaking into the industry.
He explains: “In my team they are all young researchers and, in some cases, in their first job in the industry. They might have been in academia before but, for them, it’s a completely new world and they are very excited about it.”
Gurrola Perez is also involved in WFE’s collaboration with Bayes Business School. WFE established an educational programme with Bayes that offers training, teaching and a market infrastructure certificate once the course has been completed. Looking after young people hoping to break into the industry is rewarding for him.
“They are welcome to any guidance and help with their career,” he says. “I’m always very happy to provide them with an understanding of what management means, but more importantly help them to feel comfortable and grow in their positions. It’s very helpful for them to be in contact with leaders in the industry.”
As CEO, does Sukumar consider herself as a natural leader and role model for young people developing in the industry?
She swats away the suggestion and laughs, saying: “I don’t wake up in the morning and say I’m a role model.”
As a prominent female figure in the industry, does that not make her a role model?
Sukumar brings in Cally Billimore, WFE’s communications manager, who has been listening in through the Zoom call. Sukumar says: “I have very bright, capable colleagues such as Cally, who has an amazing future in front of her. I see other young women at WFE with such tremendous promise and it’s my privilege to be able to work with them and have conversations about their future.”
Aside from her role as a leader, Sukumar is keen to stress the success of their ‘ring the bell’ initiatives — a series of programmes that champion diversity in the industry.
“We had a [ring the bell] initiative for International Women’s Day which champions diversity and inclusion in the market infrastructure space. We have a very specific initiative around gender and it’s called the WFE Women Leaders Initiative. I started it a couple of years ago because I was fascinated by the women who worked in these markets.”
WFE also runs financial inclusion, financial literacy and education initiatives during world investor week. The initiatives seek to offer guidance to young people wanting to get involved in the industry. Finally, they have a climate focus.
The desire to develop more initiatives focusing on societal issues and individuals’ wellbeing has taken a marked increase under Sukumar’s leadership and since the Covid-19 pandemic.
She explains that this decision was a necessity after months of “working from home, or living at work” during lockdowns.
She says: “Working from home during the pandemic gave the financial services industry more energy to talk about some of these issues. We understood it wasn’t just individuals who were interested in [improving others’ wellbeing], but we could [all come together to] have a common conversation about it.”
Does she feel more onus as the CEO — and as a non-white, female CEO — to look after those in the industry?
She takes a moment to think, before concluding: “I think one should do that regardless of whether you’re a CEO or not, or whether you’re a woman or diverse or not, you should always try to help those around you achieve that potential.”
