In this episode, Arta’s Global CEO Caesar Sengupta dives into a timely conversation with Tarun Bhatnagar, President of platform and enterprise products at FIS and former Google executive, to explore how courage, curiosity, and a willingness to take the non-linear path helped shape his life and career.

Tarun reflects on the pivotal moments that defined his journey — from starting as a software engineer, moving into product and then sales roles to leading global teams. He talks about the importance of embracing change, even when it means stepping into the unknown. Guided early by the advice that “Your first 20 years are for gaining experience,” he built his career around exploration, reinvention and lifelong learning.

Beyond that, Tarun shares personal insights on the evolving role of money, family, and purpose in his life, and how true financial wellbeing lies in freedom of time, not solely in the accumulation of wealth, making this episode both relatable and deeply human.

In this episode, Arta’s Global CEO Caesar Sengupta dives into a timely conversation with Max Branzburg on his journey to becoming Head of Consumer Products at Coinbase and his views on cryptocurrency. 

Max opens up about pivotal experiences that shaped his career, including starting out as a 14-year-old entrepreneur on Ebay. His early exploration in coding and product sales eventually landed him at Google as a product manager. But Max wanted to take a professional risk. Taking a pay cut, and ignoring the advice of loved ones, he made the jump from Google to Coinbase. 

Max talks about his journey and perspective - from vision changes he executed at Coinbase, to the products and apps that excite him, to how artificial intelligence will affect crypto. He shares his take on crypto adoption and where it’s headed into the future. He also shares candidly how he manages his own finances and how not having to focus on money in the short term frees him to focus on real long-term impact.

Caesar is joined by Chirag Yagnik, chief investment officer and co-founder of Arta Finance, to discuss how Arta was built and the impact of artificial intelligence on financial investing. 

Chirag takes listeners back to the start of his career when he first encountered machine learning in investing, how he met Caesar at Google and his experience as a startup co-founder. 

Caesar and Chirag explore how AI is transforming the relationship people have with money. At Arta, their goal is to ensure that no two investors have the same portfolio. Chirag explains key terms like large language models, quantitative strategy and tax loss harvesting, and how Arta employs each to personalize the investor experience. 

Chirag digs deep into how AI will enable companies like Arta to democratize financial insights at scale. But applying machine learning in finance creates unique challenges, and Chirag unpacks how he works to overcome them.

In this episode, Arta CEO Caesar Sengupta sits down with Amanda Ong, Arta's newly minted Singapore CEO for a candid conversation on her inspiring journey so far growing Arta’s presence and expansion here in Singapore. Amanda is a powerhouse in the world of wealth management, with extensive experience in scaling businesses across markets and building high-performing teams across multiple countries. 

From her experience in traditional finance to building forward-looking fintech solutions, Amanda has seen it all — bringing a unique dual-lens perspective to building the future of wealth.

As Arta establishes its footprint in Singapore, Amanda explains why Singapore is a critical financial hub — not just regionally, but globally — for Arta’s next phase of growth, and how local leadership plays a key role in the company's long-term strategy.

Given the constantly evolving landscape of the financial industry, Amanda shares how Arta’s innovative AI-powered solutions and offerings makes it well positioned to weather the changing trends and best serve the growing segment of investors at the intersection of retail banking and private banking. 

For Amanda, wealth isn’t just about money—it’s about enabling freedom, security, and opportunity.

Whether you're an investor, fintech enthusiast, or simply curious about Arta’s expansion, you wouldn’t want to miss out on this episode.

Caesar sits down with Tracy Gallagher, head of private markets at Arta Finance, to discuss how she works to demystify private markets and help everyday people invest in them. 

Tracy began her career working for a private endowment, before transitioning to one of the top private banks in the world and finally landing at Arta. As Caesar points out, it’s a career path that mirrors the trend toward democratization in the finance industry. Tracy explains to listeners why that is and how the move toward democratization aligns with private wealth managers wanting to diversify their customer base. 

Tracy gives an overview of private markets and the advantages of investing in them. She addresses some misconceptions about private market investments, including that they are inherently more risky. 

Tracy discusses how working at Arta opened up a new world of financing to her and how her customers span a wide range of backgrounds. She breaks down how technology plays a huge role in democratizing the finance industry. She expounds on how financial services professionals use Arta and the impact of self-service tools on their experience. And she also admits to not being as intentional in the past with her personal finances and wishing she had the tools available at Arta sooner in her investment journey.

Caesar is joined by Madhav Rajan to discuss his journey to becoming dean of the Chicago Booth School of Business and how Madhav has factored the risks and rewards of a career in academia. 

Madhav started out as a faculty member at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, before teaching at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and finally joining the Chicago Booth School of Business as its dean. Madhav shares transparently about the transition from working as a faculty member to serving as a dean, including how he calculated the impact the career leap would have on his family. 

