Living the dream

Pan-African banking group Standard Bank devotes considerable time and effort to finding and developing human talent. Its pipeline is deep, spans Africa (and the world), and encompasses both leadership and specialist skills. The woman steering the bank’s data science and behavioural economic strategic imperative – working in partnership with people and culture practitioners across Africa – is Anusha Padiachy, a vibrant introvert with a passion for people’s stories. With all programmes that are implemented, she explains that they ‘measure return on investment’ and seek to see a shift in business revenue, client satisfaction, and staff satisfaction.

Successful results affirm what Standard Bank’s executive education suppliers already know: that well-crafted corporate learning interventions work. They boost confidence and help even the shyest of employees to find their voice. For Padiachy, there can be no better outcome than to see diverse ‘squads’ of employees – from business leaders, business specialists, and data specialists to technology gurus – huddled together, planning and collaborating. This sort of vibrant interaction, whereby the teams work in multidisciplinary teams with diverse skills across geographics, spurs innovation and camaraderie. 

A meeting of minds

After eight years working closely with Henley Business School Africa to design bespoke programmes, Padiachy has seen behind the curtain into the inner workings of the school, its learning principles, and impactful interventions. ‘I have a very good relationship with the entire team,’ she says, adding that Henley Business School Africa has a deep sense of understanding of the bank’s culture.

When the time came for Padiachy to complete her own MBA, Henley Business School Africa was a logical choice. That is not to say that Padiachy, who completed her MBA in 2015, does not see value across a range of world-class institutions. She completed a Management Advancement Programme through Wits Business School in 2011, obtained a digital certification from MIT Professional Education in 2022, and undertook the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s Retail Executive Programme in 2023. Building on her fascination for behavioural economics, her next big milestone is a PhD in neuropsychology, followed by a coaching certification. She believes this will gear her up for transferring her skills as well as expanding her lecturing and coaching skills. 

A future-fit approach

Standard Bank has recognised data science and behavioural economics as future skills that are instrumental in driving Africa’s growth, Padiachy explains. It was through this strategic imperative that she partnered with Henley Business School Africa and other world-class learning vendors to co-create a learning intervention that drives the maturity of these future skills.

Given the strategic importance of developing talent in this critical sector, Standard Bank co-created a mastery programme for leaders and specialists that combines technical training, business, commercial and financial acumen, as well as self-mastery training. According to Padiachy, Henley Business School Africa supports the business, commercial, and financial acumen deliverables, and helps specialists ‘bring models to life’ by translating data, algorithms, and coding into stories that an audience can comprehend.

The programme also enhances exceptional technical skills with the curiosity, empathy, and compassion required to understand clients’ needs and build models that make a strategic difference to the business. Central to the programme is participants’ ability to work across multidisciplinary teams in numerous geographies.

This is an area in which Padiachy shines. While she freely admits to being an introvert who would actually prefer working from home, her role necessitates being able to ‘pull multidisciplinary teams together, translate strategy, work in the detail, and see it to the end. I like to work with the teams, to be fully immersed with the team, to solution with the team, and to win with the team. I give people the space to solution and come up with ideas – I always say it’s a safe zone to fail and learn fast.’

Getting this level of collaboration right across Africa is, she believes, critical to unlocking the unlimited opportunities on the continent. ‘By organising all these masterminds with diverse skills, and sharing best practice, we build solutions that align to enable the strategic intent of the business,’ she says. Talent development is one way to unlock this level of collaboration, so too is the perseverance that underlines Padiachy’s own journey.

Charmed and challenging

Over the course of her career, Padiachy has worked at leading local and global companies like South African Breweries; Barclays Pan Africa, Indian Ocean and Middle East; Investec; Ubank SA; and Citi Bank. In 2012, she joined Standard Bank for what she anticipated would be a few years, but 12 years later, she is still engaged and motivated. ‘When I joined Standard Bank, I said to myself: “After five years, I’ll leave to do an international stint.” I’m still here,’ she laughs, crediting the bank for actively keeping its people positively challenged and committed.

‘As you grow and acquire institutional knowledge, you are moved into new and complex business portfolios, it’s almost like you are in a new company, with new leadership and new environment, this is what makes you want to stay in Standard Bank, the opportunities are so vast and rewarding,’ Padiachy reveals, noting that her next big move will be retirement. However, don’t for a moment think that she will go quietly into gardening and bingo. ‘I have so many ideas,’ she says. ‘I’m always asking: what can I do that’s innovating, cutting edge, and will make a significant impact?’

It was this attitude, smothered in a pragmatic positivity and a gung-ho approach, that saw Padiachy rise up the corporate ladder. In retrospect, she does wonder if her career would have accelerated faster if she had obtained her MBA and postgraduate qualifications at a younger age, rather than relying on work experience and an innate ability to navigate the organisational complexity. What is not in doubt, though, is the imprint others have had on her career.

‘I was fortunate that I had the right technical and behavioural skills, work experience, personal coaches, business mentors, and sponsors – that’s what helped in terms of me navigating through my career,’ she explains.

This guidance was especially impactful during her time with Barclays, where she was dealing with the nuances of working with British colleagues rather than South Africans. ‘Working with the British was very different, a culture I was not familiar with,’ she shares. ‘I really had to learn fast and push my boundaries.’ What supported this journey was working with two male mentors, who really helped her grow her career. ‘Both these gentlemen taught me business, commercial, financial acumen, self-mastery, especially confidence, and how to position myself when faced with challenging situations.’

Turning to Standard Bank, Padiachy finds it almost impossible to single out any of her business partners – they have all been pivotal in shaping the success of her career. However, she does note that she is really blessed to be working with a female leader who is helping her ‘take her career to the next level’.

Building bridges

After a career largely shaped by male leaders, it is a breath of fresh air for Padiachy to have the backing of a strong female leader. For her, this is a subtle reminder that, as women, ‘we limit ourselves from pushing to the next level – but men don’t’. Padiachy believes it does not have to be this way, though. ‘I think what has made me successful is the fact that I’m able to conceptualise quickly and I can speak the business language. It’s easy for me to resonate because we are both driving the same agenda, the business partners are driving the business strategy, and I am aligning the people strategy to enable the business strategy.’

Speaking the same language, bridging gaps in understanding, and finding ways to build cohesion across the various countries and cultures in which Standard Bank operates is something that fascinates Padiachy. ‘Every country is different,’ she stresses. It is for this reason that she has personally visited and immersed herself in almost every country in her portfolio – from the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man to the African nations of Ghana, Namibia, Angola, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

‘If we are implementing a strategy in Ghana, we start with the basis of a blueprint and would nuance, taking into consideration the Ghanian context, by considering the competitor landscape, opportunities, culture, staff, and where Ghana is from a branding perspective,’ she explains. ‘That’s my job. I align the people strategy in partnership with the PC [people and culture or human resources] community on the ground to the business strategy in ensuring that we successfully partner to drive results.’

It is a fascinating portfolio that keeps Padiachy deeply engaged. ‘I’m very blessed,’ she asserts. ‘I love getting up in the morning and doing my work, and I get to travel, immerse myself in and learn different businesses and cultures. It really is a dream job and I am truly grateful for all my experiences and exposure.’

Remarkably, this contagious passion comes through in the programmes she helps to curate and the learning partnerships she nurtures.