In this interview, Projective Group consultant Rossella Nocera talks about the challenges that come with a multicultural regulatory project. “Luckily, I’ve lived in different countries growing up and this taught me how to bridge cultural differences and find a compromise that would suit everybody around the table. This is the basis of facilitation.” Rossella says.
Hi Rossella, before we dive in: can you tell us about your educational and work background?
“After graduating with a bachelor in International Finance in Italy, I moved to Belgium to complete my master’s degree in business engineering. At the same time, I started my career at the Bank of New York Mellon. I initially had a role in trading, and then I moved to BNP Paribas, still on the trading floor. There I started to contribute to regulatory projects and that really stirred an interest of mine, so I decided to switch to a consulting role. After some years in consulting, a former colleague told me about Projective Group. So I made the move and I never looked back. I’ve been with Projective Group for five years now and I’m very happy!”
The goal is to onboard all the clients from local branches to the EMEA headquarter, which also implies KYC duties to be carried out.
That’s wonderful to hear. Can you tell us a bit about the project you’re currently working on?
“I’m currently working on a big KYC migration project for a large international bank .Following their announcement of clients and related assets migration to the EMEA headquarters, I joined a cool pool of Projective Group colleagues who are in charge to manage this big migration from a KYC perspective.
“The goal is to onboard all the clients from a local branch to the EMEA headquarters, which also implies KYC duties to be carried out. In this case, my role is to manage the project from the front office side and to provide guidance to the local office in terms of client requirements to be consequentially reviewed and approved by our SME’s. This task is not easy from the front office’s perspective, as any request of additional documentation or further questions on the existing one can be perceived as a burden by big corporate clients. So I’m there to support them and ease up the task tot he maximum.”
Sounds rather complicated. What would you say the biggest challenges are that you’re facing in this project?
“The main issues are around cultural differences, both from a soft and a hard point of view. For one, there’s a difference in how the different cultures, even in Europe, communicate, not to mention from a global perspective. For instance,northern cultures are generally considered very straigthforward in the way people communicate, which is the complete opposite in high-context cultures like latin ones or even Asian ones. There, you have to make sure that you’re saying things the right way and make sure you are not in order to maximise results and foster good collaboration that leads to a successful project. Luckily I have already been involved in another similar big project with same cultural specificities and I hope I will be able to put all the lessons I learnt to good use! The fact of also speaking the language of the people at the local branch, helps with the language constraints.Generally speaking, it is easier to build trusted relationship with stakeholders when you speak their languages.
You have to make sure that you’re saying things the right way and you are not getting lost in translation in order to maximise results and foster good collaboration that leads to a successful project.
Also, when it comes to regulatory requirements, we can expect differences from country to country. We might have gaps between the EMEA headquaters country requirements and the ones from the branch’s country. Or the documentation might need refreshments or even full translations . This means delays might be caused by either insufficient documentation from the legislative point of view or requests to clients to provide further documentation in English.
“I do believe that the Projective Group team can have a major impact all along the value chain, from the front office to the middle office activities and then of course the investigation for KYC itself. There are plenty of things that we can influence: process-wise, finding room for improvement, looking for efficiency gains,… I believe we have the opportunity to show that we’re there to help and to serve, not only with KYC activities but also with providing added value with advice and suggestion to improve their processes.”
“I do believe that the Projective Group team can have a major impact all along the value chain, from the front office to the middle office activities and then of course the investigation for KYC itself. There are plenty of things that we can influence: process-wise, finding room for improvement, looking for efficiency gains,… I believe we have the opportunity to show that we’re there to help, not only with KYC activities but also with providing added value with advice and suggestion to improve their processes.”
What about this project do you enjoy most?
“I specialise in Risk and Compliance, but I’ve also always had a kick for projects that implied cultural management. Projects in which I’d have to wear several hats, not only in terms of roles but also in terms of facilitation. Just because you speak the same language as someone, doesn’t mean you’re going to understand each other and find a compromise. And it’s even harder when the stakeholders around the table are from different cultures.”
I specialise in Risk and Compliance, but I’ve also always had a kick for projects that implied cultural management.
“I was lucky to spend parts of my life in different countries. As a child, we lived in the United States due to my father’s job. I lived in Spain as a teenager and I relocated to Belgium seventeen years ago. All this caused my personality to find energy and motivation in helping people from different countries and cultures sit around the table and understand each other with empathy and sense of compromise.. Also, as consultants we can bring an added value in making sure that when we leave, people have learned to communicate and work as a team toward a common goal.”
At Projective Group, I’ve never been made to feel like I have to choose between my career or my family values.
One more question for someone who has been here for five years. Why do you believe Projective Group is a great place to work?
“I wouldn’t know where to start! There are so many great things about working for Projective Group. But there is one thing that I’d like to stress out, as a mother of three young children. At Projective Group, I’ve never been made to feel like I have to choose between my career or my family values. I’ve always had support, in my day-to-day work or during the pandemic for example. When a project was getting hard ,different people reached out to me to tell me to keep it up, that I was doing a great job, but also that I was setting a great example for female colleagues who in a few years’ time might also want start a family. So it makes me feel good to know that I am somehow setting an example for young colleagues to tell them that they do not have to choose – especially at Projective Group.”
Conclusion
Navigating a multicultural regulatory project like managing the performing of KYC duties and onboarding clients from a local branch of a transnational bank into the EMEA headquarters is no easy feat. Having lived in different countries, Rossella Nocera is the perfect person for the job. In this project, she gets to play to her strengths while at the same time running her household with three kids. Thanks to a great group of colleagues and the support from Projective Group, Rossella feels very happy in her career. Inspired by her story? Join our team!
About Projective Group
Established in 2006, Projective Group is a leading Financial Services change specialist.
We are recognised within the industry as a complete solutions provider, partnering with clients in Financial Services to provide resolutions that are both holistic and pragmatic. We have evolved to become a trusted partner for companies that want to thrive and prosper in an ever-changing Financial Services landscape.