Meet an ICA member: Robert Dagg

Written by #MeetAnICAMember on Tuesday November 13, 2018

Rob Dagg, FICA

Head of Third Party Assurance, Close Brothers Plc

I’ve worked in financial services for 30 years across a range of roles in front office and support functions, leading sizeable teams with multiple jurisdiction responsibilities. I joined the ICA two years ago as a Fellow after graduating with a Post Graduate Diploma in Governance, Risk & Compliance. I’m also a member of the ICA Technical Advisory Board.

How long have you worked in compliance for? What has changed since you first started to now?

I’ve worked in compliance and risk roles for around 10 years, but oddly never had either in my job title! The main change in particular over the last couple of years has to be the growth of technology. It has brought about both great solutions and yet more challenges to find solutions for.

How did you land your first role; was it chance or a calling?

Not so much a calling, but we found each other! My career has spanned 30 years in financial services. After around 19 years in sales on the front line and leading sales teams, my position evolved into an operations role, as my employer at the time thought we should have someone in charge of it. From there, the team grew to over 80 strong covering all aspects, from AML and fraud to process and risk closure. It was a mixed bag and thoroughly enjoyable. I was hooked.

What do you find enjoyable about your role? What are the challenges?

People are the best bit. My current role allows me the best of all worlds. I spend time with colleagues, but also get time with other organisations of all sizes and really get to understand how they operate. Sharing best practices and seeing relationships grow is always fantastic.
There are daily challenges, but that’s what makes the role interesting. The quest for information from various sources is always going to involve huge amounts of effort. Technology is playing a big part here and removing that challenge.

What attributes do you think are important for a career in compliance?

I’m often asked to explain what I do, but it can be so many things to so many people. So, I often explain my role as a translator. I speak both compliance and risk and translate that into commercially viable and understandable solutions.

This comes from spending years in sales and learning the key commercial drivers of clients and then moving into support functions and understanding how they match. The main attribute I’ve picked up from that, is to treat every day as a day for learning – so be willing to learn.

What advice do you have for fledgling compliance professionals?

Watch, listen, learn. Others will have lots of great views and experiences. Take them all on board, don’t criticise, be constructively challenging, trust your gut and work as a team.

Tell us your best piece of life advice!

Grab opportunity, learn and work with others. Enjoy it, or change it.