Diana Caba
Walk us through your career path in ING.
I wanted to work in the risk department since I started reading about the Barings and LTCM bankruptcy cases in the late `90s. Operational risk in the financial-banking system was then a new concept, recently documented and regulated. I avidly read everything that was posted over time on the internal platform about operational risk, even if at that time I was working in a completely different department.
I joined the ING Bank Romania team 14 years ago and I worked for many years in Operations for the branch network. The experience here helped me gain knowledge about the organization, processes, IT systems and customers. All this prepared me to understand the operational risk from the perspective of the bank's first line of defense.
Expressing my desire to work in the operational risk department, four years ago I had the chance to work for three months, in a short-term assignment, in this department. I met here real professionals and a dynamic team from which I learned a lot about this profession. The activity of operational risk management from the second line of defense of the bank was for me, from the first day, my professional passion transposed into daily activity. So, three months quickly turned into more than four years, during which I grew professionally every year, from analyst to expert.
How`s Life @ ING? (especially from a learning experience point of view)
The first international project in which I was involved was a pilot program related to outsourcing of some activities for the management of the internal operational risk database. I worked with colleagues from the Netherlands, Australia and the Philippines, and my experience enriched me professionally and personally. I learned that a global application can have different manual processes behind it in each entity, adapted to the specifics of the activity in that entity, and generalization and standardization can become a challenge. I met creative and open people, eager to constantly improve what we use in our daily activities, with whom we stayed in touch even after the completion of the project.
How would you explain your role as a Sr. Information Risk Officer to a 7-year-old?
magine a tree with the most beautiful fruits at the top of it and where they are more exposed to the sun. To reach them, you must be much more careful not to fall, not to break the branches or to unbalance the ladder you use. My role is to help my colleagues who want to reach these fruits and pick them safely. I make sure that only my experienced colleagues venture to the top of the tree, that the ladder I use is a solid one, and that the path I walk through the branches is a safe one, based only on the branches of the tree that prove to be stronger.
If you were to recommend ING to a friend, what would you say about the organisation?
ING is an innovative organization that supports professional and personal development, it is an environment that offers many opportunities to grow.
If you were to save the world with an app…
Feed your_neighbour, an app that directs you to the nearest shelter for people in need, families in difficult situations, orphanages or old people's homes that need your help to feed. Thus, the excess of unaltered food can be transported to the nearest center in this category. Ensuring basic needs, including food, is the first step to develop as a balanced and creative society that respects the environment. Annually, globally, a third of food is lost or wasted, this waste being responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in the proportion of 5% to 10%.
Let’s say you wrote your first SF book. What would you call it?
"AlterEgo's Tales from the Pink Worm Universe" - a collection of funny stories about how I met my self from a parallel universe. AlterEgo is a storyteller on the first planet to the right of the Great Rose wormhole exit.
How is work from home for you during this period?
I adapted very easily to the new way of working, because even before the isolation period, I worked at least once a week from home. What I lack, however, is the energy created from working face to face with the team. What did I get back? The three hours I spent daily in traffic in Bucharest.