Unlocking opportunity: A focus on risk management careers at Bloomberg

Today’s corporate environment requires businesses to balance the needs of a fast-moving market, an increased reliance on technology, and a constantly evolving regulatory environment. As no business can operate without risk, a strategic and proactive Risk Management program is essential to achieve growth.

Bloomberg’s Chief Risk Office plays a critical role in supporting our global businesses and operations, as well as identifying, managing, and monitoring our exposure as it assists business leads and senior management to make informed business decisions.

A strategic expansion

The Bloomberg Risk team is directly responsible for enterprise and vendor risk management, with a strong focus on information security, data privacy, and operational risk. The team is made up of a diverse array of backgrounds and offers a unique opportunity for collaborative professionals to work at the cutting edge of finance and technology.

Bloomberg’s Risk Advisory and Risk Practices teams, which sit within Enterprise Risk Management, are tasked with support and oversight of a department’s and business unit’s frameworks, policies, and tools. In conducting thematic assessments of both internal and external events, providing challenges to product/function, and measuring and reporting on aggregated risks, the teams have consistent contact with senior leaders and the Management Committee.

“The work we do is anchored in protecting the firm from unwanted or unmanaged risks,” explains Howard Ma, Team Lead for Risk Advisory in New York City. “We ensure that our colleagues running the business and its functions have the necessary tools, technology, and guidance to identify, measure, assess, and mitigate risks to an appropriate level.”

Much of the work these teams perform comes in the form of high-profile projects that require collaboration, innovative thinking, and an ability to hit the ground running. “Because we have our own standards, work requires you to think on your feet and think outside the box,” says Anushree Singh, a Senior Risk Manager in the Risk Practices department. “Having a background in Risk – primarily in the banking sector – equipped me to thrive on projects that require creative problem-solving skills.”

It’s that type of environment that has interested Bloomberg’s Risk professionals in navigating this journey.

“Bloomberg is an organization made up of a wide range of products, each with an enormous level of complexity,” says Srikanth Padmanabhan, Team Lead for Risk Advisory in London. “The average day at Bloomberg is extremely dynamic. There is a huge regulatory focus on operational resilience at the moment, so that takes up a lot of my time, but it makes things exciting.”

“You immediately have the opportunity to exercise a lot of influence,” Padmanabhan continues. “Bloomberg is a flat organization, so it is up to you to be proactive about making interventions, giving advice and getting yourself in front of senior management.”

Singh agrees with her colleagues’ assessments. “Unlike a hierarchical organization, you function as a true leader. You are a leading voice to colleagues and management alike with ample opportunity to ensure the organization collectively stays on track to efficient, always improving processes.”

In addition to internal forces keeping work dynamic, the team also keeps a vigilant eye on external risks. Ma mentions the excitement associated with defining the fundamentals of Bloomberg’s approach to risk in the age of AI stating: “We are thinking about how the risk program will sustainably serve the firm while it navigates and innovates in a rapidly changing environment.”

Ma, Singh, and Padmanabhan agree that embracing the people-centric and future-focused nature of Bloomberg is critical to seeing success, something that makes the prospect of continuing a career at the company compelling.

“Bloomberg wants to push you. You are constantly posed challenges and given opportunities to influence and have significant impact. The career path here is all about engaging across the firm and taking chances to grow professionally.”