An avid crafter and artist at heart, Anne-Sophie Brun, a Senior Compliance Officer in Training and Awareness, has a passion for the craft of Compliance, thanks to the Forward Graduate Programme. To the untrained eye, it would first appear that creativity and compliance stand in stark contrast to one another, yet Anne-Sophie claims that, “creativity in Compliance fits in more places than you think”. In fact, she believes that it is her creative side that led her to Compliance.

Anne-Sophie’s professional progression exhibits a collage of interesting facets. She commenced her tertiary education in Mauritius, illustrating that - despite her profound interest in art - the proverbial ‘apple’ does not fall far from the tree, as she pursued and completed a degree in Accounting and Finance. Thereafter, her creative interests led her away from the ‘colourless’ field of traditional accounting as she continued her studies to specialise in Forensic Accountancy at Sheffield in England.

With her studies completed, Anne-Sophie began her career in the field of investigation in the legal industry followed by a stint in the offshore sector in the world of banking and financial services when she joined the Deutsche Bank. “I knew that I would have to join the banking sector at some point in order to become a fully-fledged professional in my field,” this led Anne-Sophie to join MCB’s Forward Graduate Programme in 2017. “I believed that this was the right way to join the bank, instead of having to start right from the beginning, it provided a quick catch-up through exposure into various areas of banking and comprehensive insights into how the bank operates.”

The Programme provided Anne-Sophie with hands-on experience as graduates were more than interns, they got to do the job in different placements throughout the bank. Anne-Sophie’s first placement was in Retail, and this provided her with exposure to banking fundamentals. Thereafter she was placed at MCB Consulting (Business Intelligence), followed by her third and final placement, in Permanent Control - Operational Risk, Information Risk and Compliance. It is this placement which served to shape the future of Anne-Sophie’s career, “I discovered the world of Compliance and I felt that it was where I wanted to be, the Programme has led me to develop a passion for my job today.”

Anne-Sophie is a perfect picture of an individual who has gleaned a broad range of benefits from the Programme, in particular the networking opportunities and skills-set she still relies on. “To be successful as a Compliance Officer, you must be able to think like other stakeholders in the banking ecosystem and have other perspectives.” The Forward Graduate Programme afforded her this. She describes the Programme as a ‘fast-tracked internship’ which challenged her to adapt quickly and provided her with an edge that shaped the success of her career. “Now five years down the line, I’m glad I took the risk, I don’t have any regrets.”

The future is certainly colourful for MCB’s creative Senior Compliance Officer, as she plans to delve further into the art of investigation and compliance.