An evangelist for learning and an activist for change in information technology sector, Marcus Rameke is a highly effective, enthusiastic and goal-oriented senior executive and he is currently the Head of Information Technology, Senior Vice President at Nikko Asset Management New Zealand, a position he was appointed to in 2018. With his strong leadership skills and enthusiasm, he is well-equipped to lead the information technology efforts at Nikko Asset Management New Zealand.
Marcus grew up in Drottninghög, a housing project in Helsingborg, which has changed from being a working-class neighborhood to a lower-class housing area and is one of the risk areas in Sweden facing socio-economic challenges. He has faced his fair share of challenges. Resilience was non-negotiable in his family, and thanks to example set by his hardworking mother and father.
Marcus has a diverse background, having worked as a janitor, pastry chef assistant, sales, event organiser, truck driver in Europe, taxi driver, served in a close combat unit in the military before he started his IT journey, he has as well been working as a cowboy in the Australian outback, he has literally taken every single opportunity to improve his skills, earn and progress on to the career he would eventually find himself in.
He is well-travelled, having visited over 80 countries and all seven continents. He enjoys meeting people from different cultures. He met his wife during these adventures, and they now reside in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand) with their two daughters. He climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, dived the Great Blue Hole in Belize, encountered the Big 5 in Africa, had a yarn with a yak while watching the majestic Himalayan views at Mount Everest base camp and played with Penguins in Antarctica. His journey was one of curious grit and optimism; the lessons instilled in him provided a healthy foundation for adapting to change no matter risk.
Asia’s Leading Asset Management Firm
Nikko Asset Management is a significant player in the Asian asset management industry. Despite a common misconception that asset management relates to property management, it actually involves investment management. Nikko Asset Management is a financial services company in the private sector that specialises in investment management. In New Zealand, it operates as a relatively small asset management company.
Nikko Asset Management has traditionally been a wholesale provider to some of the largest institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and charities. These institutions utilise Nikko Asset Management’s expertise in financial markets to manage their investments. Despite their success in serving these large clients, Nikko Asset Management believes that wealth building should be accessible to everyone. To reach retail investors, they have created a direct-to-retail platform with a self-service website called GoalsGetter where individuals can invest in the same funds offered to major institutions.
Excellence in Delivering Work Responsibility
Marcus manages all aspects of IT for Nikko Asset Management New Zealand and aims to transform the business from a traditional IT setup to a modern, secure, flexible, and scalable environment, with a cloud first approach that caters for more mobility and meets global and local business requirements. He has over 20 years of industry experience, is originally from Sweden, has worked in England, and has spent the last 13 years in New Zealand. He is known for developing solutions that have improved efficiency whilst keeping to deadlines and budget, providing evidence of his hard work and dedication to achieving goals.
Marcus is involved in the IT community as both an author and a guest speaker; he holds a wide range of certifications and qualifications.
View over Industry Transformation
Cyber security has changed over the past few decades and accelerated exponentially in the last few years, and in his personal opinion, it can be broken down into three main parts:
- Cyber risk is no longer just an information technology risk; it is a business risk.
- We are no longer securing computers; we are securing communities.
- Sustainability is part of everything we do.
Marcus believes that it’s crucial to highlight that cyber risk is not just an IT issue, but a business risk that requires a comprehensive approach from the entire organisation. To mitigate the organisation’s cyber risk, education should be a primary component of the business strategy. Marcus stresses the importance of having a current and clearly communicated business continuity plan that is reviewed and tested regularly to ensure its effectiveness in disaster scenarios and successful recovery.
“It is paramount that we all work together to get the organisation up to a mature level of security and increase its security profile so that the organisation passes external, independent IT security audits,” Marcus says. This in turn provides confidence to clients that the organisation has adequate and effective controls in place.
According to Marcus, building technology solutions is highly rewarding, but decommissioning them can be equally satisfying. He says, “Transformation is not just about what you put in, but as well what you take out. Less is more is very true in IT as that is reducing your attack surface profile substantially.”
Marcus also believes that most organisations are dependent on technology infrastructure, so ensuring that the right systems are in place not only reduces risk but can have a very tangible impact on productivity.
Path for Emerging Leaders
Marcus’s advice for emerging leaders is to “Be empathetic and try to understand people that are really supporting one another.” He believes that developing that respect and trust with the people that you’re working with is important, making it easier to perhaps inspire them to higher levels.
“You have to keep striving for the best outcomes”
Marcus’s values and beliefs play a significant role in shaping his decisions and guiding his actions. He holds honesty, integrity, compassion, and respect dear to him and uses them as a moral compass when making choices that align with his beliefs and principles. Marcus’s experiences and relationships have also played a significant role in shaping his beliefs and perspectives on life.
Having the courage to take that first step has led him to progress in the right direction and doing things outside his comfort zone has enabled him to grow his career. There’s lot that gets in the way, it’s important to learn to adapt.
Additionally, Marcus emphasises the need for clear role definition and accountability among team members to ensure successful delivery of services and project outcomes. As a leader, he believes in promoting a culture of responsibility and accountability. He asserts, “Understand the roles and responsibilities.” He further adds that as the leader of a regional office within a global organisation, it is critical to not only meet the local business requirements but also to comply with global technology policies and approved technologies. Global projects require global collaboration. It is a challenge to influence across the organisation and ensure innovation and security is always part of the conversation when it comes to meeting the objectives of projects.
Acknowledgement for Exemplary Leadership
Marcus’s views on leadership have developed over time. Initially, he believed that being a hardworking and straight forward communicator was the key to success in the industry. However, he soon realised that people have varying levels of skill and enthusiasm for their work, which is normal. Marcus states, “People are motivated in various ways, and our wiring differs from person to person, and that is why we should show empathy and your leadership style has to be adaptable.”
Marcus has received several accolades for his leadership in the technology industry. He is recognised as one of New Zealand’s Top 50 Technology Leaders, and was awarded the prestigious CIO 50 award for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2021 by CIO New Zealand. In 2019, he was selected as one of the top 150 IT leaders in New Zealand by the CIO Leaders’ Summit. Marcus is also a recognised as a valued executive member of the Forbes Technology Council, the CyberEdBoard Community, and the VigiTrust Global Advisory Board.
