Weaving a fabric of innovation with Sheenam Ohrie and Tyler Derr

Pari: Let’s get to the deep end. What are some of the key trends shaping the future of FinTech industry and how is Broadridge positioning itself to capitalize on some of these trends?

Tyler: Well, thank you. And I’m happy to be here. You know, one of the things that we’re seeing if I talk about the clients that we service is they’re really looking for a more open and modern architecture that they can integrate with. And so our customers are really viewing us as an asset that they can run as a platform inside their organization.

So having an openness to our data being API and service and microservice based is really helping our architecture approach of integration with clients. Thanks. We’re also seeing that they want to de risk programs and have more of a modular approach to building out capabilities with an organization like ours over time and that they’re able to grow with us in terms of their experience and leverage really the ability of capabilities we’ve got across the suite.

Pari: And can you give us an overview of Broadridge’s own financial stack and the key technologies you leverage to drive innovation across some of your solutions based on your customer needs?

Tyler: We at Broadridge have assembled a diverse set of offerings through various acquisitions over the past decade. Our robust intellectual property allows customers to run operational activities efficiently, with high speed and low cost. We have a spectrum of capabilities, ranging from traditional mainframes to modern distributed systems. Recently, at IBM’s Think conference, I witnessed how we can unlock the potential of mainframes by modernizing them using code assistants that translate COBOL into plain English. However, our focus is on the future – transitioning to a modular, container-based environment that can deploy capabilities to clients through both private and public clouds. This aligns with our customers’ expectations for us to evolve into a cloud-based platform. Our goal is to leverage our diverse technological assets, both legacy and modern, to provide cutting-edge solutions tailored to our clients’ needs.

Pari: And Broadridge India has always been on the forefront of driving innovation. Tell us a little bit about how are you leveraging, the latest Gen AI technologies into FinTech solutions. Maybe you can highlight some innovative applications of Gen AI we should implementing.

Sheenam: At Broadridge, we conducted global roadshows to identify potential business use cases that could leverage generative AI. About five out of the 27 use cases we are currently running originated from our employees in India. We have a dedicated squad in India responsible for developing generative AI products for the market.

Let me start with BroadGPT, our intranet version of ChatGPT leveraging OpenAI’s protocols. It allows us to integrate large language models, enabling exploration of ChatGPT’s power to boost developer productivity. Our first commercial generative AI product is Bond GPT, which we take great pride in. However, the second commercially available product, called Ops GPT, was developed in India. It provides an operational workstation for our users to track their activities, anticipate potential failures, and drive productivity enhancements. This is crucial as the U.S. domestic market transitions from T+2 to T+1 settlement cycles, requiring increased operational efficiencies.

The third product we have released is Distribution GPT. You can expect to hear from us every 2-3 months about new validated, customer-approved generative AI use cases hitting the market. This is an area we are actively investing in and driving innovation.

Tyler: And probably the only other thing that I’d say on that is the other exciting element is the way we’re organizing, we call it the ways of working. We’re also building full stack squads where product is even in our India facilities.
So it’s not just the engineering know-how we’re building product and engineering know how as full stack squads as a part of this, which is really part of our evolution.

Sheenam: So we’re going to have the entire engineering organization having full fledged spots, which means product owners, scrum master, devs, estates, everything sitting co-located in India.

Pari: The rapid pace of Generative AI innovation is exciting. I’m curious how you quickly identified and brought these compelling use cases to market. I’ve heard from clients about the paradigm shift in software development – instead of rigid coding, the evolving AI models enable dynamic adaptation. Has this necessitated changes in how you structure your global teams and processes to accommodate this agile, model-driven approach?

Tyler: When it comes to our global teams, I’ll start by saying it’s an integrated approach to engineering and manufacturing new products. A few key areas stand out in our ways of working:

1. Upfront prioritization process – There are many great AI ideas, but we’ve done a good job cultivating and identifying compelling business cases with strong outcomes. Having a robust prioritization process early on allows us to target our efforts, activities, and talent on the key initiatives that will move the needle.

