Farewell My TD Ameritrade
Vijay Sankaran
Chief Digital and Information Officer | AI, Data, and Software Thought Leader
On Tuesday, Charles Schwab finalized its acquisition of TD Ameritrade. On Wednesday, I was notified that I would not be retained as the head of technology for the combined firm. While there's a mix of emotions that go through you anytime there's a transition, there's one overriding emotion for me - gratitude. I have tremendous gratitude for the individual that introduced me to TD Ameritrade; I have tremendous gratitude for the individual that empowered me to lead the technology organization at TD Ameritrade; I have tremendous gratitude for my peers who worked with me as partners to build a world class digital investing firm; I have tremendous gratitude for my first team whom I was so proud to see grow as leaders over the last 4 years; and I have tremendous gratitude for a technology organization that was agile, innovative, empowered and accomplished amazing things in the FinTech space in a very short period of time.
When you are in a company and working day-to-day, it's easy to see the warts and dysfunction that frustrates you, but when you take a step back and have perspective at the end of an experience - you see that experience with a more expansive lens in its most holistic context. In that light, working at TD Ameritrade was a magical experience for me - its people, it's culture, the Ann Arbor office which we established and the digital experiences we created for our clients. I will always remember the best about this experience and the things that I learned as a leader will stick with me for life. I wish the combined firm the best success moving forward as many of the people that made TD Ameritrade special will infuse Charles Schwab with their passion, talent and thinking for years to come.
As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” Working together to transform TD Ameritrade has been the highlight of my professional career and the memories, accomplishments, friendships, and experiences are what has made this time here so special.
As for me, I'm not ready to announce my next adventure, but I'll keep writing, sharing, learning, and staying grateful for all the people who have shaped my life and taking steps into new and unchartered territory.
Sincerely,
Vijay
Intentional Culture?? Effective, Respectful, Joyful, and Profitable Change ?? A2Agile.com
4 年Thanks for all of the times TD Ameritrade let us host Agile Groupies events, training classes, and Agile Coach retreats using your facilities!
Vijay - If you would permit me to expand Henry Ford's quote "...working together is success, producing together outcome is transformation". Often we have witnessed you creating an environment for people to come together and create outcomes toegther. Our best wishes for your continued success!
Engineer @ Balyasny Asset Management
4 年Good luck Vijay!
Senior Enterprise and Solutions Architect
4 年I love that you consider your next opportunity as an adventure. I've always done the same and it definitely reshapes the perspective of the journey.