Alumni Spotlight: McCarthy on Careers in Global Finance
As an undergraduate student at Boston University, Andrew McCarthy (Pardee ’06) always knew that international experience and practice were very important to him and that he didn’t want to immediately conclude his academic studies in international relations upon graduation from the Pardee School.
“Rather than enter the workforce immediately after graduation in 2006, I instead went on to graduate school to continue my International Relations studies and also grow my knowledge of international finance,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy, who is a member of the Pardee School Dean’s Advisory Board, went to The New School in New York City after graduation from the Pardee School and received a joint MA/MS in International Affairs and Global Finance.
“Something I learned very early on at Pardee was the importance of international economics and finance when trying to understand and navigate ‘international relations’ – you cannot divorce the two, and the importance of this lesson has remained true every day since graduation,” McCarthy said.
Following graduation from his masters program, McCarthy was offered a position with the United States Department of Defense to serve as an Economic Advisor, where he worked with the military and intelligence community on counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, and counterintelligence initiatives, with a focus on the finance-economic-security nexus.
“Frankly, this work could not have been more fascinating, and it was made even more enjoyable because I was given the opportunity to work with such patriots,” McCarthy said.
It was in this role that McCarthy first came into contact with Deloitte, his current employer. Through his interactions working with industry SMEs and a number of other consulting firms, McCarthy said he learned a great deal about the commercial nature of some of the threats facing our country, our allies, and the global financial system as a whole. After several years working in government, McCarthy decided to join Deloitte.
“The reason for the move was simple – I wanted to learn more about the commercial nature of these threats and also help the private sector — particularly banks — better detect and combat the threats posed by adversarial governments, criminal syndicates, and other financial crime actors,” McCarthy said. “So, I joined Deloitte’s global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Sanctions consulting practice, based first in Washington DC and later in Singapore, where I currently live with my wife and three children.”
McCarthy moved from Washington DC to Singapore about five years ago when he was asked to help build Deloitte’s AML practice in Southeast Asia.
“Like most other Pardee students and alums, international practice is very important, so this was frankly a very easy decision to move to Asia,” McCarthy said.
As a Director with Deloitte in Singapore, McCarthy manages a team of about 50 consultants in support of various AML consulting projects across the Asia Pacific region. He works on projects that involve either an assessment, design or implementation of financial crime compliance programmes for banks. McCarthy also often is engaged by banks or governments to perform sensitive investigations into the transactional activities of their customers to determine whether any money laundering, sanctions, or tax evasion activities have been overlooked.
“I am fortunate to have been given opportunities to lead sensitive projects for banks and governments across the globe, in countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, India, UAE, UK, Germany, the US, and even Afghanistan,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said his time at the Pardee School helped to prepare him for his career in international finance, and specifically for the work he does now in Asia.
“In short, my Pardee education afforded remarkable intellectual conditioning. From politics to philosophy to economics, the Pardee curriculum is designed to arm its students with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful,” McCarthy said. “For me, learning from experts about the history and ‘political upbringing’ of countries like China, India, Pakistan, and Japan was not only interesting but also extremely helpful (even to this day) for my career in Asia.”
According to McCarthy, the curriculum focusing on Asia at the Pardee School helped cultivate his interest in the region from both a political and economic perspective.
“At the time of my matriculation to BU, I was already interested in Asia. But, my fascination with Asia was further fueled by my Pardee education. Specifically, Joe Fewsmith, Bill Grimes, and Hussain Haqqani really helped intensify and further hone my interest in Asia, from both a political and economic perspective,” McCarthy said. “Moreover, my regional interest was complemented by the terrific security and intelligence courses taught by the late Art Hulnick. I loved every second of my Pardee education.”
McCarthy said his advice to current Pardee School students who are interested in pursuing careers in consulting or international finance is twofold.
“For those who already know they would like to pursue a career in consulting, what will differentiate you from your competition and carry you a long way –besides working hard — is humor and being able to find the joy in what you do,” McCarthy said. “Work is, after all, a four letter word. So, it is important to have fun with your job and your teams.”
Offering advice to students who aren’t sure what kind of career they want to pursue after graduation, McCarthy said it’s important to explore as many opportunities as possible while at Boston University.
“For those who don’t know what you want to do yet, I say this — that’s totally fine! Take advantage of this – take astronomy, learn Mandarin, travel up the Amazon. Explore and learn,” McCarthy said. “For many, including me, college afforded the best opportunity to learn and explore the world. That’s my advice — find your place, find your intellectual passion, and always focus on learning and being curious. Life has a really funny way of figuring out the rest. But once you know what you want to do or where you want to go, dedicate yourself to it. In my experience, successful people are workers. Smarts are great, but they mean squat unless you work harder than everyone else around you.”