Sana Rahman is director of global communications at Wise. She describes how maintaining a youthful, open-minded curiosity can help to pave a fulfilling career path.

From a young age, Sana Rahman has nurtured a curiosity about how the world works. Born in New Delhi, this fascination was stoked by her experiences growing up in various cities and countries: China, for a short time, and then Egypt for three years, before finally settling in Singapore “for a big chunk”. Rahman, who passed her childhood years penning short stories and poems, recalls her time in China especially as being “remarkably vivid.”

“Living in different cities and countries really developed an interest in history in me,” she reflects fondly. “I think this led to an interest in storytelling, because you meet so many different people and learn about so many different cultures.”

Today, Sana is director of global group communications at fintech company Wise, but her passion for storytelling has never dimmed. “Growing up, I thought I would be an author of some kind,” she reflects, and over the course of our conversation it becomes evident that this writerly flair is imbued in her communications work today and is perhaps the secret to her success in the field.  

Ahead of embarking on a career in communications however, Rahman took a mass communications course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore, which inspired her to switch from writing short stories to journalistic pieces. As a freelance journalist at just 19 years old, Rahman covered lifestyle stories, personality profiles and product reviews. Developing a taste for the varied and fast-paced nature of working across different beats, Rahman next found herself writing columns at SPH Magazines Ltd and writing features for Singapore Investment news, before spending two months interning for CNN in India. “I got so much exposure to so many different beats, and I got to talk with different industry experts,” she enthuses. “For me, it was very interesting.”

After five years chasing stories, sourcing inspiration for features, interviewing experts and exploring various industries, Rahman wanted to try something new. She applied for a political science degree at the National University of Singapore, which led to a job as a research associate at the Institute of South Asian Studies, which she describes as her “first career pivot.”

“Both my parents were academics so, after I did political science, there was the opportunity to join a thinktank and become a researcher,” Rahman explains. “I was able to take the skills I learned as a reporter and apply them to my interest in current affairs. I loved being able to dive into specific and different topic areas.

“I think it’s this combination of having been a reporter and a researcher that has brought me towards communications, however, because of my interest in storytelling as well as delving into new topics.”

As well as a penchant for storytelling, Rahman’s intellectual inquisitiveness appears threaded through the twists and turns of her career. Repeatedly, Rahman points out her love for “going deep into a new topic.”

On how this has bolstered her career in communications, Rahman observes: “I think this is particularly important when working with brands in innovative spaces, which are complex or hard to understand; how do you bring that passion to life? How do you bring their mission to life and help people to understand what they’re trying to build?”

Rather than an ardent passion for technology itself, it was more an intrigue in the complex and abstract which drew Rahman to the constantly evolving and dynamic world of fintech. As someone who once had roamed the motely cities of her adolescence musing on the histories and cultures that had created them, her new role as communications associate at Google marked a poignant career pivot. Now conveying ideas and messages that were new, innovative and sometimes uncomfortable, Rahman was tasked with making engaging stories out of abstract, future-focused concepts.

There is also a practical element to Rahman’s interest in fintech. “Growing up, I spent a lot of time in a lot of different places. So, there's always been an element of being aware of how money works - or maybe does not work - across borders, and how it translates.

“I think this has actually become more evident to me as I’ve grown older. I studied in Singapore, but my parents were sending me money from India, where they were based. Back then, there was a lot of planning to ensure your funds would arrive in time.

“So, for me, that really brought home the impact of something that, I think, for most people feels a bit abstract and complex,” Rahman continues. “Fintech, for me, really struck home how technology can be applied to something so essential and critical but also complex, in order to make things easier and faster.”

Rahman’s passion for the potential of new technologies isn’t dampened, as one might expect, by the heavy amounts of regulation that the sector endures. “I have an interest in policy, and I’m intrigued by understanding how policy can help make these changes come to life in a beneficial way for society.”

Since working at Google, Rahman has taken on senior communications positions at companies such as Appier and Stripe, before joining Wise. Upon being asked what she enjoys most of working in this sector, Rahman is quick to respond: “It’s the complexity that is interesting. From my personal experience, I know that this technology can be deeply impactful, but how do you translate messaging around this in an engaging way?

“The issue of ‘hidden fees’ is probably one of the biggest challenges we face as a PR team at Wise, but this is a very abstract-sounding concept, despite it deeply impacting our daily lives.”

While most consumers expect to pay specific fees for services, there are sometimes additional charges added that are not initially apparent, called ‘hidden fees’. “This is a multi-billion-dollar problem, and something we need to build more awareness around,” Rahman says. “How many times do people really check the exchange rate that they see on their credit card bills, for example, next to what they're seeing on Google?

“You shouldn't have to do that. But, if you do, then you start to realise, actually, there's a lot of complexity here. There's a lot of jargon in the industry, which can be unhelpful because it's just lots of acronyms, or whatever the case may be.

“So, I think being really sort of conscious about not using those and being really sort of relatable in the way we speak,” Rahman continues. “How do you explain these concepts in everyday language - the way you and I are talking right now - versus acronyms and jargon statements?”

In an industry that is so fast paced and which is constantly developing, Rahman has found that this aspect of it has been a reassuring constant. “The art of storytelling, or the core art of storytelling, hasn't changed, and the things that matter to people also haven't changed.”

Having now been director of global group communications at Wise for two years, Rahman reflects on the qualities she believes have enabled her to be so successful in the role. “When I think back on my career, it feels a bit like I did one thing and then another thing, and then a third, completely different thing.

“I’ve always been attracted to, or gravitated towards, opportunities where I feel like I could learn, and that I felt have really sparked my curiosity. I have always been curious and open to different opportunities, even if they’ve seemed unplanned or ‘off track’.

“I think that if you’re curious and want to learn, you will always come out the other end having learnt something new that you can apply forward,” Rahman says. “That’s always kind of been the driver for me.”

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self – or others starting out in the industry – Rahman says: “I think, if you're going to choose something, you should choose something that sparks your curiosity or interest. I think it’s probably true that, if you're going to spend eight hours every day - five days a week - doing something, I think it should be something that engages you, and that you're interested in learning from.

“Curiosity helps you learn faster. You should make the most of each opportunity that comes your way, because I don't think the opportunities that we get are always in our hands.

“Sometimes, you might have more opportunities come your way, sometimes they might be rare; sometimes they might work out and sometimes they don't,” Rahman continues. “But even if it doesn’t work out the way that you envisioned, you will have always learned something that helps you move forward and be more successful in the future!”

It feels reminiscent of the open-minded and inquisitive nature she has described of her younger self when Rahman adds, smiling: “I always say this to myself and to others: what's the worst outcome? You don't have a thing that you didn't already have?”