BNY is the US’ oldest bank, and a global systematically important bank — a designation only given to the largest and most interconnected of institutions, ones whose failure would have major consequences for the global financial system. And it has not one, but two UAE offices — one in Dubai and another in Abu Dhabi.

The bank’s focus in the region? “Being more” is how their managing director in the EMEA growth team, Madiha Sattar, puts it — more than just an asset servicer, more than just a custodian, and more of a tech infrastructure provider and partner.

Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. This week, we sat down with Sattar (LinkedIn) to talk about her role here in the region, the bank’s goals in the Gulf, and how her daily routine is set up to achieve those ambitious targets. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

EnterpriseAM: You were at Careem before you moved to BNY Mellon. I imagine the cultural differences here are big, but you’re still focused on growth, much like you were at Careem. What drove you to BNY Mellon and how different is it from what you used to do?

Madiha Sattar: I had worked at large banks previously in my career, including JPMorgan, for example. After having spent several years building B2C fintech or payments fintech at Careem, what drew me to BNY was really the chance to innovate at scale.

BNY is a financial services platforms company that sits at the heart of global capital markets, so we touch 20% of the world’s investable assets. That includes USD 58 tn of assets under custody or administration, and USD 2 tn of assets under management. We process USD 2.5 tn of payments daily, and we settle USD 19 tn of trades every day.

The scale is massive, and it’s now focused on new technology-driven growth areas for the business. That includes blockchain infrastructure for payments and capital markets, wealthtech, data analytics and AI for financial investors, and private assets data and distribution. For me, it was a chance to learn about technology for capital markets and build capital markets technology at institutional scale.

E: You were also a journalist, and you studied literature at university. Does that still play a role in your life at all?

MS: I’ve always loved reading and writing, and that manifested itself in my life in a couple of ways. I studied history and literature at university, and in the middle of all of my technology and corporate roles, I also took a detour and was a journalist for five years covering geopolitics in South Asia.

Literature and journalism really taught me the importance of narrative and storytelling — and that is super important even in the business world. It’s a really great tool that you can deploy when leading teams, when conveying value propositions to clients and partners, and in negotiations. I still enjoy writing fiction from time to time, but that’s, of course, when I can find time.

E: What are the most exciting things you’re working on right now at BNY for the GCC?

MS: We have at least two key elements for our strategy in the Gulf: to do more for our clients and to expand our innovation mandate in the region. Some of our largest clients globally are from the Gulf, including sovereign wealth funds, asset owners, asset managers, or banks.

We offer a broader range of services than most people realize. While at the core we’re often known for asset servicing, we also have very compelling products and services across data and analytics, treasury services, payments, investment management, and markets execution. We want to bring the full breadth of our services to clients in the region.

What’s very exciting about the Gulf is the level of ambition and the level of forward-thinkingness on innovation. We’re talking to both potential clients and partners about data and analytics, AI for financial services (which we’re investing in very, very heavily as BNY), blockchain infrastructure for payments and for capital markets, and innovation in payments. Some of these conversations are with clients who are interested in consuming these products and services, and some are around partnering to commercialize these services in the Gulf.

We set up a wealthtech company in Abu Dhabi called Alpheya, which is a partnership with Lunate and also a Saudi investor. We now have over 100 people in Abu Dhabi — from commercial to product engineering and AI people — building wealth technology through Alpheya from the Gulf for the region.

We also have a data and analytics business for financial investors, which is housed within BNY and runs a bit like a fintech, and some of the largest asset owners and asset managers in the region are using this platform.

E: A lot of the region’s SWFs are exploring this move to blockchain, and the UAE is investing heavily in blockchain technology and infrastructure. Is there anything in this area specifically that BNY is working on for the region?

MS: BNY is one of the leading institutions focused on blockchain technology and blockchain infrastructure. We were the first US G-SIB — a global systemically important bank — to custody crypto. We custody BTC and ETH, and we’re adding more assets as well.

