From sommelier to compliance maestro

Mike Sadarangani’s journey to becoming Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Zodia Custody is as unique as it is inspiring. Starting as a sommelier, Mike’s career took unexpected turns, leading him to the world of financial crime compliance. In our first People. Without Compromise blog, we speak about the significance of integrity, pragmatism, and the ability to see each situation as a unique puzzle.

Mike, what don’t you compromise on?

There are three things: my values, my family, and my expertise.

Let’s begin with your values. What are these and why don’t you compromise on them?

My values are perhaps the most important element — certainly top of the list. They define who I am and how I view the world. I don’t think anyone should compromise on their values as they would be compromising their very essence in the world.

I was lucky enough to attend an international school, as I grew up with Indian parents living in Spain, so there was always a duality of who I was at home versus as a kid on the street. It helped me experience the world in a much more open manner. This diversity has shaped my values and my approach to life.

Has there ever been a time when you felt challenged about your values?

Certainly — I think there are a lot of situations where we all may feel that our values are being challenged. But in those situations, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself if it is actually your values on the line, or is it instead your opinions that are being challenged?

While an opinion is formed from your values, it’s how you interpret a situation that matters the most. Opinions can — and should — be changed as you’re presented with facts. But your values are who you are to your core. It’s how you see and experience the world.

You don’t compromise on family. How do you stay true to that?

Meeting my partner eight years ago massively changed my perspective on this. Before, how I would have presented myself to the world would have been very much about me, for me, by me.

I think the point is that family, and where you are in life, does change you and helps you progress. I also believe that there’s a level of maturity that comes in here, especially in terms of understanding that the only finite resource in life is time. You learn to actually spend your time where you want to spend it and with who you want to spend it with, which is really where the true value in life comes from.

Family can sometimes be misrepresented. Everyone has their own definition of what family is, and no one has the right to question that. It’s about who you choose to give your time and energy to.

You mentioned expertise as the final element you won’t compromise on. Why is this?

Knowledge is a huge driver for me. I got into compliance in the first place because I wanted to know everything. Fortunately for me, I got to experience a very wide variety of situations quite early on in my career, helping me to quickly skill up.

Something that has amazed me from the get-go in my career is that you get input from all these different people who have a piece of the puzzle, but there’s only one person who really puts everything together. I recognise that I may only know a certain amount about something, but my values make me want to acquire as much knowledge as I can.

That’s why when I say I don’t compromise on expertise, I also mean acknowledging when someone is an expert in their field. If I’m not at the same level of expertise, I can challenge the opinion and I can challenge the advice that I’m giving, but I’m never going to be challenging that person on their expertise or their area of knowledge. We need to respect the validity of the input an expert is giving you, even if it’s not the opinion or answer you wanted.

It’s about knowing who you are and knowing the expertise you bring to the table, while respecting the expertise of others.

Expertise seems to have always been a guiding principle throughout your life. Can you tell us more about how this has shaped your career?

I once worked in a Michelin star restaurant as a sommelier and waiter. It doesn’t fit in with any other part of who I am. I have a degree in finance, and have been in financial services ever since.

It was initially a part-time uni job, and at that time I was beginning to map out my financial services career: mergers and acquisitions, or something along these lines. But I wasn’t completely sure, so I decided to stick with that job for a while, and travel, while getting to understand who I wanted to be. After I was offered a manager role, I realized that I was getting too deep in the restaurant scene and decided to, finally, go down the finance route.

But it was a job that still required a good deal of expertise: you had to know what goes with what — and be able to give information quickly. You had to, both figuratively and literally, bring something to the table.

Reflecting on your career in finance, what are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned in the world of compliance?

Pragmatism. The world of compliance is anything but black and white. Clients may look like they are the same thing on paper but then there are always nuances you have to uncover.

In compliance, there are rules and regulations, musts and must nots, but there’s also room for interpretation; a level of taking a step back and appreciating that every situation is a unique puzzle that you need to be able to put together.

It seems like one word that unites your experiences is integrity. Would you agree?

It’s certainly a conscious effort to live up to that. You need to stand behind your opinions and how you present yourself to the world. Integrity is very important to me and while it would be too big headed of me to claim that I’m perfect in this area, I always try to stay true to myself and my values.

 

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