BANKER’S STORY

Ahmed backs restaurateur Eduardo Azores, national winner of the 2019 Citi Microentrepreneur Awards (left); and frontliners at Citibank’s Makati branch serve customers with social distancing and other safety protocols in place.

or approximately 36,000 individuals, in the communities most affected by the pandemic.

Citi also enabled qualified Citi credit cardholders to use their rewards points and donate its peso equivalent to either World Vision or the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation to aid the country’s medical frontliners and families affected by the quarantine.

Guiding him and his team throughout these daunting times, Ahmed highlights the indispensable “Five C’s” tenets: commitment, where “incredible perseverance” has been displayed despite uncertainty and stress; coordination and collaboration, which was “imperative between the teams from day one; caring, involving “focus on safety, mental wellness and ongoing communication with staff to reduce anxiety levels; and client-centricity, which sees uninterrupted service and a strong and empathetic desire to address customer needs.”

The challenges and stimulation of an expatriate

life have always co-existed with raising a family — a situation Ahmad and his wife Tazeen have been well aware of with their three adult daughters.

“While the intent was there to maintain a worklife balance, the reality, however, was that it is not always maintained,” he says. “When my daughters were young, the pressure and motivation to maintain a work-life balance was greater, and it required a tremendous amount of juggling of priorities. The life learning on this front is that family time spent together should always be done on a quality basis.”

Some of the couple’s tips for bonding include taking long weekend holidays together; shutting off all devices when eating out so that the focus is strictly on enjoying each other’s company; ensuring that everyone is present and accountable when there is a family need; and making time to remain connected with each other on FaceTime.

Travel, they say, is the best classroom. And Ahmed of Citi is one of its most receptive students.