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Sonja Suessenbach, country head of Abu Dhabi at Apex Group: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Sonja Suessenbach (LinkedIn), country head of Abu Dhabi at Apex Group. Edited excerpts from our conversation:
I’m originally German, but I’ve lived almost 18 years in the UAE. I came initially only with this mindset of [staying here for] two years and then it became my home for the last 18 years — 10 years in Dubai, where I met my husband, and now for the last eight years, in Abu Dhabi.
I’m looking after Apex Group’s entire operations in Abu Dhabi, so that includes the strategic vision, looking after financial operations and performance, as well as the business development side. Apex has two licenses here in Abu Dhabi, one under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and another under the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). I’m responsible for both entities.
Every day is different. One thing I need to do everyday is to make sure the team is aware of what the priority is for the day and what we need to deliver. We also have a lot of client business development meetings. At the same time, we need to continue focusing on strategy and forecasts to ensure what we are doing daily is aligned with what we want to achieve in the long run. It’s a very active and busy day, and every day, we meet new clients, especially now as ADGM is growing immensely.
Peter Hughes (LinkedIn) started Apex Group in 2003 with the mission of simplifying things for fund managers — so anything to take away the burden from managers on the administration side. The core business focused on fund administration, but over the years, we added other services, such as corporate services, compliance services, middle office services, offering asset and fund managers a single-source solution that can allow fund managers to focus on their core business. We have really become a financial services solution provider rather than just a fund administrator.
Today, we have a team of more than 14k employees. Here in Abu Dhabi, we have 35 employees, but we are growing even more. In the Middle East, I think we are one of the biggest fund administrators who have local employees, because for us, it’s also important to have contact with our clients locally.
In the finance world, digital transformation and technology are becoming very important, and that also applies to fund administration. We took over a company at the end of last year which allows us to tokenize assets, so we are one of the leading firms in that area. We have heavily invested and continue to invest in technology because fund managers are increasingly requesting very sophisticated reports, and LPs are doing the same.
From a more local perspective, I would say one of the reasons why the ADGM is growing a lot is because the fund framework in the UAE has changed. A lot of international fund managers are now coming here to distribute locally and to set up onshore operations.
Thanks to my husband, I’ve started to go to the gym in the morning. I used to go after work, but for the past 10 years, we’ve been doing gym in the morning, which means, we wake up around 5:45am and then hit the gym, either doing a normal routine or we do a class. Then we get ready, grab a coffee, and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve started reading EnterpriseAM UAE.
I’m usually the first one in the office, I read for 10 or 15 minutes and then plan the day in order to see what is on my agenda, and what is still pending.
I think one constant for me that’s very important is clear communication. I make sure that every day, even if I’m busy, key team members understand what the priority is for the day or for the week and what needs to be delivered so we are aligned going forward.
Since I’m originally German, it’s sort of in my DNA to be very organized. From a very young age, I learned to schedule because I had a lot of hobbies. That’s why the first thing I do at the office is look at the meetings I have scheduled, then organize my tasks according to a schedule.
Professionally, I would say my goal is — since I just recently joined Apex — to help Apex become one of the leading firms well known as a one-source solution, and to become the one company that anyone setting up shop here in the ADGM and wanting to grow their business can choose as their partner.
Personally, my goal is to continue learning constantly. I think it’s important on a personal level to continue learning new hobbies. I just recently started diving, for example, in Egypt, so I want to continue to develop these new hobbies and learn new skills.
I’m still learning how to [maintain a work-life balance,] I’m not yet perfect at that, so I’d say it’s a work in progress. I have two golden retrievers, so they request my attention a lot and I can’t be on my laptop and phone too much — they’re good at that. My dog has even learned how to close my laptop screen [laughs], so I have a good partner to help me balance things.
I do think you always need to learn how to balance and to be active, and to also understand when to stop so you can refresh your mind, like having a walk with your dog or going to the beach. I think this opens your mind up a lot more. Interacting with other people from different industries also helps you look at challenges differently.
The beauty here in the UAE is that you can always have little vacations, especially in Abu Dhabi, where you have these small islands to go over the weekend. My husband is also very much into camping, so when the weather is good here, we like to go camping and switch off.
I love Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, which talks about how to build trust and loyalty within an organization, which I think comes hand in hand with communication.
[My favorite piece of advice] came from my first boss, who told me to lead with empathy. Leadership is not only about making decisions — you also need to have empathy, especially when there’s uncertainty, to understand and approach things in a different way, and to really include different parties and stakeholders in your decision-making to make an informed, balanced decision.
