Ali Scoops Top Aussie Westpac Award And Never Forgets Humble Start In Ba

No matter how successful a man may become, he must never forget his humble beginnings.

That is the mantra that Nazeem Ali, 44, has lived by ever since he moved to Australia at the age of 14.

Mr Ali, who is now a multi-brand manager of the Westpac Group and St George Bank in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales was awarded the Westpac Group National Manager of the Year in November this year.

Despite being recognised for his exceptional leadership in the banking industry in Australia, Mr Ali stays rooted to his humble nature which he attributes to his humble beginnings growing up in rural Ba.

Mr Ali moved to Australia with his mother and five sisters after his father’s untimely demise in 1991.

Early life

Born and bred in Ba, Mr Ali described his childhood as one with many difficulties.

He lost his father at a very young age in 1987 leaving behind his mom and six siblings.

“When dad passed away, mom had decided to make a better future for the kids and move to Australia,” Mr Ali said.

“Some of my siblings lived with one uncle and some other kids lived with my other uncle.

“It was difficult moving to Australia because it was a very different environment, different culture moving from Ba to Australia it took time to adjust and blend in with the community.”

Mr Ali said from not having much to achieving what they were all able to achieve was a blessing.

“I am very proud of my humble beginnings, something that I will never forget and will always cherish,” he said.

“When I finished school the first thing I wanted to do was to support my mom because she was a single mom.

“My first job was in McDonalds before joining the banking industry, I have been part of the banking industry for the past 21 years.”

He joined the Commonwealth Bank in 2000 and then 11 years ago moved to Westpac.

“I started as a teller and worked my way up. I started with Westpac in 2010 and I moved to St George in 2015,” he said.

“So Westpac now owns St George and earlier this year we had the opportunity to have a manager that manages both sides, that is Westpac and St George and I was blessed enough to be one of the first ones in Australia to do that.”

Award

He was awarded the Westpac Group National Manager of the Year Award on November 12.

This award is given to the best performing manager of the Westpac Group in Australia, assessed on values, behaviours and business outcomes.

“There are a number of banks that the Westpac group owns including St George, Bank of Melbourne all managers from these banks are assessed and I was blessed to be chosen as a top performing manager,” Mr Ali said.

“They look at the regional banks, State and they look at the whole of Australia, which is all of the Westpac branches in Australia.”

What do you enjoy about your job?

Mr Ali said the best part of his job was helping people.

“You meet and develop so many different people and they come from different types of life stages,” he added.

“Being there for them while they open their first account in the bank, being involved in the process of the first house they want to buy or the first investment that they want to do.”

He said being able to help people was the fulfilling part of being a banker.

“Another best part is being able to develop people, it’s like recruiting someone who has no experience in the banking industry and then developing them into leaders within the bank,” he said.

“When you see them climbing the ranks within the organisation you personally feel proud as a leader because you see your influence in them.”

What your day is like?

Mr Ali said his work has always been bearable with the support of his wife and family who have supported him on a daily basis.

“She does not work so she stays home and takes care of the family side of things so I don’t really worry much about the family side of things because she takes care of the family when I’m busy at work,” he said.

“Whether its long hours, finishing late from work. I am able to do that so that everything runs smoothly.”

Motivation

At work Mr Ali is a manager and at home he is a dad.

For almost 10 years Mr Ali’s only daughter Benazir who is 14, was diagnosed with cancer.

This has been a driving factor that pushes him to do better every day at work and at home with his family.

His wife Shaleen Ali says for him to be able to push through at work with the stress of a sick child was something they admired about him.

“We are so proud of him,” Mrs Ali said.

“There has been some time where he has had to take months and weeks off work to take our daughter to Sydney for treatment and things like that. Something to be proud of.”

She said there would be days where she’d need him because their daughter was very sick at home and he would drop everything at work to get home.

“He is not only the best manager in the bank, he is also the best dad.”

Message

Mr Ali’s message is: “Don’t be let down by what your circumstances are in the present because it is always important to know that the key to a better future is in your hands.

“When we were young, mum would always tell us to be true to ourselves and always think of how we could be better people, she would not limit our potentials and dreams to the situation that we went through when we lost dad but always pushed us to work hard and dream big. That is something that I have lived by.”

Feedback:  inoke.rabonu@fijisun.com.fj