Who is Caleb Musau and what do you do for the Nairobi Securities Exchange?
Caleb is someone who is still striving to discover himself. To his family he is husband, father, mentor; To his community; he is an employer and contributor for social good and to his employer he is a faithful servant. At the Exchange, I am privileged to lead a team of about 12 talented individuals in Information Technology as well as Operations. This is the team that ensures that the Securities Exchange Market is functional, available and orderly for investors to acquire or dispose financial assets in the form of shares , bonds and the soon to be derivatives. •
What is your typical working day?
My typical working day is a 12+ hour day that begins at 6 a.m. i am not a morning person, I’m an evening person who has no choice but to rise early since I find myself having better command of my day when I begin early rather than when I have to catch up when the day has already begun. My typical working day, involves leading, advising, reviewing, evaluating, strategizing, mentoring, and coordinating.
What is the most challenging thing you have encountered while working at NSE?
NSE is a consistently challenging environment that fully engages your every faculty eliminating boredom. I handle a division that I would refer to as ambidextrous, because on one hand we have to focus on effectively managing the operations of the securities market on a day to day basis (Market Operations) while on the other (Information Technology) we have to gaze forward, explore and prepare for innovations that will define the future of trading at the Exchange. That in itself is challenging enough…a good challenge. The real (bad) challenge comes around the day you decide to go slow and commence your day at 9 a.m and then you get an update that …”there is a hitch with the trading systems”….and we have communicated with MIT…” with the rest of the update passing you in a daze. Now that’s a real challenge because besides worrying about resolving the issue in a timely manner to enable trading, you have to worry about your investors and Regulators. This just exerts a different type of pressure that is not easy to get used to. Thankfully we have managed to minimize such incidents, priding ourselves with an availability of 99.5% in the year 2015, (now you begin to appreciate why I’d rather my day begins at 6 a.m.) •
Something people do not know about you?
Share something interesting about yourself In my next life, I want to be a Chef. Oh Yes. I’m good with my hands and really find pleasure creating things with my hands. I wonder whether this means that am hands on? I’m the type that quickly looks up a recipe and goes on to try it. I also have a short concentration span and get bored easily. Hence i can’t watch a movie from beginning to end.
What talent do you wish you had?
Comedy, drawing laughter out of people naturally and with least effort. I admire people who can do so. I also wish that I was an avid reader.
What inspired you to do what you do?
I perceived working for NSE as offering an opportunity to apply knowledge I had acquired in 13+ years or working in diverse environments and projects. I must also appreciate that it’s been a tremendous learning ground for me especially considering the metamorphosis that NSE has been going through in the last 3 years.
If you were to change jobs, what profession would you get into? Why?
Teaching and mentoring
What would you do if you were a president for a day?
Well, I believe it takes longer than a day to be effective in any domain. But if I was President for a day, I would love to indulge the ordinary citizen and tell them that there is hope and that their vote and the type of leaders they elect make a huge difference in the way the country turns out.
What’s your favourite book?
Being the avid reader that I am not, my most favourite book is one I began but have not completed – the Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Parting shot/ word of wisdom?
There is a reason you go through what you go through in life be it in your working life or social space. Do not take your experiences (or challenges) for granted for they could be preparing you for the great future that lies ahead of you. Sooner rather than later, you may find that your experiences were orchestrated to facilitate your entry into a future that required someone like you.
UPCOMING EVENT
Derivatives, market’s structure,automated trading system (ATS) & how it operates, ETC
