THE Gen X generation - born between 1960s and early 1980s - saw the birth of technology and the World Wide Web, while the Millennials (born between 1981 and 1997) grew up with technology being very much a part of their daily life.
What happens when you assemble a team of Millennials and put them under the charge of a Gen X leader?
In the case of Jewel Digital Ventures Sdn Bhd (JDV), the team synergy was something which other organisations should strive to emulate.
JDV, comprising a team of 15 staff aged between 30s and 40s, is led by Muzzaffar Othman, who is the chief executive officer of the outfit incorporated in May 2019 to support its parent company Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) in enhancing its service to Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) unit holders.
"Our team builds the apps which enhances a customer's experience in digital financial planning, making wealth management more accessible to the Rakyat. However, if there is a trade off between customer experience and security, there will be no compromise when it comes to security. Our apps are built with security in mind.
"The time has come for all investment and financial institution to embrace and utilise technology to serve their customers. Technology also bridges the gap between financial institutions and the people, to enable a wider reach and seamless connection.
"When you thought you have done and seen it all at age 52, these young blood will come up with new ideas you've not come across before and offer a fresh perspective. So that keeps me learning and growing all the time when I work with my team.
"Millennials like flexibility and the freedom to work when they like. The new generation want to be empowered more than being told what to do. Salary is important to them but it is not their top priority. So I pretty much leave it to them to come up with ideas and carry out the tasks, but I will step in and take the lead when an emergency crops up to see how my experience can contribute," says Muzzafar.
Muzzaffar, who was born in Singapore, spent half his childhood in Malacca and another half in Shah Alam before enrolling in the University of Wisconsin in the United States.
He graduated with a Bachelor in Chemistry in 1992.
So how did a chemistry graduate end up in the world of banking and technology?
Muzzaffar says he has always been interested in technology even though he had majored in chemistry.
In the 1990s when U.S. Robotics launched its 56K modem called the X2 ahead of its competitors, it got him curious about all the new tools and hacks. It was a hobby that became his calling.
In the early years of his career, he was with PWC Consulting for four years and IBM Business Consulting Services (three years) before joining Citibank as the assistant vice president of process re-rngineering (two years).
He then served at Malaysia Airlines as the head of strategic procurement and executive vice president at the managing director office for seven years.
He also helmed the IT and transformation department of Etiqa Insurance and Takaful (four years) before his next appointment as the digital transformation strategist of Maybank which he served for a year.
Muzzaffar is also and has been the chief technology officer of PNB since March 2017.
There are currently 14.5 million ASNB unit holders and Muzzaffar says those who invest in ASNB are indirectly investing in Bursa.
Since the launch of new campaigns such as e-KYC and #JomLabur in September and November respectively, PNB has garnered 71,000 new ASNB unit holders and 5,800 new Target Labur users.
"If you were to go directly to Bursa, you either need to be investment-savvy or you must find the time to study the fundamentals. A majority of my savings is in ASNB. I would say I'm a simple retail guy who invests in various asset classes. I started investing 10 years ago when I was in my 40s, when I started planning for my
retirement.
"I'm not good with technical financial analysis so I leave that to the financial experts," says Muzzaffar.
* The writer was a journalist with The New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of "Once Upon A Time In Bursa".