Desis get access, recognition at Wall Street

NEARLY a decade ago one wouldrarely see a desi working at the WallStreet. The profession, which re-quires software skills, besides certain acade-mic excellence and 24×7 work hour was con-sidered not suitable for an Indian.

As India and Indians continue to surprisethe world with their phenomenal progress inalmost every walk of life, desis have ensuredthat they make their presence felt at the WallSteet as well.

From a couple of dozens earlier, Indiansnow number in few thousands at the WallStreet. Working in various capacities they areall striving hard to reach top positions in theirrespective organization.

And there are many who have alreadyachieved it. Top of the list examples include:Sheila Hooda, managing director in the equi-ties department in the Investment BankingDivision of Credit Suisse; Raj Bhattacharyya,managing director in Global Markets Divi-sion of Deutsche Bank; Aashish Kamat,global controller of the Investment Bank at JPMorgan Chase; Ajay Nagpal, managing direc-tor at Lehman Brothers and global head ofequity sales; Navtej S. Nandra, senior vice-president and chief operating officer of theGlobal Investment Bank for Merrill Lynchand Ravi Singh, global co-head of Global Se-curities Services in the Equities Division.

We have done it. We will do it. Though alate entrant, we will prove that we are betterthan others, averred Sejal Lakhani, theyoung and energetic desi woman working atthe Wall Street.

It is only after Lakhani and her friendsfloated the idea of an orga-nization for the SouthAsians at the Wall Streetand took the initiative inthis regard that the desishave come together to forma network for themselves.

As we are getting noticedin the financial sector, weneed to showcase our talent,she said, explaining why shetook the initiative for havingan organization for the SouthAsians in Wall Street.

Last week, they came to-gether for the second annualSouth Asians on Wall Streetconference. Over 500 SouthAsians attended the event,which tried to bring togetherdesis on single platform.

We are making inroads in this sector, ob-served Sheila Hooda. This is because, wehave acquired the skills and have the neces-sary talent to be successful and compete withthe best in this field, she said, at the recep-tion hosted after the event.

The event was organized by the SouthAsian Professional Network at Merrill Lynch.It helps increase South Asian representationby providing support and input to the MerrillLynch’s outreach and recruitment efforts,said Jyoti Chopra from Merrill Lynch.

One interesting featurethat has goneunnoticedin this latest Indian stride is theemergence of desi women in this sector. Liketheir male counterparts, they feel that theytoo have the capabilities to not only work ashard but also be successful in the field.

This is a challenging profession and I likeit, said Nisha Mircahndani, who is this yearsMiss Indian-American New York, and oneamong the fast increasing brigade of youngIndian Americans at the Wall Street.

Commenting on the Indian Americansmaking successful strides in the Wall Street inthe last one decade, Hooda said the commu-nity has acquired the skills needed for this field. It is the public school system of India,which helps Indian assimilate faster with thewestern world. It has also assisted desis in ac-quiring the software skills essential in the BigApple’s financial market.

The flattening trend of the global marketis also one factor responsible for this, she said.As the desis understood the importance ofnetworking, self promotion and acquired thesoftware skills, Indians have finally emergedon the Wall Street, she said, adding there is nolooking back now.