“From the very beginning of my career, I have been fortunate to have flourished under the guidance of great mentors like Ajit Gunewardene, Tony Weerasinghe, Ajit Samaranayake, Hemantha Jayawardena and Mack Gill”, stated the Co-Head of LSEG Technology, Feroz Cader. “I have also enjoyed working with many amazing groups of colleagues from whom I have learnt much and overcome many challenges.”

Feroz began his career as a Research Analyst for John Keells Stock Brokers and later joined Millennium IT Software as a Capital Markets Consultant. Feroz went from working on projects to leading projects and eventually leading 2 ground-up product builds. He was also a core member of the team that saw the company through its transition from Millennium IT Software to LSEG Technology.  

“It’s been a journey of many ups and downs, with many nervous moments before a major client presentation and euphoric instances when watching a project go live. I learnt something from every one of these moments and don’t regret a single one.”

“One of the most crucial lessons I have learnt throughout my career is to not be afraid of making mistakes. If you are to fail, fail fast, learn from your mistake and move forward. Once, one of the products I was in charge of building required a fundamental rethink. This was a time when the company could not afford a failure that would cost a couple of million dollars. I had to make a choice between swimming or drowning. We went back to the drawing board, focused on our core strengths, reinvented and relaunched the product, winning clients from New York, Toronto, Lima and Hong Kong.”

Speaking of the impact of the ongoing pandemic upon the company’s business structure, Feroz explained, “LSEG Technology operates in a very niche segment and we are the best at what we do. The pandemic has, of course, slowed down many of our clients’ planned projects, but we have strived to ensure our resiliency in terms of our systems during one of the most volatile periods the financial markets have ever witnessed. We have proven our agility when it comes to supporting our clients, and delivering both business and regulatory change no matter where we were working from. However, mission critical financial market infrastructure projects cannot be put off for long, especially at a time like this. So, as we settle into the new normal, we expect to see many of the postponed projects being brought back into action as well as a number of entirely new projects coming into play.”

“The transition from Millennium IT to LSEG Technology has been transformational and interesting. There have been many moments of excitement as well as challenges along the way. Via this transition we have transformed into a global brand and created enormous value under the LSEG umbrella. Being a part of this global brand, the exposure and experience have been amazing. As I reflect on the growing pains we’ve encountered in becoming a part of a large multinational organization, I would say that it has all been worth it”, said Feroz, describing the transition of Millennium IT to LSEG Technology.

Feroz listed the team he has mentored and nurtured over the years, the products and IP he has helped his team build, and the value he has helped create for the company’s clients as his major contributions to LSEG Technology.

“To become the most sought-after FMI Systems Provider, with the happiest team delivering it”, replied Feroz, when questioned about his vision for LSEG Technology.