Name: Sybil Mulokwa

What made you say “Yes” to Alkami?
When I was interviewing here, the most interesting thing about it was that it was a whole a new industry for me. Before I got here, the discipline of user research didn’t exist. Now, we’ve got a team on it. Another reason is the culture. Smart people work in the building, and  the amount of information they can remember and recall to get the job done always amazes me. We’ve got great clients too. Everything across the board was a check yes for me coming to Alkami.

What can you find at Alkami that you can’t find anywhere else?
First, an awesome founder of a company. Second, the culture and the complexity of the space. If you’re someone that likes to solve problems and look at things with different perspectives, angles and points of views, you can find that here. I like to challenge myself and stretch my thinking at Alkami. There’s such a mix of awesome people and solving tricky problems, and we solve it in different, interesting ways. You’re not gonna find that everywhere.

What are the benefits of Alkami being in the Dallas Region?
I’ve lived here for several years, but I’ve lived all over – Illinois, D.C., and Atlanta. The people here are amazing. I live in Flower Mound, but when I look at what’s here and what’s 30 minutes away, I can go to a great art or cultural event, and it’s not that bad of a commute. Compared to D.C., everything is very accessible and parking here is not an issue – it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but in D.C. it was $25/day for parking to go to work. I appreciate the wide open space that I’m used to now.

What does Alkami do to give back to the community?
We’ve got several programs. We’ve got one working with kids called Bold Idea where we have some kids come in and developers and engineers will teach these kids, which is amazing to see. We participate in the Feed the City program, which isn’t just a 2-3 person thing but a team of 10-15 employees that also bring their families to help making sandwiches or lunch bags for people in need. They do amazing work.

What is the company culture like at Alkami?
It’s a fast environment, but a fun environment – a work hard, play hard kind of place. We’re smart and bold. We make big investments and we value partnerships with our clients, and that’s embodied in the deals we make and customers that we have. There are people who are really savvy and always thinking about what the future looks like, so the company is the same way. We’re not going to be the same company today that we’ll be in two years. When I started almost two years ago, we were all sitting cramped on one floor and now we’re the biggest tenant in the building, and we’re still expanding. We’re constantly building and growing and excelling and thinking about our culture compounds. There’s so many things we value in each employee. We even have a culture ambassador – which shows how important it is to the company and that we believe a strong culture leads to success.

If you could describe Alkami in one word, what would it be?
I’d say innovative – in the way we approach our problems, in the problems we choose to solve, and the way we pull things together and pull them apart. If you look up the word “alchemy,” it’s about taking these elements and turning it into something magnificent, and that’s exactly what we do. We take the talent, the people. the culture, the technology, and mix it up together to end up with a gold standard in digital banking.

Learn more about Alkami >

Name: Tyson Harding

Position: Senior Project Manager

What made you say “Yes” to Alkami?
I had been traveling to Texas for about eight years on and off for different clients, and I fell in love with Texas and the Dallas Region. I explored a couple of different opportunities along the way. When I was contacted by Alkami, there was just a really big, different feeling in environment and culture throughout the entire process, from the initial phone call to every interview and onsite visit. I was able to take a leap with me and my family get to Texas and it felt right at home to be able to come here.

What can you find at Alkami that you can’t find anywhere else?
Besides the daily catered lunches, their investment in employees and what Alkami is trying to accomplish. We’re growing really fast and there are some growing pains, but that also brings a lot of excitement. Everybody here is really excited about coming to work. We all want to work together to try and solve the problems that we have, so if I had to say one thing that Alkami has that you can’t find anywhere else, it’s the care and effort that goes into the everyday life here.

How has Alkami being in the Dallas Region benefitted you and your family?
Alkami gave me the opportunity to move to Texas from northern Utah. My whole family has enjoyed it – just being able to move here and be in a bigger city and the access to so many different things – a lot of different culture things. I’ve enjoyed it from a career and work perspective.

What does Alkami do to give back to the community?
One of my favorite things tat I’ve participated in is the Feed the City program. Once a month, we’ll go over to a restaurant and make sandwiches to feed the homeless. During Christmas, instead of a food drive, we were able to do a school supply drive and donate a bunch of school supplies to the teachers and schools that needed it. We also do a bunch and stay involved in programs that support STEM, like Women Who Code and Bold Idea.

What is the company culture like at Alkami?
Overall, the company culture is very exciting and diverse. You have the opportunity to meet a ton of different people with a ton different backgrounds, which makes it really fun. There’s never a dull moment as far as lack of conversation – you can always learn something new.

If you could describe Alkami in one word, what would it be?
I would say collaborative. Here at Alkami, you can’t succeed unless you collaborate. Everyone here is willing to share knowledge, and there’s a feeling of not being afraid to ask questions because you might have an answer for someone and they might have an answer for you. Everyone realizes the situation – that we’re all in it together regardless of your department, so everyone wants to help. On my key card, there’s a list of “essential compounds” for the company, and “caring and collaboration” is one of them. That’s one of our goals that we focus on, and I’d say that’s one of my favorite ones.

One of the biggest events in the Dallas Region requires a little navigation. Here’s your ultimate guide to everything you need to know before, during, and after (plus some recap videos from previous years).

Videos

Check out our recap videos from last year!

📹 Videos by Jane Martens

Name: Mike Hansen

Position: First Vice President, Market Operations

What made you say “yes” to OCC?

I joined OCC 16 years ago because it was an exciting opportunity to be a part of a new operations facility, in a new city, with a new team, working for an organization that is critical to the stability and integrity of the financial markets. In 2002 we moved our technology and business operations from New York City’s financial district to Keller, Texas in response to the need to geographically diversify our business functions following 9/11. Change is a constant in our industry, so OCC continues to evolve as an organization to meet the needs of exchanges, clearing members and markets participants. One of the best outcomes has been our 2017 move to a brand-new office building in the Cypress Waters area, where we designed fresh and modern work spaces that foster collaboration, team building and a strong connection to our colleagues in our Chicago and Washington D.C. offices.

What can you find at OCC that you can’t find anywhere else?

We are unique. There is no other company like us in the U.S. – OCC is the world’s largest equity derivative clearing organization, and we are a designated Systematically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), as part of the Dodd-Frank legislation. This makes working at OCC a challenge and an opportunity.

What are the benefits to OCC being in the Dallas Region?

One of the greatest benefits to being in the Dallas region is access to a very skilled and diverse workforce. We’re able to hire talented people with varied backgrounds and experiences making OCC a great place to work. Another benefit is that a lot of our partners within the industry have started to expand operations here in Dallas – specifically, Goldman Sachs, TD Ameritrade, and Charles Schwab, so that rising demand for qualified talent is drawing people to the greater Dallas area from across the country, which benefits the entire region.

What does the OCC do to give back to the community?

We’re a proud member of the Dallas Regional Chamber and actively support our colleagues’ participation in its activities, including the DRC’s very popular Annual Women’s Business Conference. We have also hosted Hacker X – the largest invite-only networking & recruiting event for developers which offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to meet with innovative companies like OCC. In addition, we are involved in supporting a local charity.  A dedicated group of colleagues in each office are responsible for organizing charity events to grow our community engagement. In 2018, our 200-person Dallas team raised more than $45,000, setting a record that is a testament to our commitment to making a difference in the communities where we live and work.

If you could describe OCC in one word, what would it be?

There are several words, but if there was just one word, I would look to our mission statement, and the one word I would pull out of that mission statement would be “integrity”. OCC provides effective and efficient clearance, settlement and risk management to the financial markets.  Our exchanges, clearing members, our regulators, and even the public relies upon OCC to perform these tasks with integrity daily.