Dr. Henry Balani: Revolutionizing the World of Technology 

Top 5 Empowering Consultants in Year 2023

A tech expert has the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to complete IT tasks. This kind of expert is qualified to use technology to solve a variety of issues. Leaders in technology play a much broader role. Expertise in the field, an understanding of the business and technological context, and the capacity to maximize speed, quality, and resources are all necessary for tech leadership.

Tech leaders are eager learners who constantly strive for professional growth. A strong leader has a complete picture of a project from start to finish. They are proficient with technical details, familiar with business procedures, clearly comprehend the project as a whole, and effectively carry out management duties. Dr. Henry Balani, Encompass Corporation’s Global Head of Industry & Regulatory Affairs, stands out as one of the most prominent leaders with such significant expertise.

At Include Organization, Dr. Balani advocates for guidelines supporting innovation firms and expounds on new innovation that can affect the monetary administrations industry.

He also earned a doctorate in finance along the way, recognizing his enthusiasm for academia and teaching.

In an interview with Business Leaders Review, Dr. Balani talks about his career and how far he has come as a tech leader in the changing business world.

The following are portions of the interview:

Describe your journey as a business leader up until your current position at your company for our audience. Which obstacles have you overcome to get to where you are now?

I began my process way back in college, where I was lucky to join AIESEC, an understudy driven business society zeroed in on bringing temporary jobs up in unfamiliar nations. I worked in Istanbul, Turkey, one summer, and then I worked for Andersen Consulting, which is now Accenture, in Chicago, USA. The ability to interact confidently with coworkers, friends, and associates from all walks of life and around the world was the primary takeaway from this experience.

Since I worked for global technology companies that helped financial institutions fight financial crime, my career has taken me all over the world.

As anticipated, there are numerous obstacles. Both good and bad things get in the way, including life. Early on, I realized that I needed managers and senior executives who could help me advance my career. I have actively sought mentors and other leaders with whom to collaborate and talk. It can be difficult to build deeper relationships of this kind because you need to show your worth, be willing to take their advice, and make progress, but the rewards far outweigh the effort.

Although raising a family does not necessarily present a challenge in the traditional sense, it does necessitate making decisions regarding how to allocate one’s time. I was fortunate to move into positions that allowed me to utilize my leadership abilities while also contributing to growth. Life can be planned as much as possible, but unexpected occurrences can derail a career.

One of the most challenging experiences I’ve had was in a leadership position where I had to fire 13 employees before being fired. When I knew I had to leave after the exercise, flying around the country, meeting employees in public places like coffee shops and airport lounges, terminating them, and asking for their laptops was not at all pleasant. It was important to always act professionally. While empathy and comprehension are useful, the importance of representing the business was paramount.

Give us more information about your business, including its purpose and vision.

With Know Your Customer (KYC) automation, Encompass Corporation, which was established in 2011, transforms regulatory compliance and customer onboarding. Its cutting-edge technology, unparalleled data coverage, and industry expertise assist clients in expanding their businesses and safeguarding themselves against financial crime.

By providing on-demand KYC due diligence powered by intelligent process automation, the Encompass Corporation platform reduces the cost of KYC and speeds up the time to revenue. Leading global banks and financial institutions are among the company’s clients.

Please explain to us how your market expertise has had an impact on your niche.

There is a widespread perception that new anti-money laundering regulations or regulatory penalties for banks will have a negative impact on the financial services sector. It would stand to reason that, in addition to the fine, a bank would face negative consequences if it failed to address regulatory compliance issues. These could include customers closing their accounts or the market selling off shares, which would lower valuations.

Over the course of four years, I was able to complete my doctoral studies in finance and publish my findings. With the introduction of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD), I looked at the stock valuations of European banks over a ten-year period using thousands of data points. I found that the opposite was true—that the valuation of bank stocks actually increased with the regulations.

Banks are able to follow procedures developed within their banks to minimize money laundering because regulations provide banking operations with structure and, when implemented, clarify compliance operations. Investors now feel more confident that banks will comply with the 4AMLD, resulting in increased stock purchases from these banks.

I distributed my discoveries in scholarly diaries, meeting regularly with controllers and bank leaders all around the world to exhibit the outcomes and had the option to impact the financial business by showing that guidelines are, as a matter of fact. beneficial to stock prices.

Give a detailed description of your company’s core values and work environment.

Over the past 12 years, Encompass Corporation has expanded rapidly to include locations in New York, Amsterdam, Belgrade, Singapore, London, Glasgow, and Sydney. From a ‘fire up’ to what is presently a ‘increase,’ the center has forever been to put the representative first. Employees were forced to work from home rather than in traditional offices as a result of the recent pandemic, which undoubtedly put a strain on work-life harmony.

