Sabih Behzad, a Sainsbury Management Fellow and Head of Digital Assets and Currencies Transformation at Deutsche Bank, has always had a passion for computers and technology and understanding how they work. His fascination with complex equipment started at a young age and by his teenage years, he was building home computers when most homes did not have computers.
He explained, "I was intrigued by computers and computer science. The first computer that I owned was one that I built myself. I went to fairs, purchased motherboards and memory, and assembled the components. The first couple of builds didn’t exactly go to plan – the smoke being emitted was a tell-tale sign - but I was learning by doing, and that’s what interested me.” Sabih carried this fascination with him as he matured, and with an equally strong passion and talent for mathematics and all things analytical, engineering seemed like the obvious choice of degree.
The next stop on his journey to becoming an engineer was at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (now part of the University of Manchester) where he studied Computer Systems Engineering. This was the mid-nineties, an exciting era to enter the burgeoning world of computing, with technology on the cusp and computing starting to be recognised as a real engineering discipline. Sabih now tells us about his career progression after completing a three-year degree programme combining electrical and electronic engineering, software engineering and mathematics.
Breaking the Mould from the Beginning
After graduating, I took up a paid role as the University’s Student Union President for a specific reason. There is a stereotype that engineers are bookish and do not interface well with people. I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone that would allow me to build the soft skills that I knew were important in the workplace. It was an amazing experience and a great first step in my career. I got so much out of the role, less from a pure engineering perspective, but more from a communication, collaboration and management standpoint.
A year later, I was ready to put myself out there and applied for various graduate roles. A position at Lucent Technologies appealed to me the most. Then a multinational telecoms hardware provider, Lucent Technologies was a pioneer serving a very specialist area, yet it had a long history. The organisation owned Bell Labs, whose background dates back to Alexandra Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.
Lucent Technologies bought a company that specialised in telecoms-related software, an acquisition that created the opportunity to join a multi-billion-dollar business in the relatively small telecoms software products group that had been set up. I joined the division as a Technical Consultant and progressed to become one of the youngest project managers at the company in just four years.
During my time at Lucent, I worked across a diversity of innovations collaborating with a plethora of tier-one telecoms clients. These included major telecom installations, a large-scale software implementation at BT, and pre-pay mobile, known more commonly today as ‘pay-as-you-go’ and a radical, new concept at the time.
After my time at Lucent, I joined Accenture’s Capital Markets team as a Consultant in the Technology Consulting Practice. It was there that I really leveraged my engineering background in financial services, working with major banks and other financial institutions such as UBS. Again, I progressed from Consultant to Manager, which was a major career milestone. By this stage of my career, I was starting to think more broadly about my career – I had my sights set on something a little different for the future.
Getting the Skills to Break into A Front Facing Role in Corporate Finance
After building a strong technical and analytical base through my previous engineering roles, and gaining exposure to financial services at Accenture, I realised my passion lay in people and relationship building. I had developed a keen interest in corporate finance and wanted a front office role within an investment bank, but could I, an engineer, break into this space?
I like nothing more than a challenge so at this point I started thinking seriously about doing an MBA. I didn’t waste any time and began researching different business schools and speaking with their alumni. My role at Accenture and the relationships with my investment bank clients meant that I was in a privileged position. These companies employ people who are alumni of leading international business schools, so I was able to speak with several and from these conversations, I gained a good sense of what different schools offer.
Deciding on which business school to apply to involves so many factors. A key one for me was being based in central London, the heart of the finance sector. I also felt that the business school you attend is where you build your strongest network of contacts and friends – connectivity and future employment are based around the location where you study. For me, the number one school in the UK was LBS from the perspective of academic rigour, learning opportunities, the strength of the alumni base, and the career opportunities after graduation. I felt that if I could hold my own at LBS, I would have the potential to apply for some of the finance-related careers I was interested in.
With my heart set on LBS, I began exploring how to finance my studies, including looking for scholarships and discovered the Sainsbury Management Fellows MBA scholarship. UK industry has such a strong role to play on the world stage and engineers are part of that. I wanted to be a champion for that in whatever way I could, and Sainsbury Management Fellows’ mission resonated so much with me.
I was pleased to see that I was eligible for the scholarship and after going through the application process and interview I was awarded a £30,000 scholarship – it made a huge difference to me both financially and in terms of confidence. It was amazing to know that, through the SMF scholarship, engineers were being recognised as potential business leaders. Lord Sainsbury had thought about the possibilities of combining engineering know-how with management capabilities and the SMF scheme was facilitating the careers of people who could potentially be transformational for the UK economy as a result. So, I was on my way to LBS!
Back to the Classroom with Confidence, Clarity and a New Energy
I felt energised to be in the classroom and quickly became absorbed, focusing on listening to learn so much more. In a day-to-day job, you forget to listen well, especially as you gain experience, and the job becomes second nature. There was much to listen to and learn at LBS, and not just from the lecturers and speakers. The quality and professional diversity of the people at LBS were outstanding if not slightly overwhelming. There were people like me who came from a traditional corporate background through to individuals who had worked for charitable organisations internationally.
By being a better listener, I learned very quickly from different perspectives, each of which was as insightful as the next, and came to realise there is plenty of knowledge to acquire from others. This was one of the biggest lessons for me at business school, especially when listening to people who came at a problem from a completely different angle. They too can have the right answer, which means the right answer can mean many different things.
Academically, I still had a strong interest in finance and became an active member of LBS’ Finance Club. It was here where I learned more about finance away from the books and lectures to gain a broader understanding beyond pure theory. Thanks to my extra-curricular role, I was able to build strong relationships with major financial institutions, arranging conferences for banks and institutions to attend to present to students and help us absorb much more. Getting these events off the ground was helped by the fact that LBS has a fantastic community and a big alumni network, it’s like a brotherhood. When someone asks for your help, you automatically give it! I still do it today.
