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: