Rita Pang
Jump to:
I’m from Singapore and had moved to Sydney about 2 years ago to join my husband here. Before this, I had a pretty long career as an Investment Bank Operations professional, and had worked in both the Singapore and Tokyo offices. I was lucky enough to join a firm that highly encouraged internal mobility, so I had a lot of exposure working in different team functions—be it in client services, trade clearing, or project management—and also working with many talented people.
What do you do for work?
I decided to do a mid-career switch into doing Full Stack Development when I came to Sydney. After all, life is too short to be stuck doing one thing or doing something you no longer find joy in! Right now, I’m enjoying every moment being a Junior Full Stack Developer at a great start-up called HolonIQ that focuses on data and market intelligence. Great culture, lovely people, and I’m extremely lucky to have a brilliant Senior Developer to learn from. I plan to absorb and apply as much as I can!
Team update: Rita is now a full stack developer at Lendi.
What do you do outside work?
I have a little adorable Chihuahua who has followed me all the way from Japan to Singapore, and now Sydney. When we’re free, we bring her out for runs at the park, or bike rides where she can safely enjoy all the sights and scents with the wind in her fur. Otherwise, I do yoga, I read (more fiction than anything), I (used to) travel a lot, and I watch my favourite TV shows such as the all-time favourite F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Most times I’m simply up for fun—escape rooms, a picnic in the park, or even a game of badminton—anytime!
Toughest work moment?
So many to choose from, but a memorable one would be experiencing the 3.11 Tohoku Earthquake in the middle of a difficult project migration, where we were already fire-fighting every day in order to meet our client requirements. This was adrenaline on top of more adrenaline, and we were, quite literally, in survival mode for a few weeks until everything got sorted and the aftershocks had finally subsided.
Most rewarding work moment?
Due to the ever-evolving regulatory requirements in the financial industry, we had to run a multi-year project where trades had to be compressed to reduce the capital requirements by the regulator i.e. the more we compress, the smaller amount of capital we’d have to put aside as a bank as safeguard, therefore the bigger the amount of capital that can actually be used for investments. Global team effort; tons of late-night calls; major coordination amongst Operations, Traders, Technology teams, external Third Party Providers and external counterparties—we managed to compress USD 1 trillion worth of capital requirement reduction that first year. We even won the Global Operations Excellence Award!
Your one-sentence work-related advice:
Whatever you encounter at work—good or bad—is an opportunity for you to make it a tool in your career toolbox.
Connect with Rita on LinkedIn.
