We regularly focus on getting to know more about one of the members of our in-house legal community. This week, we speak to Atik Ahmed, Head of Legal at Marco Polo Network. Marco Polo Network operates a unique blockchain-enabled trade finance platform.
Atik is a member of High Growth. High Growth is our Community group for in-house lawyers in startups and scaleups.
Atik Ahmed’s career background
Before joining Marco Polo Network in 2017, Atik worked in the insurance industry at Unum and Bupa, following his training at Pinsent Masons.
Whilst studying for a degree in Modern History with Economics at the University of Manchester, Atik was a keen student journalist. He was a nominee for the Student Sports Journalist of the Year Award in 2006 by the Guardian newspaper.
A unique talent or hobby?
As a sports enthusiast, Atik enjoys keeping fit. Football is his “first love”. With repeated knee injuries curtailing his ability to play the game, he took up CrossFit after watching a Netflix documentary about it. He enjoys the sports promotion of functional fitness mixed with high intensity cardio.
What was it like moving industries, from insurance to FinTech?
After working in the insurance industry for a few years, Atik was looking for a new challenge. When he took the leap and joined Axiom – an alternative legal provider – he didn’t know exactly which company he would first be assigned to. When he successfully interviewed for a position with Marco Polo Network, he was intrigued by its business proposition. He knew a bit about blockchain, in the context of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But working for a business that fused its platform technology with blockchain was entirely new territory.
“I’d never papered anything around blockchain before. It felt like taking something from the abstract and then creating it in the real world via contracts. The technology was so new, that even my counterparts at in-house companies and law firms were still in the learning phase (and we’re still not that far removed!) All in all, it was quite a steep learning curve, though I’ve always believed challenge is fundamental to growth and ultimately I find working with new tech enjoyable” he says.
The highlight of Atik Ahmed’s in-house legal journey so far
On working in-house generally, Atik says he wouldn’t want it any other way. He loves the commerciality of in-house life. “We intersect most parts of the business. Our world view means we can be influential beyond our roles, and positively affect how our companies see matters like legal / commercial risk”.
For Atik, working for an ALSP was also a highlight. In 2017, when Atik joined Axiom, it surprised him to learn of the “breadth of alternative legal solutions out there in the global market”. He had little idea prior to the move of the scale of disruption that ALSPs were seeking to achieve in the legal market, which has come to fruition in subsequent years.
“I have a lot of respect for lawyers, non-lawyers and ALSPs generally, that are really trying to shift the dial in terms of modern legal thinking and creating efficient legal solutions for in-house legal teams.”
Tips for lawyers looking to work in the FinTech sector and with blockchain technology
- Research is always your best friend (understand businesses, teams, culture etc.). There are plenty of great non-blockchain enabled FinTechs out there.
- If targeting FinTechs that have solutions that work with blockchain technology, gain knowledge of that particular blockchain technology and how it works (i.e. there are differences between public, permissionless blockchains and private, permissioned blockchains, consensus mechanisms etc.).
- As an evolving area, a growth and learning mindset is vital, as blockchain technology itself is constantly iterating.
[Related content: Hear more about Atik’s thoughts on blockchain in his episode on The Crafty Show podcast]
What advice would Atik Ahmed give to his younger self?
Atik’s advice is to try and ‘live in the moment’. His advice to his younger self is there is nothing wrong with orienting towards a ‘North Star’, but ultimately, the foundations for future success and wellbeing lie in the mindsets we adopt today.
“Don’t overthink the future. You never know what tomorrow brings, but every day we can strive to be the best version of ourselves. Although the roads are arduous, the journey always matters more than the destination”.
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