As dean, Madhav said he is the face of the school, driving fundraising, managing alumni relations and more. He breaks down what type of students are drawn to the Chicago Booth School of Business and the newly launched master’s in management and master’s in finance programs. 
 
Madhav also unpacks his experience serving as Director of BlackRock's iShares, Inc. While the position took him by surprise, he came to understand that his role on the board capitalized on his accounting background as he represented investors and measured profitability. Ultimately, Madhav said, being a board member is all about people skills. He now also serves on the boards of CM Capital Corporation and WellBe Holdings. 

Madhav shares his approach to personal finances and how his career intersected with his partner’s career and parenting. He discusses how tenure, faculty housing and diversifying investments all informed his financial planning over the years. As listeners consider the next steps in their professional or academic path, Madhav encourages them to always be learning and have resilience.

Sopnendu Mohanty sits down with Caesar at a turning point in the fintech expert’s career.  Mohanty has served as the chief fintech officer of Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore for almost a decade. But last month, February 2025, he took on a new role focused on expanding global fintech innovation.

Mohanty is now the Group Chief Executive Officer at the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), a non-profit organization launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In this talk, Mohanty breaks down how GFTN plans to generate capital for the purpose of doing public good and boosting tech investments in the “global south.” 

Caesar also dives into Mohanty’s outlook on the overall fintech ecosystem and the future of the Singapore FinTech Festival, the largest FinTech festival in the world, first launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2016. 

For listeners who are considering a career change, Mohanty encourages them not to settle. Instead, “make a drastic change.” He also shares his three-fold framework for life: family, friends and fortitude. Diving into how to build your fortitude, Mohanty reflects back on the start of his journey growing up in a small town in India, and having to fight for every possible opportunity. 

Unpacking his own financial strategy, Mohanty admits that he relies on outside partners to make smart financial decisions for him. While money is not his primary goal, Mohanty recognizes the importance of sound investments in order to generate sufficient income to not only support his lifestyle but also to do good in the world.

In this episode, Arta CEO Caesar Sengupta sits down with Arta's newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer, Melissa-Ann "Mel" Chan, for an insightful conversation on her journey and vision for Arta's marketing strategy.

From their time working together at Google, where they helped launch Google Pay (formerly Tez), to Mel’s decision to join Arta as it embarked on its mission to transform wealth management, she shares her unique perspective on the evolving fintech landscape.

Mel explains how the company’s commitment to innovation and user-centric design sets it apart in the crowded fintech space. She also describes the role AI will play in Arta's future. Mel calls Arta’s approach a "breath of fresh air" in the finance space as she discusses the importance of trust, transparency, and experimentation in building a brand that resonates with members.

Marketing sophisticated financial products within a highly regulated industry is no small feat. Mel opens up about how she’s built and shaped Arta’s marketing team, her approach to educating and inspiring change in how people engage with their finances, and how her personal experiences have shaped her understanding of Arta’s members.

Tune in to hear how Mel and her team are setting the stage for Arta’s future

Caesar sits down with Samir Kaji, founder and CEO of Allocate, to discuss how the greatest generational wealth transfer of all time is revolutionizing the world of venture capital investing. 

Samir explains how hyper personalization and data-driven intelligence are factoring into that revolutionary shift. He breaks down how Allocate offers family offices and individual investors access to highly curated private capital funds and direct investment opportunities in a clearly laid-out portfolio that they can pull up at any given time. Samir also explains why he embraced the entrepreneurial path and launched Allocate after decades in banking in Silicon Valley. 

Wealth creation opportunity is his focus at Allocate. Samir shares how his own family background influences that mission, and the role his father played in developing his business mindset. He advises listeners that startup founders have to be resilient, and that as a founder, you are constantly putting out fires. Leaving First Republic Bank to found Allocate put Samir outside his comfort zone. But he shares the inspiring experience of developing a company he believes in. 

Samir also digs into his personal investing strategies. For Samir, money is about securing flexibility, and he now has his sights set on earning enough money to make an impact. He admits to making mistakes early on, but what he learned now informs his work at Allocate. Samir encourages listeners to cultivate an insatiable curiosity and says he views each and every day as an opportunity to learn more.

Ralph Hamers is a true game-changer in finance. As former CEO of ING and UBS, he’s been a pioneer in digital and mobile banking, witnessing firsthand how technology has reshaped finance—from transformations in trading and retail banking to the latest advancements in AI and wealth management.

In this episode, Ralph shares his unique insights on how tech has revolutionized the financial landscape and where it’s heading next. He discusses leading digital revolutions at two of the world’s largest banks, why AI is set to be the next major disruption in wealth management, and how personalized finance will continue to evolve.

Ralph also reveals what excites him about his new advisory role at Arta Finance and how AI can empower everyday investors to manage their wealth like never before.

Interesting links from this episode

• Follow Ralph on LinkedIn