What does your role at RiskSpan entail?
I work on the product side with the development team and help to build new features and improve existing features the Edge Platform. I also support some of our larger client contracts which require more long-term and custom maintenance. I work alongside some of these clients that have custom requirements and help implement custom solutions based on their feedback. These custom solutions become permanent Edge Platform features when they are found to be relevant to other clients and prospective clients. A large part of my work has been related to ETL, enhancing our process for extracting and cleaning client data, enabling more client input and visibility to the ETL process and, more recently, streamlining our ETL process to facilitate a faster setup for future clients.

What 3 words best describe RiskSpan?
Dynamic. Enterprising. Pioneering.

What are your favorite hobbies?
I play guitar and bass and listen to lots of music. I’m a Liverpool FC, Ohio State football, and Washington Capitals fan and like to go to as many Caps games as I can.

What is one thing on your Bucket List?
See a Liverpool game at Anfield

What do you like about RiskSpan’s culture?
There is an openness to new ideas that I really appreciate. From a development perspective, there is always a push to take advantage of new technologies and a willingness to listen to new perspectives.

Which of the firm’s values resonate with you the most?
I like that RiskSpan is an inclusive space where everyone’s input is valued.

Describe how you’ve grown professionally since you started working at RiskSpan
At RiskSpan I have had the opportunity to work on nearly all stages of large analytics projects and deepen my understanding of what it takes to develop and maintain an enterprise analytics platform. I have been able to grow my abilities as both a software engineer and data analyst and learn new tools that are on the cutting edge of the industry.

This month, we spotlight Kriti Asrani, a talented data analyst who joined RiskSpan in May 2021.

Kriti routinely earns high praise from clients. One recently observed that she “is truly transforming the capital forecasting process.”

In addition to her outstanding client work, Kriti has given herself to social outreach, helping to spearhead RiskSpan’s inaugural event “Women Empowering Women.” Kriti also routinely meets with colleagues outside of work hours and is an advocate for the firm’s DEI initiatives.

Kriti has been instrumental in helping with new employee onboarding, going above and beyond to welcome new RiskSpan colleagues. She consistently lends her time to improving RiskSpan operations, creating job aids for new employees and building data processing pipelines using Apache Airflow and Snowflake. She has also been helping our firm develop a custom Hours Tracking utility that assists consulting professionals seeking to manage their working hours more efficiently.

We are delighted to have Kriti on our team!

Tell us about your Role in RiskSpan and the team you work with.
“I am a Manager of Model Validation, and my day-to-day activities are writing proposals, reaching out to clients, new and former to propose services, and manage /oversee validation projects’ execution. I am in a team of 7, all with strong quantitative background and they all have at least a master’s degree. I report directly to the COO and Head of Consulting.”

What is most exciting about the work you do at RiskSpan?
“The most exciting thing about my work at RS is the exposure. I get to work with all size of banks and financial companies and all types of models.”

What does Black History Month mean to you?
“BHM means remembering people who have paved the way for us to be where we are today and to do more for the next generation. I am really proud to have obtained my master’s degree from Tuskegee University and experience the HBCU culture and feeling.”

Who is a person in black history that has shaped your professional career?
“A person in Black History that has shaped my life rather than my professional career is Nelson Mandela because of his courage, and determination to face challenges and change them.”

What motivates you to come to work each day?
“My family. Honestly, knowing that people are counting on me, and have high hopes on me, motivates me to come to work and give my best every day.“

What is something you love about your black culture/heritage and would like to share with your colleagues?
“For me it will be the Culture especially the authenticity of African Culture such as the clothing,dances, rituals and food.”

What is your favorite quote or mantra?
“My favorite quote is: “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” By Lance Armstrong.”

What would be your advice to young black men wanting to join this industry?
I strongly encourage young black men to join the industry because it is rewarding. All they need is the right mindset and skills (quantitative skills such as data science, analytics and statistics). Also, I would encourage them to seek mentorship because it is very important.

Lastly, if you had a superpower, what would it be and what would you first use it for?
If I had one superpower it would be the one to stop all war and bring peace to the world.

Continuing with our Black History Month Celebrations, today we turn the spotlight on Ibin Qawwee!

Ibin is well known within the firm and if you are new to RiskSpan, he’s probably one of the first faces that welcomed you! Thank you Ibin for sharing your story, your motivations and perspectives!

Tell us about your Role in RiskSpan and the team you work with.
“I am part of the IT team. My role is focused on Corporate IT.”

What is most exciting about the work you do at RiskSpan?
“No two days are the same, and technology is evolving constantly.”

What does Black History Month mean to you?
“Black History is American History and should be included in school curriculum, not celebrated for a month.”

Who is a person in black history that has shaped your professional career?
“I stand on the shoulders of all those before me who fought and were imprisoned, or worse, to ensure I would be afforded the same opportunities as the privileged people of this country.”

“I would like to highlight my family for shaping me into the person I am today. I had the advantage of being the youngest child, which gave me the unique opportunity to watch the struggles of my older siblings so I would not make the same mistakes.”

What motivates you to come to work each day?
“My motivation to work each day is knowing my value to my colleagues. I am a one-man team, so my best ability is availability.”

What is something you love about your black culture/heritage and would like to share with your colleagues?
“The most notable Greek minds came to Africa to be educated, and that the pyramids were so divinely constructed that they think aliens built them!”

What would be your advice to young black men wanting to join this industry?
“My advice to anyone considering IT would be to keep your skills current. This industry moves fast.”

If you had a superpower, what would it be and what would you first use it for?
“My superpower would be ‘Instant relaxation’. Anytime people get emotional or tense I would calm them down. Better outcomes are achieved when everyone has a clear mind.”

Lastly, what is your favorite quote or mantra?
“Greatness comes with adversity!”

Black History Month is a time to honor and celebrate the achievements of African Americans, recognize their role in U.S. history and reflect on the continued struggle for racial justice. RiskSpan is joining the celebrations in featuring some of our own members, their stories and perspectives. At RiskSpan, we welcome individuals from different backgrounds, experiences and opinions and are committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect.

Our first feature spotlight is on Aminah Ambakisye. In her own words, learn about her role, her motivations, and how her grandmom impacted her professional aspirations.

Tell us about your Role in RiskSpan and the team you work with.
“I work on the MRM team. I am one of the associate analysts on the team.”

What is most exciting about the work you do at RiskSpan?
“The most exciting thing about the work I do at RiskSpan is that I get to work with different models for every project.”

Who is a person in black history that has shaped your professional career?
“Growing up I did not know about very many famous black people outside of sports. I only learned after my Grandmother died what she did for her career. My Grandmother was one of the black female employees at NASA that helped with the space program to put a man on the moon. When I learned this, I also learned my Grandmother valued education and believed was the most important thing in life. My Grandmother died when I was young, but I always wanted to make her proud of me, so I decided at a young age I wanted to go to college to make her proud. While in college is when I discovered what type of career I wanted to have. Although my Grandmother did not directly shape my professional career, she did have an impact on it.”

What motivates you to come to work each day?
“I would like to get better at my job which is why I come to work every day.”

What is something you love about your black culture/heritage and would like to share with your colleagues?
“Something I enjoy about my black culture is the music.”

What is your favorite quote or mantra?
“A quote I like is “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” – Dr. Mae Jemison.”

What would be your advice to young black women wanting to join this industry?
“My advice for young black women wanting to join this industry is that they should take their schooling very seriously.”

Lastly, if you had a superpower, what would it be and what would you first use it for?
“I would choose teleportation and travel the world.”