GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the
industry experts what makes them tick. . . .
Jackie Barwell,
Director of Fraud and Risk Product
Management, ACI Worldwide
W
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
When working for Citigroup, I had to create
and implement a company-wide proactive
approach to managing fraud risk across the
business – with no resource budget. It was a
big ask given that at the time, the company
employed 350,000 full time employees
with a similar number of temporary and
contract staff. I selected the existing
network of Compliance Officers to be the
fraud risk ‘ears and eyes’ of Citigroup – and
travelled the world to meet this 300-strong
team. Using colourful but real examples
of successful frauds, I educated them on
the facts about the deceptive mind of a
fraudster and furnished them with enough
knowledge to recognise fraud risk. Seeing
this team of individuals turn into purposeful
and excited individuals keen to get back
into their respective businesses to detect
and solve fraud vulnerabilities, was my most
memorable achievement.
What first made you think of a
career in technology?
I didn’t set out to work in technology. I left
school at 16 and went into the very first
job that said ‘yes’ to my application – an
office junior role for a network of local Kent
newspapers. One day, I happened to take a
‘situations vacant’ advertisement request
www.intelligentcio.com
to be put into the paper the following week,
the company was looking for a secretary
and I applied. That gave me the ‘banking
job in London’ that I had decided was my
next goal in life – I was 18. It was as I was
progressing through that role and then
moving onto other financial institutions
(Bank of America and Citigroup) where I
found myself working in areas of control
such as Fraud Management. These areas rely
on technology to be successful – needing
to use automation to spot anomalies,
deficiencies, fraud and operational risk
weaknesses and to spot signs of money
laundering. As my career progressed, I found
myself being responsible for the selection of
this technology – so moving into the world
of technology was a natural step for me.
“
IT’S THE QUIET
INDIVIDUAL’S
FEW WORDS THAT
COULD HAVE THE
MOST IMPACT.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with your
current position?
I’ve always had an inclusive and
mentoring management style. Teams
need a blend of personality types to be
successful and I make conscious efforts
to ensure those less extrovert in the team
are able to be heard in whatever method
they feel most comfortable getting their
views across – which may not be on a
conference call. All too often it’s the quiet
individual’s few words that could have the
most impact.
What do you think will emerge as the
technology trend of 2019 and why?
It could be the concerted effort towards
preparing for IoT and 5G. This huge
preparation effort will involve merchants,
telecom companies, solution and payment
providers, financial services and solutions,
security and risk management, regulation
and legislation, governments, cross-border/
cross-continent collaboration and more.
I’ve seen that preparation taking place
here at ACI with our data centre work and
solution architectural innovations, all with
a view to providing any payment, anytime,
anywhere using anything.The payments
sector is an exciting place to be right now.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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