An Intense Internship and the First Taste of Life Post-MBA
London Business School’s two-year MBA combines education with an internship, and this helped me to break into finance. I was excited at the prospect of working in corporate finance; on mergers, acquisitions and deal-making. I was fortunate to have interviews with several banks for corporate finance positions thanks to LBS’ strong relationships with the sector and my determination to secure a relevant internship.
I was offered an internship with Lehman Brothers in London, which at the time was one of the leading global corporate finance houses. I joined its Industrials Group, an M&A division that specialised in heavy engineering. The internship experience was super intense and incredibly hard work. We were pushed to the limits of our ability in terms of absorbing information and working on real client projects with real deadlines.
The long hours – back then an average day in corporate finance would see us working until midnight or beyond, including on some weekends, as well as attending social and sports activities to build connections and immerse ourselves in the company culture – paid off. I valued learning from and working with highly intelligent people and aspired to get to their level in the future. I was thrilled when Lehman Brothers offered me a full-time position at the end of my MBA.
In one of the first meetings with our client Porsche, I learned that corporate finance comes down to three key things: people skills, a strong level of finance knowledge, and a true understanding of a client’s underlying business. These three things need to come together to make a positive impact. Due to my intern experience within the Industrials Group, I had a deep understanding of both the industrial and engineering processes in a company like Porsche, and a firm grasp of how they work, what they mean, and how they drive issues, problems and challenges from a financing perspective. Beyond financing, the other key role we had was identifying acquisitions for Porsche and I found that having a good appreciation and understanding of core business factors gives you an edge that a pure finance professional may not have.
One Company, Five Very Different Careers
I joined Deutsche Bank about 13 years ago and have been here ever since. It has never felt like I have been in one job or with one employer. I have had a lot of different roles during my time with Deutsche Bank, an unbelievably good experience and countless exciting opportunities.
The move from the UK to India to set up Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Finance Practice was a highlight in my career. Being entrusted with building a business from scratch at a relatively young age was an incredible opportunity. I had not been to India before, and I moved to Mumbai alone until my wife and newborn son could join me.
In India, I was visiting the top engineering schools in the country – some of the best in the world – to recruit the next generation of finance professionals. I was charged with finding talented engineers, recruiting and developing them, and went on to see them enjoy productive and fulfilling careers, which was extremely rewarding. It was also a learning experience for me. The vitality I got from working with young engineers was unparalleled and you can’t help but feed off the energy of living in such a dynamic city like Mumbai.
My next role after opening the business in India was Chief of Staff for Kim Hammonds, then the Group COO of Deutsche Bank – Kim is an engineer through and through. As Chief of Staff, I had numerous responsibilities including defining the overall technology strategy for the bank and establishing performance metrics for the technology and operations groups.
Having that trusted role and proximity to someone so senior, who was driving the engineering agenda of the bank, was another incredible experience. It was quite different to what I was doing in India, which was all about people management. In this role, I was working with a smaller virtual team and the board members, yet the influence and impact of what I was doing were so far-reaching. At that stage, Deutsche Bank was nearly a 100,000-people strong organisation with tech and operations constituting about 40% of the company and being able to influence that was phenomenal.
After that role, I was promoted to Managing Director, which was a landmark in my career.
As MD and Head of Digital Assets and Currencies Transformation at Deutsche Bank, I had come full circle returning to the engineering space. A lot of digital assets and currencies are centred around computer science, engineering and cryptography. I wear my Chartered Engineer status as a badge of honour and see my latest role as an affirmation that I have made the right career choices to leverage my strengths.
An MBA - the Transformative, Broadening Move You Think It Is
Studying an MBA changes how you think, affording the diversity of thought that leads to the best outcomes. The MBA gave me the ability to understand a broad spectrum of content and the tools to feel comfortable in the corporate finance world. The MBA also taught me to hear every voice in the room and take in every data point.
An MBA signals to people that you have those core management disciplines and know-how to apply yourself in different settings. This grounding and the work I did after my MBA equipped me for such a big role in India and subsequent promotions at such a young age.
Of course, an MBA isn't for everyone; not everyone is in a privileged enough position to pursue the qualification full-time. When deciding whether an MBA is right for you, the first question is - 'what are my career aspirations, directions and goals?'
There are many different career paths for engineers. The traditional, qualifications rich route serves the majority of engineers very well in their careers. But if you are looking for a more senior management position, whether that is within an engineering company or an organisation in another industry, and want a well-rounded set of business skills, an MBA should be explored. An MBA gives you the core tools you need to answer the questions, and legitimacy at the most senior seats at the table.
If pursuing an MBA is the next step for you, take the time to understand the differences between the business schools. Their strengths and weaknesses can be wildly different, even though they may seem alike and help you achieve the same qualification.
The SMF Network Still Remains My Source of Inspiration
The SMF network has acted as an inspiration in terms of what can be, and is, achievable. Even years after becoming an SMF, it’s inspiring to understand the stories and journeys of other Fellows. SMF Chirag Shah, whom I have had the pleasure of sitting next to at Sainsbury Management Fellows Annual Dinners, is an excellent example of an SMF who has achieved so much and is a highly active member of the network. His story of entrepreneurship and business development has been a source of inspiration for me and, no doubt, other SMFs.
There are, of course, other SMFs who I have met over the years who have also inspired me and been willing to discuss business issues and challenges. Likewise, when I attend the dinners, I am happy to speak to people and encourage them to look at other career options or think about their next career steps.
If you are a professional engineer considering an MBA as a stepping-stone towards a business leadership career, visit our MBA scholarship application page, and you could be awarded a £50,000 scholarship.