A fast-moving career in banking and finance has so far taken Sanjeev Chatrath from his starting point of New Delhi to Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, and in the process it has given him the archetypal attributes and values of a modern international executive.

“The default response is ‘Asia’ when someone asks where home is,” says the managing director, Asia-Pacific and Japan, for the financial and risk division at Thomson Reuters. “I go back to India every year for business reasons and to see family, but in many ways, I’m a global citizen.”

That perspective definitely helps in tackling the challenges that come with providing tools and data for the financial world and doing so with calm authority.

“I have a position of influence in the organisation and a role to play,” he says. “But I don’t see myself as a typical boss. I’m one of a team where performance depends on different people all playing their part.”

Chatrath was born into a middle-class family; his parents worked for Britannia, a well-known manufacturer of bread and confectionery, with his father in sales and his mother a supervisor on the factory floor.

At a time when working mums were still a rarity, she proved a particular inspiration, rising at 5am to prepare breakfast and do household chores before commuting to work and returning late.

Witnessing that gradually impressed on Chatrath the importance of hard work, personal strength, independence of outlook, and taking responsibility in order to help others and lead a more fulfilling life.

“My mother was extremely strong in a very male-dominated world; she has always been one of my heroes.”

After secondary school, he opted for a degree in chemistry at the prestigious St Stephen’s College in New Delhi, but while there also found time to learn a number of computer languages for basic operating systems. Though inspired initially by simple curiosity, this served to make his approach to problem solving more fact-based and logical.

Sensing, however, that finance and marketing offered the best long-term career prospects, he went straight on to a two-year MBA at the highly regarded Institute of Management.

“Up to graduation, I was still unsure what to do. I had a number of interests – maths, economics, flying - and even got a student pilot licence. Later on too, various moves were not really orchestrated or by designI think opportunities come if you have your eyes open, and I was ready to step up, perform, take more responsibility, and be true to myself.”

After sifting through offers, he started with Standard Chartered in Mumbai in the mid-1990s. Assigned to a newly formed section handling cash management, the job involved regular 17- to 18-hour days, but was also quite entrepreneurial. In due course, it entailed negotiating with vendors, training salespeople, and figuring out how to meet evolving customer requirements.

“It was very fundamental in terms of banking knowledge, but also extremely satisfying,” Chatrath says. “I came to realise that if you start with operations and product management roles, you are a lot more comfortable later when you face customers because you really understand the technicalities.”

Next came a predominantly sales position in New Delhi, which was followed by a big move to Dubai. There, the essential task was once again setting up new operations, this time covering the Middle East and South Asia. Over more than three years, the cycle moved from market research and hiring to getting customers on board and hitting ambitious growth targets. And Standard Chartered’s acquisition of Grindlays then presented a chance to be part of the integration process and the redesign of back-office functions.

“It seems I created a positive impression and built a reputation as someone willing and able to help on extra projects without dropping the ball on my primary responsibilities,” Chatrath says.

That ability led to a role developing the regional payments business from a base in Singapore until a desire for new challenges prompted moves first to ABN Amro and then to Citi. The latter meant focusing on treasury management and trade finance, putting together often complex deals for multinationals within Asia.

“Over the years, banking provided the opportunity to work with a wide cross-section of customers and industries,” Chatrath says. “But four years ago, when Thomson Reuters asked me to elevate the role of Asia within their global business, I could see the breadth of their product and solutions and understood the journey the firm is on.”

That means not just driving growth by providing intelligent information for financial institutions, greater connectivity between markets, and open platforms which help to spur fintech innovation. It also extends to active support for important social causes such as ending human trafficking and hosting an anti-slavery summit in Hong Kong.

“The soul of the organisation is truly committed to making the world a better place,” he says. “And it provides opportunities for individuals to pursue any passions they have in this respect.”

Chatrath is a particular champion of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and increasing the percentage of women holding senior corporate positions.

“We still have some way to go in Hong Kong,” he says. “It would be silly to assume I know it all, but I believe you’ve got to create a culture which can be passed to future generations.”

Like his two sons, he is a keen sports fan and, at work, will often use sporting examples and analogies to illustrate points about effective teamwork and inclusion.

“As a way to relax, I’ve started to cook a meal for the family each weekend,” he says. “I pick a recipe and go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients. It’s something I really look forward to.”

This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Global citizen.