2. Risk-adjusted approach – Some firms are going all-in with AI, while others are very cautious. We’ve chosen to be active participants in this migration, as we believe it’s important for our strategy and the marketplace we serve. However, this determination isn’t easy for many firms – how do you want to participate? For us, it’s about taking a risk-based approach to leveraging AI in our organization and products.

3. Emphasis on data protection and trust – This shift has galvanized how we think about cybersecurity, prevention, and safeguarding client data. It has accelerated our focus on protecting client data as an organization and ensuring it’s a core part of the manufacturing process from the initial product design phase.

Sheenam: Regarding developer productivity and the ways of working mentioned earlier, we have now created a horizontal team that will curate best practices for QA and implement AI-based tooling.

One experiment we conducted in India was to see if our BroadGPT could write test cases based on provided requirements. We found this to be possible, so we are now scaling this capability.
Additionally, our next step is to explore if we can create automation using these technologies to reduce the cycle time for building QA and testing intellectual property. By leveraging generative AI for tasks like test case generation and automation, we aim to boost developer productivity and accelerate our QA processes.

Pari: Great. And one of the things we mentioned is the ability to use, open AI and other solutions. I’m just extending that question for Tyler, can you talk about the broader approach around partnership and collaboration with other players in the fintech ecosystem?

Tyler: We offer a diverse network of capabilities and we’re always open to partnering with other firms across the spectrum.
Take the example from IBM’s Think conference – we run a mainframe environment that some may view as a legacy asset. However, AI is unlocking new possibilities by modernizing these systems. Techniques like code explanation can translate languages like COBOL into newer ones like Java. This is exciting.
But what’s even more interesting is leveraging AI for modernization efforts. One use case we presented was understanding what our existing COBOL code is actually doing today. We can then use that insight to help our service organization during production incidents.

With AI, our front-line associates could do code explanations to comprehend the code in plain English, escalate issues faster to tier three, and resolve client issues more quickly.
Partnerships like the one with IBM allow us to keep innovating, regardless of the underlying asset. It enables us to continually refresh and improve our capabilities through modernization.

Sheenam: We offer a diverse network of capabilities in the market and are always open to partnering across the spectrum. For example, our partnership with IBM allows us to innovate and modernize regardless of the underlying asset, like our mainframe environment.

Locally in India, we’ve taken steps to tap into the startup ecosystem as well. We’ve partnered with T-Hub and the Indian School of Business (ISB) to assess and mentor startups working on generative AI, blockchain, and related technologies.
Currently, we are mentoring three startups through our T-Hub partnership and eight startups through ISB. The goal is to explore whether we can embed their solutions into our systems or collaborate to create new offerings.

We’re proactively reaching out to this ecosystem to identify innovative technologies and solutions that could enhance our capabilities. By partnering with established players like IBM as well as tapping into the vibrant startup space, we aim to continually modernize and bring cutting-edge offerings to our clients.

Pari: It’s very interesting. You know, one side you are partnering with a hundred year old technology company, which continues to reinvent themselves and leveraging some of their new innovations.
On the other side, you’re working with really cutting edge young startups, which are building some interesting solutions. What does your innovation fabric look like and the investments required to enable this- working not just with the ecosystem, but also internally?

Sheenam: From a cultural perspective, a key focus for us is fostering curiosity. We want to actively explore what’s available in the marketplace and what we could develop internally to benefit our customers.
Recently, we organized a hackathon where we invited our entire technology organization to develop using generative AI. We provided sandboxes and tools for them to leverage and create use cases sponsored by our business teams. This brought together the customer perspective with new technologies, generating excitement and appetite for innovation.
Additionally, we engage with the broader ecosystem through initiatives like hosting university hackathons and exposing our teams to startups. These efforts cultivate an environment that displays a hunger for change and transformation.

