Hi! I'm Christophe, I was born and grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, a small country in the Caribbean. From a young age, I developed a passion for technology and finance. The synergy and dynamism which exists between these two industries has been a driving factor for my intrinsic passion.
In high school my education was centred around business and finance, I had a deep interest in economics, with a particular affinity towards macro-economics. I developed an earnest interest in analysing and quantifying human behaviour and the antecedent conditions which guided the decisions made by individuals. I liked numbers however I discovered that numbers made the most sense to me when put in the context of the real world, with something tangible.
At the University of the West Indies (STA), I began my bachelor’s degree, reading for a Banking and Finance Major. It was here that I delved lightly into the branch of Mathematics known as statistics. It was in my second year when I decided to pursue Computer Science as a minor and this was my first introduction to computer programming, first learning this in C++. Very soon into learning how to code, I realised I was not only quite good at it, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was at this juncture that I decided to switch majors and pursue my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Whilst reading for Computer Science I continued to take interest in numbers, data and making sense of all of it. I opted to pursue electives which were heavily geared towards Mathematics, more specifically statistics.
It was in the summer semester after officially switching my Major that I landed my first tech internship. This opportunity was a demonstrable result of my passion for both finance and technology. I interned at one of Trinidad & Tobago’s large banks, First Citizens Bank, within their Group Internal Audit Division. The experience entailed software development and performing data analytics to process financial data, I could not be more apt for the role. It further instilled my fervour for technology and finance and the ways in which the two industries intersect and rely upon each other.
Growing up in the Caribbean has shaped my perspective on the role of finance and the pervasive influence of technology globally. It has broadened my world view, with the idealistic goal of making technology and financial products accessible to all, particularly in underserved and underbanked regions. I see myself as an arbiter for this vision, a future where banking and technology is democratised and accessible to all.