Could you introduce your career path ?
I graduated in Software engineering from Polytechnique Montreal.
My first work experience was also in Montreal, where I discovered the world of consulting in another Management & Consultancy firm working for a large Investment Bank as an application Support Analyst.
My interest in Consulting and in the Financial Services industry has grown over the years, and I decided to move to the next level and move to New York City where I joined Talan New York.
I started working for the same client as a Business Analyst within the Algo’s trading teams. Over the past two years, I have acquired a solid expertise in Project Management and Business Analysis, I have also been able to significantly improve my communication skills.
Today, I am working as a project manager on the IBOR transition project for an Investment Bank, one of our main clients in New York City.
Can you tell us more about the IBOR transition project ?
With more than $350 trillion in loans, securities and derivatives impacted globally, this unique change in a generation requires leadership and expertise to navigate the complexities that can alter the competitive landscape
Since IBOR is referenced not only in the contracts but is also used as a risk-free rate to price multiple financial products, developing a concrete transition program and roadmap was imperative to mitigate the risks associated with this change.
Since this reform impacted all clients organization, as well as products and customer contracts, the entire organization of my client was impacted by IBOR transition, requiring a broad governance to monitor project delivery:
- Valuation & curve construction
- Liquidity management
- Operation & IT Infrastructure
- Risk Management
- Regulatory & Legal
- Accounting & Tax
The main challenges financial organizations had to overcome over the last 2 years to ensure a smooth transition were the following:
- Legal Framework: design legal framework for trillions of dollars of legacy contracts extending beyond 2021
- Transition Period: manage activity on both IBOR and the replacement rates in parallel during the transition period
- Timeframe: transition existing IBOR-based contracts to new risk-free rates on the appropriate timeframe and reset period
- Reputational & Conduct Risks: minimize the reputational & conduct risk by identifying the contracts in which the “fallback” provisions change the economics of the product and communicate the renegotiation plan to clients
- Cash Flows & Pricing Exposure Risks: determine which rate should be used to prevent radical changes in cash flows and pricing
- Align internal finance and treasury operating models to ensure fund transfer pricing framework continue functioning seamlessly throughout the transition.
For my part, I was mainly involved in the commercial lending side, and in this respect, the main objective of my team was to protect the bank and customers from those potential cash flow and pricing exposure risks.
As a result, my responsibilities as IBOR transition project manager were pretty challenging, to name a few:
- Data analysis and reporting on the bank’s IBOR exposure
- Participation to the re-papering process: review of existing and new loan agreements that will be impacted by the IBOR transition
- Management of various IT systems going under transformation
- Compliance with regulatory requirements to protect the bank from potential losses.
3 words to introduce Talan ?
- Empower: we encourage each other to go beyond our daily responsibilities and expand our capabilities.
- Support: we actively support positive relationships and emotional wellbeing with our clients and other members of the Talan group.
- Passion: we bring passion & dedication to everything we do. We see our client’s business as our own and put all our energy into helping them achieving lasting success.
At Talan, what is your playfield? How do you manage to explore it ?
Networking is what drives me. I believe in the power of people and how solidarity and encouragement can lead us to the top and fulfill our dreams.
At Talan, I have always been a social person, trying to connect with everyone, learn from their experience and share mine.
I’ve always found support when I needed advice, Talan clearly helps me grow personally and professionally.
Could you describe a strong memory since you have joined Talan ?
Obviously, I had a lot of memorable moments with Talan, but if I had to pick one, it would be my first staff meeting (before COVID-19), where I first met with the management team and other consultants. I immediately felt comfortable and welcome.
Afterwards, we shared a few drinks and laughs during an after-work event, from that day on, I knew I had made the right choice by joining Talan.
Which person inspires you the most ?
My mother is my greatest source of inspiration. She had to face a lot of adversity in her life and raise me alone. She has worked very hard to support me, but I have rarely seen her complain about her fate. Today, I am who I am thanks to her, and I hope to be able to give her something back by succeeding in my career.
Who would you like to work with ?
Bill Gates.
He is the kind of person who pushes me do what I thought was impossible.
He once said: "Success is a bad teacher. It seduces smart people into believing that they cannot lose”.