We’re also an enabler and infrastructure provider for some of the leading digital assets products globally, including Circle’s USDC stablecoin and BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund. Going forward, our focus areas include digital assets custody, stablecoin enablement, digital assets data, tokenized cash and collateral, and support for various aspects of the tokenization value chain.

While many of our existing clients are in the US and Europe, we do plan to expand this business into other markets. And what I can say is there is a lot of interest, especially from UAE institutions, in terms of either wanting support for their own projects in this area or wanting to co-build and partner for development of these services in the UAE.

E: Is there anything that is difficult about doing your job here in the region and expanding that innovation mandate?

MS: I think all the puzzle pieces are there; all the ingredients are there. Frankly, for us, sometimes the issue is actually keeping up with demand. We’re blessed that our clients and partners in the region value the expertise and the scale and the know-how that BNY brings from its global operations and its long-standing history, along with the fact that we’re innovating, so it’s really about keeping up with that demand. It’s a good problem to have.

E: Let’s pivot a little to your day-to-day routine. How do you start your mornings?

MS: I have clients, partners, and colleagues here in the region, but then also a lot of my work is with our colleagues in the US, so the workday starts a little bit later than your typical Dubai workday, which means I manage to squeeze in some physical movement in the morning.

I’ll make myself a very complicated protein smoothie every morning, or sometimes, my husband or I — depending on who wakes up first — will make our coffee at home. We grind it and we do a handmade pour-over. [For those of you who are curious: The protein smoothie involves a combination of fruits, vegetables, and one of either matcha, cacao, or peanut butter-flavored protein powder, depending on her mood that day.]

The rest of the day is spent between spending time with colleagues here in the Dubai office and in Abu Dhabi, where we also have an office. I occasionally travel around the region, including to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Then there are obviously client and partner meetings — mostly in Abu Dhabi these days — but also occasionally around the Gulf. I also like to keep in touch with some of the VC and fintech and tech community from my time at Careem, so I try to have a couple of coffees every week with my friends from that world so I can stay on top of what’s going on there, and maybe support startups being built by my former team members at Careem as an angel or by just providing some advice.

E: How do you keep track of everything that’s going on?

MS: I live and die by to-do apps. I have them within my work Microsoft suite and I also have them for my personal agendas, like on G Suite. Everything is either on a to-do list or calendarized or both. I find that it really reduces your cognitive load to have something documented somewhere with a reminder going off at some point just to free up your brain space.

E: Fast forward a few years — where do you see yourself both professionally and in your personal life?

MS: On the personal side, I do want to bring back writing into my life in some form. It could be something at the intersection of writing and technology, or maybe writing and food, or both. There’s a part of me that’s always wanted to be a restaurant reviewer. Maybe I start a Substack at some point if I can find enough time.

On the career front… Five years is a long time, and things are changing so rapidly, especially in the age of AI. We don’t really know what careers will look like in five years, frankly. But I hope that whatever it is I’m doing is rooted in innovation in some way. At this point, I think what’s really interesting to me is the intersection of blockchain infrastructure and payments and capital markets — and also, the intersection of blockchain and AI.

E: What’s a piece of advice that has really stuck with you throughout your life and career?

MS: If you’re going to bring a problem to someone, bring two to three potential solutions along with the problem. I think I learned that at McKinsey. It really pushes you to take ownership of a problem and be creative rather than just dumping a problem on someone else.

Madiha’s recommendations

What she’s reading: Why Does the World Exist? by Jim Holt. It’s a review of all of the different views from philosophers, physicists, and religious leaders on why they think the universe exists and where it came from.

What she’s watching: I recently enjoyed The Diplomat and Expats. I also recently watched The Thinking Game, a documentary on the AI lab DeepMind and its founder Demis Hassabis, and September 5, a film on how the ABC Sports crew covered the Munich Olympics tragedy. As a former journalist, it was a super interesting watch about the science and art of news coverage.

Her favorite restaurant: Orfali Bros serves Dubai’s best food. And it’s just a really incredible combination of cooking that is both very accomplished and very satisfying at the same time. It’s a very rare combination and—I mean, yeah, it’s my favorite.

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