https://zarahchoudhary.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Zarah ChoudharyenWed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=706South Africa has spent more than a decade modernising its post-trade infrastructure through settlement reform, automation and tighter risk controls — but as offshore investing demand grows and investors continue to hedge against rand volatility — the country’s asset servicing market faces a new challengeWed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=706https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=705Robin Hasson, head of reconciliation solutions at Smartstream, speaks to Zarah Choudhary about the role of ‘always on’ AI agents, the importance of human oversight, and why governance must remain central as automation evolvesWed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=705https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=703Zarah Choudhary speaks with Eamonn O’Callaghan, Ireland-based global head of ETF Product at CACEIS, about the forces driving the expansion of ETFs and how digital assets and tokenisation could influence the future of the ETF ecosystemWed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=703https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=702As institutional demand for digital assets accelerates, Zarah Choudhary examines how traditional custodians and crypto-native firms are competing — and converging — to define the future of digital asset custodyWed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=702https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=700Viraj Kulkarni, CEO of PIVOT, speaks to Zarah Choudhary about how cross-border investment flows are evolving, why India has become a key market for global custodians, and how Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are developing along very different infrastructure pathsWed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=700https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=670Led by the BIS, Project Agorá is exploring whether tokenised money and a unified ledger model can address the long-standing inefficiencies of wholesale cross-border paymentsSat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=670https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=695As the industry migrates from ISO 15022 to ISO 20022, questions remain over whether structured messaging alone can resolve the operational complexity of corporate actions processing. Zarah Choudhary examines where standards are helping — and where market practice still stands in the wayWed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=695https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=685Quantios CEO Guy Harrison discusses with Zarah Choudhary how growth, consolidation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the corporate, trust, and fund services landscape — and why core platforms are evolving from systems of record into systems of actionWed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=685https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=681As automation and digital infrastructure reshape the custody sector, Zarah Choudhary examines how women’s influence is expanding from the processing floor to the strategic direction of the industryWed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=681https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=350As mandatory US Treasury clearing reshapes post-trade infrastructure, Gabino Roche, CEO and founder at Saphyre, and Stephen Roche, president and co-founder at Saphyre, tell Zarah Choudhary that firms must move beyond compliance-driven repaperingWed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=350https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=678As the London Stock Exchange Group advances plans for a Digital Securities Depository, Zarah Choudhary explores whether digital-native settlement represents incremental enhancement or the beginning of structural redesign across Europe’s post-trade ecosystemWed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=678https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=675As family offices scale in size and complexity, their expectations of fund and asset servicers are shifting just as rapidly. Rob Lowe, UK market head at Pictet Asset Services, speaks with Zarah Choudhary about how this evolving client segment is driving new models of customisation, digitalisation, and cross-border sophisticationWed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=675https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=674The Middle East is undergoing a quieter transformation in its financial plumbing. As regulatory frameworks mature, private markets expand and digital infrastructure develops, the region’s asset servicing ecosystem is evolving into a more institutional, internationally connected environmentWed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=674https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=666With payments settling in seconds and operating around the clock, traditional AML and CTF frameworks are being pushed to their limits, forcing institutions to rethink how financial crime controls operate in a real-time environmentWed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=666https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=663As regulatory clarity brings stablecoins closer to the financial mainstream, asset servicers are assessing what the new framework means for settlement, custody, and post-trade infrastructureThu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=663https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=660What was once imagined as a single global system is splintering into regional ecosystems. From Singapore’s pilots to Brussels’ rulemaking and Washington’s regulatory rethink, the digital-assets landscape has entered a three-way contest of ambition, ideology and market designWed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=660https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=655Lloyd Sebastian, vice president of global financial institutions at CIBC Mellon, discusses Canada’s post T+1 evolution, the shift toward data-driven servicing, and how the firm is leveraging AI and digital innovation to meet client demandWed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=655https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=654Despite new tools and rising interest in AI, speakers at CorpActions 2025 warned that poor issuer data and fragmented standards remain the biggest obstacles to smoother, safer corporate actionsWed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=654https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=650As India’s asset management industry swells past 50 trillion rupees, a quiet transformation is taking place. Zarah Choudhary looks at how women are rising through the ranks of asset servicing, bringing collaboration, precision, and empathy to the heart of a fast-digitising industryWed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=650https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=340From Pakistan’s Raast to Brunei and Vietnam’s CSDs, Maxim Neshcheret, regional director, APAC, at CMA Small Systems, explains how the firm’s DEPO/X RTS/X platforms are linking markets and advancing digital readinessWed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=340https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=645Demi Derem, head of Investor Communications, Digital Transformation and Market Innovation at Broadridge, speaks to Zarah Choudhary about navigating global governance complexity, empowering retail investors, and how AI is redefining stewardship in the digital ageWed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=645https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=646As investor expectations, regulation and technology reshape the landscape, independent fund administrators are stepping out of the back office. Zarah Choudhary explores how independence, data and AI are defining the next generation of fund servicingWed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=646https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=648Mariangela Fumagalli, head of Asset Servicing Product and Custody Regulatory Solutions, Securities Services at BNP Paribas, speaks to Zarah Choudhary about the operational realities of T+1 settlement and why true efficiency in corporate actions begins with process harmonisation, and not just technologyWed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=648https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=336Margaret Harwood-Jones, managing director, global head of Financing and Securities Services at Standard Chartered, speaks to Zarah Choudhary about accelerating growth in Europe, the role of AI in securities services, and how frontier markets are driving the next wave of innovationWed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=336https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=642The collapse of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund was not just about poor stock picks — it exposed weaknesses across the fund industry’s checks and balances. From the ACD model to regulatory oversight, institutional investors were left questioning whether governance structures truly protect themWed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=642https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=332James Harris, newly appointed CEO of Tesseract, discusses his priorities for growth, cybersecurity, and institutional trust in the digital assets spaceWed, 17 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/interviews/interview.php?interview_id=332https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=637The clock is ticking for the UK’s October 2027 cutover to T+1, with regulators, infrastructures, and firms urging action now to avoid turbulence laterWed, 03 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=637https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=634Justin Partington of IQ-EQ speaks to Zarah Choudhary about the rising role of predictive analytics, and why it is becoming essential for firms seeking to evolve and remain competitiveWed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://www.assetservicingtimes.com/specialistfeatures/specialistfeature.php?specialist_id=634https://workplacejournal.co.uk/2025/03/interview-embracing-femininity-in-male-dominated-industries/In the lead up to International Women’s Day 2025, Holly Morrison, national account manager at Paragon, shares her journey in financial services, the challenges women face in male-dominated industries, and the importance of fostering inclusive workplace cultures. She discusses the role of confidence, the power of femininity in leadership, and how businesses can create truly equitable environments for women in the workplace. How did starting your career at a young age shape your approach to...Fri, 07 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://workplacejournal.co.uk/2025/03/interview-embracing-femininity-in-male-dominated-industries/https://workplacejournal.co.uk/2025/02/tailored-benefits-the-future-of-workplace-engagement-and-retention/Tailored benefits are reshaping workplace management, shifting away from the one-size-fits-all approach to something much more personalised. In the UK, this shift is gaining traction, especially in sectors struggling with recruitment and retention, such as professional services and engineering. Charles Cotton, senior reward and benefits adviser at the CIPD, speaks of this growing need for personalised benefit structures: “Given that many people have come to expect a more personal service f...Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://workplacejournal.co.uk/2025/02/tailored-benefits-the-future-of-workplace-engagement-and-retention/