Imagine:
a. A group of working mothers with
kids and highly coveted degrees in computer science
from top notch local schools looking for challenging
work and flexi timings
b. A non traditional actuarial consulting
firm
c. A regulatory standard built around
risk management practices for an industry that uses mathematics
as old as time
d. Beach chairs, loyal customers and
a Nobel Prize winning differential equation
e. Foreign competition with cutting edge
technology, unlimited marketing budgets and an already
established international track record
Take
(a) to (d), throw them in a salad bowl called Alchemy
and pit it against the multinational players with unlimited
budget in (e). Sounds like a cross between Erin Brockovich
and a Disney movie playing the underdog against big bad
corporate giants. You know, you have seen the movie; in
a nail biting finish the under dog wins. But is that so
in real life? Read on…
Jawwad
Ahmed Farid headed back home to Pakistan from Northern
Virginia, in January 2003, with a desire to do something
that was different and meaningful and yet went against
conventional wisdom. An actuary by profession with an
MBA from a Columbia Business School, Jawwad’s meaningful
version 1.0 was a traditional actuarial practice with
a twist. Its first actuarial valuation engine, the core
of the practice, was not written by an actuary or an actuarial
student but a part time working mother. Erum Khalid, employee
number one, with a bachelors and masters in computer science
from Pakistan’s top rated and well respected FAST
Institute of Computer Science, worked a couple of hours
every day while her children went to school. Their first
office was a beach chair and a laptop; their first assignment
– review of capital adequacy rules for a financial
services free zone in the Middle East.
The
firm that rose from such a humble beginning, three short
years later, employs 23 professionals, 6 of them women,
4 of them working mothers; counts 35 of the 50 odd financial
institutions in Pakistan amongst its customers including
the Pakistani central bank, the largest life insurance
company, the largest bank treasury and the largest brokerage
house; implements a home grown, cutting edge Basel II
solution for Market, Credit and Operational risk that
has won multiple industry awards; and stands tall, shoulder
to shoulder with competition that has a couple of billion
dollar more in market capitalization and balance sheet
foot print.
“When
we first started thinking about what we stood for as a
firm”, says Mujtaba Iqbal, Director of the Enterprise
Analytics practice, “We agreed that we had to make
a difference in both our client and our employees’
lives. Not one before the other but a balance that ensured
that our people and our customers did not have the same
issue we had in our earlier careers. It has not been easy
holding true to that vision but if there is one thing
that has helped us get where we are, it is that balance.”
The
most common term used by employees to describe the team
– fun to work with. The most common words used by
the same group to describe the nature of our work –
fast paced, invigorating, on the edge. Noor Ali, Analyst
and Project Manager describes working at Alchemy as “An
ever evolving strategy game, where every triumph is rewarded
by an even bigger challenge”
What
about customers? The one word customers use to describe
Alchemy - Partner. Commenting on this
choice, Jawwad Farid, Chief Executive and Director responsible
for the Enterprise Risk and Basel II practice says, “We
know what we went through when we had to decipher the
Black Scholes equation. We take great pains to spare our
customers that agony. Having said that, the process and
the underlying equation are essential to how Risk Management
works. We spend a lot of quality time with our users ensuring
that they understand not only how to use the system but
also how to break it. When we break it together, it’s
the customers who come up with fixes and suggestions first.
It is their solution; they own it as much as we do.”
After
exhibiting at GITEX in September ’05 and the Pakistan
Single Country exhibition in Malaysia in October ’05,
Alchemy will now be exhibiting its flagship Enterprise
Risk product, Alchemy Risk Manager at MEFTEC ’06
from 13th February to 15th February 2006 at the Pakistan
Pavilion (EC-03). For more details on this release, the
firm or our work, please contact:
-end-
For
additional information about the firm, please contact:
Jawwad Farid /Uzma Salahuddin
Alchemy Associates / Alchemy Technologies
103 – 104 Amber Estate
Main Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi 75350, Pakistan
Cell: +92300 251 9368
Tel: +92 21 4535712
Fax: +92 21 4546291
Email: jawwad@alchemya.com,
uzma@alchemya.com
Website: http://www.alchemya.com
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