A solid foundation
with modern agile
approach

Poļina Ribakova

Manager of Operational Risk and Compliance team and AML Post-Transaction Monitoring team, as well as Riga Tech site manager at SEB Group business services centre in Riga

Education: Master of Business Administration, University of Latvia and Steinbeis University Berlin
Personal interests: Taking walks by the sea and child development

How long are you with SEB?

I joined two and a half years ago to lead the team which supports different IT systems in Risk & Compliance area. After a while I was given the opportunity to lead also the Reconciliation & Investigation team as well. Now I am responsible for two teams and 19 employees.

Before joining SEB I spent 12 years in another Nordic bank. Initially I started as a credit specialist, then I worked a short while in HR area, and after that I spent nearly 10 years in project management where I dealt with projects focussed on introducing new regulatory requirements in areas such as data protection, financial markets and anti-money laundering.

Your teams have such complex titles. Can you explain in simple terms what their responsibilities are?

Basically, we are IT experts, and our job is to maintain and develop a range of IT systems in different areas of the bank. For instance, AML Post-transaction monitoring team is responsible for supporting and developing our IT systems which ensure the process of AML monitoring in other organizations within SEB group across the globe.

Operational Risk, Regulatory Compliance and Reconciliation team also maintains multiple IT systems, provides user support and develops new functionalities.

What do you like best about your job?

I like working with people and I like to help them develop and grow. I am really proud to see how far many of my colleagues have gone in broadening their knowledge and competencies, and consistently exceeding expectations. It gives me a lot of joy to support them in this journey.

What are the things that give you motivation in your job?

For me, it is very important that the values of my employer match with my own.

I am a firm believer that people are at the heart of everything we do. We have to support them and help them to develop, create an environment which encourages learning, and appreciate their achievements.

I like the opportunities for growth and education that are available to us through Coursera, Campus and other platforms at SEB. Transparent decision-making is also important, and work-life balance matters to me as I have a small child.

I also appreciate the fact that I have very supportive managers in Sweden with whom I can openly discuss all issues and find solutions.

In which areas would you like to develop?

I would like to be more involved in strategic planning of SEB Technology division. I have no doubt that we can expand our services in Latvia and do more, and I can contribute towards making it happen.

In SEB’s Technology division we are doing exciting things and working with interesting projects, and I want to help in building our image as a tech company, not just a bank. I also want to do more to encourage girls to go into IT.

What do like to do outside work?

I like to take walks by the sea because it restores my energy. I may appear as an extrovert on the surface, but I am actually a secret introvert. I need my time alone, I need silence and piece.

If I can’t be near sea, I go for walks in the forest, which is convenient because I live next to a beautiful forest. My passion is child development, which became sort of a hobby after my child was born. I could even give classes on development of baby’s small motor skills, Montessori methodology and many other subjects related to early development of the child.

Kornelijus Pacevičius

Software Developer

When and how did your career in IT start?

My career in IT started when I joined Gediminas Technical University in Vilnius. I was looking for a job from the very beginning. There was a publishing house at the university that hired me as an electronic publishing specialist. Since I had studied software development, I wanted to try my hand in this field, and here I also had the opportunity to work at my university for a while. In autumn 2021, together with friends, we took part in the Hack4Vilnius hackathon organised by Vilnius City Council, which was a great opportunity to share experiences, make new contacts, and exchange ideas. Given the relevance of sustainability, our idea and proposal for the hackathon were to develop an app that “rewards” users for making sustainable choices and decisions. For example, if you use your own cup in a café or buy food without using the packaging, points are collected in the app. You can then use these to choose one of the offers from the programme’s partners. The jury at the hackathon really liked our idea and we were awarded first place. Incidentally, I later used this idea as the basis for my bachelor’s thesis.

What made you decide to study technology specifically?

During my senior year in high school, I decided to pursue a career in technology. I was never really fascinated by other professions. I also realised that engineering was a broad field in which I could specialise or focus on a particular area of interest in the future. This is how it happened - I gradually became interested in software development when I realised that this was something that excited me and that I would like to work with. Today I can say that this was the right approach and the right decision.

And how did you end up at SEB?

At the end of my studies, I applied for an internship programme offered by SEB bank. I applied to several places, but I was particularly happy about the SEB offer because, firstly, it was a paid internship and, secondly, it offered exactly what I was most interested in professionally. To be honest, I knew nothing about banking, so there were a lot of interesting things I learned and experienced during my internship here. In March last year, I started working full-time for SEB as a bank employee.

What can you say about SEB after your first year here?

There is a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere at SEB and the work processes are flexible. Of course, everyone knows what needs to be done and when, but deadlines are never an end in themselves. I have heard this from friends who have done internships in other countries. Another important value is the colleagues and the level of mentorship. The people who do this work are really dedicated and approachable, so it’s easy for new employees to integrate at SEB.

What area are you responsible for as a software developer?

The bank has a large product development area where there are several teams or tribes as we call them. As far as the structure of the teams is concerned, there are business developers, who take care of the business side, and IT developers, who bring new technological solutions to life and ensure their functionality. It should be emphasised that the two sides work as a team and complement each other. Each team is responsible for a specific area. In my case, it is the area of financing and loans, but speaking of my team’s responsibility, it is the area of corporate customers. For example, we are currently working on a system to calculate the amount of capital to be allocated to a customer, considering the financial information submitted and other data about that customer. In fact, it is about assessing customers as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

What would you like to achieve in this job?

Since I have only been here for about a year, I am mainly interested in consolidating my knowledge and experience in software development. I want to understand how the bank’s products are designed so that I can contribute my ideas to improve them. Fortunately, SEB offers a variety of online courses as well as conferences that provide both additional knowledge and a comprehensive insight into the latest global developments in the field. Furthermore, the bank has a good library if you want to study a topic in more depth.

What do you like most about this job?

I like the fact that we are, in a sense, offering people the very latest –  you could even say the future – solutions and opportunities with our banking products. Apart from that, I appreciate the opportunity to make the work of colleagues in the bank easier and more efficient through automation and digitalisation. It is very satisfying to hear that our solutions work. 

What hobbies do you have?

Watching films, and TV series, and sometimes playing computer games. I used to play the guitar. Last but not least, I am passionate about basketball, like all Lithuanians.

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