A Career Start During 2008 Financial Crisis Proved Invaluable to CEO

Experience during tumultuous time prepared him for surprises and shocks in years ahead

- Sue-Ann Tan

Starting a career in finance right in the middle of a great financial crisis does not sound like the best beginning. But Mr Mahesh Sethuraman, who took the plunge right in the middle of the crisis in 2008, has never looked back. He said those tough times also taught him lessons he still carries with him today.

Mr Sethuraman, 41, who is now the Singapore chief executive of investment platform Saxo, said he had mixed feelings at the time when he started work in sales at a bank.

"To be in the markets while such historic events — albeit adverse — were taking place felt like being part of history books in real time. But at the same time, the upside of a career in finance that I had anticipated was disappearing fast, which was disappointing," he said.

He added that he was young then and "didn't care as much about money as about learning and doing something cool".

"Seeing all the things I had learnt in books come to life was an exciting journey and, personally, I felt fortunate to have started my career during such a tumultuous time, as it prepared me for many such surprises and shocks in the years ahead."

Mr Sethuraman said his personal investment philosophy and his general guidance to others on investing have been heavily shaped by his lived experience of the financial crisis.