Introduction
Meet Paul Bascom, Senior Manager of Process Automation at CTFSI. With over a decade of experience in financial services, Paul’s career has taken him on a diverse journey, holding roles in operations, business intelligence, decision modeling, and more. His passion for using technology to improve processes and free people from repetitive tasks is what drives his work at CTFSI.
Professional Path
What was your professional experience prior to coming to work for/with CTFSI?
While I’ve been in financial services for a little over a decade, I’ve taken a circuitous path through the industry with several happy accidents along the way. After studying entrepreneurship and starting a non-profit right out of school, I’ve held roles in Operations (mainly Client Onboarding & AML/KYC), Process Automation, Decision Modeling, Business Intelligence, and CRM Engineering & Product Management. I’ve always sought out roles that allow me to implement new technologies and focus on building innovative solutions to complex problems.
Motivation and Interest
What got you interested in working with CTFSI?
The most engaging part of technology is finding ways to improve people’s lives. I’ve made a career out of automating away the painful, rote, or mundane parts of processes, allowing people to unlock their true potential in applying critical thinking, judgement, and creativity to complex problems. CTFSI is full of people striving to do just that, apply creative techniques and new technologies to improve the way people work.
“The Financial Services industry is often full of complex mixes of new and old systems, changing regulations, and business processes desperate for innovation.”
Current Focus
What is your current focus at CTFSI?
I’ve been splitting my time between operational consulting (teaching, empowering, and facilitating people to improve their own processes and technologies) and development (building automated systems, models, workflows, and applications for core business processes).
Excitement and Engagement
What gets you most excited about CTFSI and the markets we are in?
Getting to experiment with new technologies and finding ways to solve real-world problems. We’re less about the theoretical and more about making sure the rubber hits the road. How can we leverage the amazing tools being developed and implement them to unlock real-world value? That’s an exciting question to work on every day. The Financial Services industry is often full of complex mixes of new and old systems, changing regulations, and business processes desperate for innovation. We get to be at the forefront of that.
What is special about what we are doing or how we are doing it?
This company is full of experienced individuals with a passion for innovation and improvement. We’ve all lived in the trenches and know which problems we wish someone had developed solutions for in the past. Now we get the opportunity to lead the charge. Our focus isn’t inventing technology for the sake of it, but on implementing the exciting new technologies in the market to solve real problems. We have an ideal mix of expertise, experience, innovation, and curiosity which allows us to solve the ‘last-mile-problem.’
Fun Fact – Music Interests
What is your favorite music track from the last 6 months?
Much to the chagrin of my music-loving wife, I don’t really keep up on music trends. I’m content to let the radio play whatever its mysterious algorithm whims, preferably either a classic for some nice nostalgia or something silly and upbeat. For the last couple of months though, there has been one song on constant repeat in our home. My kids have been learning a new hymn, partly because my oldest daughter was selected to sing in a children’s choir of around 300 children aged 8-13 performing for an in-person audience of over 20,000 people while broadcast live on TV and streaming platforms for an international audience estimated to be a few million people this past weekend. (Oct 5, 2024) My wife and I got to be there in person and watching her sing was an unforgettable experience. So for that reason, the song I can’t get out of my head is called “Gethsemane” performed by my daughter and her choir. 🙂
You can watch the recording here via youtube!