Our goal is to build and sustain a culture fabric that embraces curiosity, experimentation with emerging technologies, and a drive to continually evolve our offerings to better serve customers. By tapping into internal talents and external ecosystems, we aim to fuel an innovative mindset across the organization.

Tyler: Additionally, our roots and history are deeply rooted in entrepreneurship. Our founder started with an entrepreneurial idea that became the core regulatory business offering of Broadridge.
Over the past decade, our growth trajectory has involved acquiring entrepreneurial firms and bringing them into the Broadridge family, leveraging their innovative solutions to drive success with clients.
Entrepreneurship and embracing entrepreneurs is part of our heritage. We take pride in the fact that often when we acquire companies, the entrepreneurs stay on to continue leading those business lines within Broadridge.

This entrepreneurial presence challenges us with new techniques, ideas and perspectives, even pushing our existing management principles to evolve. Fostering this entrepreneurial spirit and being open to fresh thinking from acquisitions has been a longstanding part of our culture and approach. Our success stems from nurturing an environment that values and incorporates entrepreneurial mindsets.

Pari: I look forward to Broadridge having more acquisitions in India going forward. We discussed how your customers also face disruption from cutting-edge startups, while large tech companies are competing with them to some extent. Your customers likely expect you to stay ahead and drive innovation to address these challenges. How do you foster a culture of continuous innovation and learning within your technology teams to build the next generation of leaders who can sustain that innovative culture? How do you retain that mindset within the company?

Tyler: You know, that’s a very great question because that’s difficult to do.
Large organizations struggle to innovate. We’re addressing this by creating cross-functional teams (product & engineering) that drive business-oriented innovation. We’re also adopting agile methodologies to achieve this.
Building more full-stack squads across locations is a key focus for the next three years. This reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and experimentation. We encourage calculated risks and embrace failures as learning opportunities, fostering a culture of curiosity for future growth.

Sheenam: One of the advantages for you that we’ve got is we have the platform, right? Our platform offers a key advantage: a wealth of customer data. Operation teams use the platform to serve customers generate valuable insights into customer behavior and needs. This data flows back to product development, informing innovation efforts and helping us understand how customers leverage our offerings.

Pari: And one of the interesting things that I read about Broadridge, you have a reverse mentoring program where, senior leaders learn from being a generation can tell a little bit about how it works and what has been the benefits on both sides. Great. Thank you.

Sheenam: I can start on that. We launched a reverse mentoring program in India about a year back.
The intent of our reverse mentoring program is to have 3-5 junior employees mentoring one senior leader. I had three mentors, and they set the agenda for our mentoring sessions. They come prepared to share perspectives on changes they’d like to see in how we work, our culture, and their expectations as the incoming generation – which may differ from how we’ve traditionally operated.
What struck me is that while their value systems align with ours, seeking the same fulfillment, their approach and mindset are quite different. They bring a distinct curiosity and openness to the table. It provides insight into how the next generation thinks, signaling where we may need to evolve policies and flexibility to better attract, retain, and empower them.
They want to share their views but also eagerly learn from leaders. The reverse mentoring dynamic works beautifully when the leader is ready to listen and absorb the fresh perspectives these younger employees offer. It’s a powerful way to bridge generations and ensure we continue evolving our culture for the future workforce.

Tyler: Servant leadership aligns with this concept. We need a leadership structure that listens to the next generation, who will be future leaders. Their perspective is crucial in shaping our departmental vision. A healthy dialogue that incorporates both top-down vision and bottom-up challenges is essential for optimal company outcomes.

Sheenam: One of the other things that I have used very powerfully, I think, I believe, is I ask a lot of questions, which kind of forces them, if I may use that word, to think a little bit differently, and then they’ll come back the next time and say, you know, you asked this question, we couldn’t answer it, but here is what we think, and then you can get into a dialogue, which also enables you to A, influence your culture, B, create that kind of thought process where they’re starting to think out of the box.