Before the crisis, virtual conferencing and other remote working tools were commonplace, making it easier for technology companies to maintain productivity and maintain a positive outlook on work.

It’s also critical to know why we do what we do. We are not creating widgets or software; rather, we support efforts to combat financial crime. What we produce directly, as a regulatory technology company, makes a difference in locating the “bad guy.” Our solution is needed by banks not only to comply with regulations but also to prevent the proceeds of illegal activities from being used to launder money. All of Encompass Corporation’s employees benefit from and are motivated by the company’s unique contribution to the community. Representatives are additionally given downtime to help beneficent work and different ESG exercises are consistently in play. Since Encompass Corporation is a technology company used to remote offices and employees, each office tries to reflect the company’s ethos. Employees frequently recommend Encompass Corporation as a great place to work.

Technology is unquestionably important in almost every industry. How are you making use of advancements in technology to make your solutions useful?

Innovation is our lifeblood because we are a technology company and want to make sure that our clients get the most out of their investments. We are completely presented to new innovations like Man-made consciousness, AI, Mechanical Interaction Mechanization, Web 3.0 and other state of the art applications.

In the name of improving our solutions’ efficiency and scalability, our Product and Engineering teams conduct market research, attend technology conferences, and create sandbox solutions. Sanctions are increasingly being used to punish individuals and jurisdictions that break the law in today’s world. Banks need to conform to progressively complex standards and guidelines to distinguish the ‘miscreant’ with an ever increasing number of punishments and awful press.

Envelop Enterprise’ center is to make the perplexing demonstration of outlining corporate designs and extreme valuable proprietors more predictable, dependable and versatile, all while making it cost-proficient. The introduction of cloud technologies and “Software-as-a-Service” has made it possible for banks to sign up for a license to use the platform, which allows for the continuous addition of new features without the need for costly software upgrades.

Clients can change how they comply with policies and turn features “on and off” as needed without having to change the code (a new development called low code applications). It is now simpler to connect to various applications thanks to the introduction of “Application Programming Interfaces” (APIs).

However, what matters most is ensuring that these new technologies result in efficiencies that benefit Operations and Compliance Officers. Success depends on more than just new technologies; it also depends on how these new technologies are put into use.

If given the chance, what kind of change would you like to see in your sector?

Recognize that the Compliance and Operations teams will actually benefit from technology solutions. Interior organization idleness and an absence of financial plan frequently keep banks from putting resources into new innovations.

As a proponent of these solutions, I have witnessed instances in which technology has failed, not due to the technology itself but rather to the politics surrounding its implementation. Staff members who are already employed are unwilling to adapt. Using technology, processes that used to take hours can now be completed in minutes.

What do you think could be the next significant shift in your industry? How is your business preparing to participate in that shift?

The subsequent emerging technologies that have the potential to have a significant impact are artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP). The mountain of data banks must process to find relevant matches, like finding a “needle in a haystack,” is the challenge they face.

These new technologies can be used to identify financial crime by analyzing large amounts of data, such as transaction records and customer information, to identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate illicit activity because there is simply too much data out there.

In order to identify specific forms of money laundering, models can be created and trained using data from previous financial crimes. Financial data patterns can be identified with statistical analysis. Similar transactions can be grouped together using clustering algorithms based on a variety of characteristics, and the clusters that are most likely associated with illegal activity can then be identified.

Regular language devices can be utilized to create language clarifications of its discoveries, making it more straightforward for consistency workplaces to comprehend and follow up on the outcomes.

APIs are still being improved, making it easier and more scalable to integrate data across multiple platforms. We as a company will keep an eye on these new technologies and use what we think will be useful.

What are your long-term objectives for your business and where do you see yourself in the future?

I’ve always believed that technology solutions are essential to increasing productivity, particularly in the financial sector. I have always tried to implement this in all of my roles.

We will continue to collaborate with both our clients and strategic partners to develop relevant ecosystem-enhancing solutions. Regarding my own aspirations, I will continue to engage in academic pursuits by conducting research, teaching, and imparting my experiences to students.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter your industry?

Trends in technology come and go; There will always be new fads. It is essential to at least be aware of these trends and to investigate what you believe will have an impact. Be ready for misses, which will always occur.

Two out of every ten investments made by venture capitalists bear fruit. Failure is a chance to keep getting better. There will be chances to succeed over the long term. The key is perseverance and a positive attitude.