EQ India: From Global India Captive to Global Competency Center

Fortune India Exchange in conversation with Anand Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, EQ India.

1. How do you see the company evolving over the next 5-10 years, and what role do you see it playing in the broader fintech industry?

Equiniti India has been evolving from a Global India Captive to a Global Competency Center over the past few years. In the next 5-10 years, we plan to leverage our expertise in technology and build smart solutions that enable us to deliver best-in-class services to our customers in increasingly complex and regulated markets. We will focus on digitization and building new capabilities that drive digital transformation for EQ Group.

2. As the MD of Equiniti India, what are your long-term goals for the company, and how do you plan to achieve them?

Our long-term goals are to focus on employee excellence and contribute significantly to the EQ Group beyond labor arbitrage. We aim to deliver competencies, manage processes, drive efficiency, and innovation, rather than being just a support center. Our first KPI is to measure EQ India's contribution to the EQ Group. We are committed to creating a work environment that fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration. By focusing on employee excellence, we will continue to grow and contribute to the broader success of EQ Group.

3. How do you plan to leverage the strengths of the Indian fintech ecosystem to drive the growth of Equiniti India, and what role do you see Equiniti India playing in the broader development of EQ Group?

At Equiniti India, we plan to leverage the strengths of the Indian fintech ecosystem to drive growth by investing in technology talent, building cutting-edge solutions, and promoting a culture of innovation. We see Equiniti India playing a significant role in the broader development of EQ Group by delivering world-class financial solutions in the area of shareholder management. .

4. Equiniti India provides a range of services to its clients in the UK and the US. Can you provide us with specific examples of the services you offer and how they differentiate your company from your competitors?

We provide a range of shareholder management and financial asset management services to 37 million people globally. What sets us apart from our competitors is that we have built our own technology platforms such as Sirius, Xanite, and Compendia. Sirius, in particular, is a fast, scalable, and robust platform that can manage the large volumes of data of EQ's FTSE100 clients, making it unparalleled in the market today.

5. Can you explain in detail how Equiniti India fits into the broader business strategy?

Equiniti India plays a pivotal role in Equiniti's business strategy as it provides in-house support for technology, core business operations, and finance functions to teams in the UK. With 25% of the company and employees based in India, it has become a technology and operations hub for EQ Group. As a Competency Center  to the largest share management company in the UK and second largest in the US, EQ India has grown significantly in recent years. To continue this growth, we focus on talent acquisition, innovation, and operational excellence.

6. Can you elaborate on how the company has evolved over the years, and how you have dealt with any significant challenges that have arisen during that time?

Equiniti India has come a long way since its inception in 2014. Initially, we brought outsourced Tech and Operations in-house to Equiniti India. Over time, the company has broadened its business operations to include registration, employee services, HR & payroll services, investment services, and customer experience center. Equiniti India has also set up a global PMO and a finance shared services team. In 2018, the company expanded its operations to Bangalore and ventured into the US market with operations in Bengaluru and Chennai. In 2022, Equiniti India introduced services to AST in the US, and its employee strength grew to 25% of EQ’s global employee population. Despite facing significant challenges due to COVID, the company has been proactive in adapting to the changing business environment and adopting the latest technologies to stay ahead of the curve. Equiniti India is committed to providing high-quality services to clients and maintaining its position as a trusted industry leader.

7. Employee engagement and satisfaction are critical to the success of any company. Can you provide specific examples of the initiatives that Equiniti India has implemented to ensure that its employees are engaged, motivated, and satisfied?

As a hub of exceptional talent, we understand that employee engagement and satisfaction are important to our success. Therefore, we have implemented various measures to ensure that our employees remain engaged, motivated, and content. Our use of the Peakon platform is one such measure, which collects confidential feedback from our employees and translates it into actionable insights for our management team. Additionally, we prioritize the well-being of our employees by providing them with a mental health support program in addition to all our other people-friendly policies, while our rewards and recognition program keeps them incentivized and driven. These initiatives reflect our unwavering commitment to fostering a workplace culture that places a premium on our employees and values their well-being.

8. Can you provide details on how Equiniti India ensures the security of its clients, data, and transactions; including any measures you have implemented to combat cyber security threats?

At EQ India, we take data protection very seriously. We have implemented robust information security frameworks to ensure that our Clients’ data is protected at every step of the way. Our cybersecurity framework follows the key aspects of the NIST model, which emphasizes Protect, Detect, and Respond strategies, and is aligned with the globally recognized ISO27001/2 standards. We use the best of technologies to ensure our end-user devices are well protected to prevent any mishandling of data. We strictly abide by the UK GDPR norms in India and we don’t store any Client data in India. We are confident in the strength of our cybersecurity measures and are committed to continuously improving and updating them to stay ahead of emerging threats.

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