Employee Spotlight : Moussa Bouregba

How many years have you been with IFDS? ??Tell us about your career development.

Well, I have been with IFDS in Luxembourg for over 11 years now and have almost 20 years experience in Transfer Agency (TA). It has been a really exciting journey and even after all this time, there is still lots to learn and explore, which is one of the great things about being in this business.

Stepping back to the beginning of my career, after I attained a masters degree in foreign languages as applied to business, I joined a large Global Investment Management company. This was an amazing experience where I got a great foundation and learned many of the intricacies of TA.

In 2013, I joined IFDS as a manager at Officer grade in Dealing Services within Operations. Over the next 5 years I was assigned increasing levels of responsibility across a number of teams and was promoted to Assistant Vice President and then to Vice President in 2019. In my current role I lead the Dealing operations within our Dealing Services Function, something I take great pride in.

What do you see as the biggest changes in the work environment and specifically TA, over the last few years, and what are the positives and negatives associated with these changes?

Just look at the last 4 years; Covid-19, geopolitical instability across the globe, economical volatility, Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) requirements, digitalisation and AI.? One cannot predict what the future brings and these are examples of significant external changes that have impacted our work environment in TA.

That’s what makes our job exciting though; a continuously evolving environment that you need to adapt to with creativity, proactivity and resilience. The financial services sector, and IFDS specifically, has shown great ability to adapt to constant evolutions, which could be technology, clients’ investments strategies, market conditions or evolving regulatory policies.

As for the negatives, change for sure can present challenges, create uncertainty and require significant adaptations but as a Senior Manager, it is part of my role to help people to adapt and recognise change as an opportunity to grow professionally and to think outside of the box

What makes IFDS a good place to work in your opinion? ?

The opportunity to progress and take on additional responsibilities has been a key factor in why I have been with IFDS for over 11 years.? Also when I look at what my colleagues and I have been able to achieve collectively over the last decade, I am extremely proud of having been part of the flourishing growth of the company. ?

Since I joined IFDS, we have significantly increased our assets and our task force and invested in our IT / technology infrastructure, which provides a great sense of achievement and gives me ongoing motivation, two key factors for me in determining what is a good place to work.

What would be the top 3 pieces of advice you would give to anyone starting in IFDS?

The #1 piece of advice I would give is to ignore advice, or maybe better said, is to be selective about the advice you take on! ?

?#2 is to never look backwards or focus on negative experiences, but? learn from these and keep improving. A wise man once said: ‘The windscreen of your car is wider than the rearview mirror’. That is my philosophy.

As for #3 , Always consider that everyone’s experience is unique, so just be yourself and live your own experience, something that is encouraged at IFDS.?

How do you maintain your work-life balance?

Putting effort into managing work-life balance is essential and in return brings countless benefits. It boosts productivity, reduces stress, improves overall wellness and helps recharges the batteries.

I appreciate it can be hard, but I personally have a daily routine that helps me with it. ?It starts with some exercise at the gym and some fresh air, which really helps me with energy and managing time across my day.

I also try to work from home once a week, ?particularly when I need to concentrate on processes that require a high level of attention and focus.?

Finally, at weekends, it is really important to me to focus and pay attention to quality time spent with my family.

?And finally, do you have a hero(es) and if so who are they? ?

Yes I have heroes! This may sound like an easy choice, but I truly do consider my parents as my heroes. ?As role models, they have demonstrated many skills that I’ve tried to learn and adopt for myself, specifically in my job, three of which are;

1.??? Adaptability to change: they moved from their homeland in Algeria over to France where they had to learn a new language, a new culture.

2.??? Resilience: Despite all the challenges they came across, they never lost faith and kept on persevering on all fronts to give the best of themselves.

3.??? A risk based approach: While they were financially modest, they managed to rear 13 children (where I am the youngest ??) with values including respect, collaboration and accountability.

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