Nishal Sebastian Dsouza was first attracted to a career at Northern Trust after a college talk. After 5 years with Northern, he made the decision to return to school and get his master’s degree. Once he accomplished this goal, there was only one place he wanted to be and that was back at Northern Trust due to the support structure and focus on career and skillset building.

Nishal recently shared his perspective on his Technology career journey at Northern Trust and how he and the tech we offer is evolving all the time.                     

Describe your current role at Northern Trust?

My role involves analyzing and building process automations for teams within our Capital Markets Department. We use low code and No-code software to build those automations.

Describe your team?

I work in a 5 member global team. We have Business Analysts, Solution Architects and Developers. We have team members in two locations, Bangalore and London.

Take us through how you ended up at Northern Trust the first time and what brought you here?

I first joined Northern Trust in 2016, after a campus recruitment event in India. I remember clearly that day, Veda Persad addressed the crowd and during her address, she spoke about how Northern Trust uses the word ‘Partner’ to address every employee and not refer to them as simply ‘employees’ of the bank.This was the moment I knew I’d be happy working at Northern.

I started off my career in Trade and Settlements where I moved across all the settlements teams. I helped migrate teams to our newly inaugurated Pune office before I made a lateral move to the newly setup Brokerage Ops team in our Bangalore office.

In 2021, I decided that I needed to study further and hence decided to move to the UK to pursue my master’s degree. When I finished my degree in 2022, I could not think of working in a place that was not Northern Trust! I reconnected with some of my colleagues at Northern Trust and they were happy to help me find a suitable role and recommended me for a role that involved working with technology and the business.

This role has helped me understand my strengths and has also given me the opportunity to understand our business better. There has not been a single day where I haven’t learnt something new.

Northern Trust encourages equal opportunities for all. This allows our partners to explore different career paths. The next step in my career would be to develop the technical skills that I need to help Northern Trust get better value for our business.

What has surprised you since rejoining Northern Trust?

The culture has not changed! Partners still have the same inclusive and cooperative culture which makes the workplace just so much better.

What are you most proud of in your career at Northern Trust so far?

My career started in operations and now I specialize in digital transformation of our business operations. This change had me pick up new skills and techniques to be able to do my job. 

Can you describe a particular project you’ve worked on that you loved and what was great about the experience?

In my first year at Northern Trust, I got an opportunity to setup a part of my existing team in our newly opened Pune office. This was a very exciting opportunity for me as I was still very new in my career. My management trusted me and we successfully migrated the team.

When did you realize that Northern Trust was a good fit for your career?

During my induction, someone had presented a stat that most partners stay at Northern Trust for longer compared to our competitors. This stat meant to me that this is a stable organization who treats their people well. This made me feel like I belong here.

The thing I like about Northern Trust is that our managers are extremely supportive and support our career progression.

What technology/technologies have you been excited to work with here at Northern Trust?

Power Platforms is one of the technologies which I’m currently obsessed with.

How do you keep your skills fresh at Northern Trust?

Northern has a lot of different training sources. I especially like Jhana (bite size leaning). There are no restrictions on what courses you can take and this allows me to learn about some of my niche interests.

How does Northern Trust support your goals outside the office?

Northern Trust encourages partners to make a difference to the community. Many volunteering activities are planned throughout the year and you have two paid volunteering days that you can take each year.

What would you say to someone considering a career at Northern Trust? 

I believe Northern Trust is a great place to work. The work culture is incomparable. The people at Northern are very supportive and they truly encourage you to Achieve Greater.

What advice would you give to people beginning their career at Northern Trust?

We have a lot of experienced team memers who can guide you in your career. I would also say to make sure you do not miss any networking/mentorship opportunities.

Do you have any general tips for career success?

It’s natural that you have some good days and some bad days at work. Don’t make any decisions on your bad days and be patient, good things take time.

Fast Facts

Name - Nishal Sebastian Dsouza

Current Role - Senior Associate

Total time at Northern -  6+ years

Business Unit - Asset Servicing

Geographic Location - London

Education - MSc. Fintech and Financial Markets at Nottingham Trent University

Hometown / where are you living now – I’m from a small town in India called Mangalore and I now live in London

Do you have a pet(s)? – not at the moment, but I am a cat person.

Where do you volunteer your time? / cause that you’re passionate about - I care deeply about children who cannot afford education or healthcare. I support ‘Planet Mars Foundation’ from my hometown in India which provides shelter and education to destitute and orphan girls.

What are you reading / Podcast recommendation – I’m reading Chariots of Gods by Erich von Däniken

Favorite sports team – Bengaluru FC

Comfort food – Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani!

Best advice you’ve received (work or non-work related) – My first manager once told me, it’s okay to make mistakes, but when you make a mistake, don’t hide it, own it and learn from it.

If you could have dinner with any person alive today, who would it be – Elon Musk

Careers at Northern Trust

Come find your greater at Northern Trust. Review our open roles here.