Sameer Somal, CFA, CFP®, CAIA

Personal Details

Bio

Sameer Somal is the CEO & Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Global Technology. He is a frequent speaker at conferences on digital transformation, online reputation management, search engine optimization, relationship capital and ethics. Fundamental to his work at Blue Ocean Global Technology, Sameer leads collaboration with an exclusive group of PR, Law, Digital Marketing, and Web-Development agency partners. He helps clients build, monitor and repair their digital presence. Sameer is a published writer and Internet Defamation subject matter expert witness. In collaboration with the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, he authors continuing legal education (CLE) programs and is a member of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) 2030 Task Force. Sameer proudly serves on the board of the CFA Institute Seminar for Global Investors, College Possible and Girl Power Talk. He is an active member of the Society of International Business Fellows

Current positions with CFA Institute & CFP Board:

• CFAI Institute Talkshow: The Topic @ Hand, Host

• CFA Institute Financial Analysts Seminar, Board of Regents

• CFA Institute Global Approved Speakers List (ASL), Member

• CFA Institute Exam Grading, Senior Grader

• CFP Board Council on Education, Member

• CFP Board Women’s Initiative (WIN), Advocate

Blue Ocean Global Technology serves clients and agency partners in 40+ countries. Kodak and Blockbuster exemplify how quickly the average lifespan of a company listed in the S&P 500 significantly decreased from 67 years in the 1920's to 15 years today. We have completed 3000+ web development, portal, eCommerce, and software projects over the past 15 years. We are Online Reputation (ORM) Experts, which includes building a positive reputation around select key words and mitigating a negative reputation on google.

Recent Speaking Engagements include:

New York State Bar (Albany, NY)

Scotiabank Executive Strategy Retreat (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands)

Project Management Institute (Los Angeles, CA)

Montgomery County Paralegals Association (Bluebell, PA)

Legal Marketing Association (Orlando, FL)

Empowering A Billion Women (Austin, TX)

Legal Marketing Association (Philadelphia, PA)

CFA Institute VBA Netherlands (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Clear Law Institute (Arlington, VA)

Mobile Growth Summit (New York, NY)

FPA National BE Conference (Baltimore, MD)

Benchbar Conference (Atlantic City, NJ)

Legal Week (New York, NY)

The US State Department’s Foreign Service Institute (McLean, VA)

Global Digital Marketing Summit, Mick Law (Phoenix, AZ)

Dimensional Fund Advisors (Austin, TX)

SEI Investments (Oaks, PA)

The Pennsylvania Bar Institute (Philadelphia, PA)

The Philippines HR Summit (Manilla, Philippines)

Women Economic Forum (Delhi, India)

CFA Institute Leaders Conference (San Jose)

The LavaCon Content Strategy Conference (Las Vegas, NV)

Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)

NAPFA Annual Conference (Phoenix, AZ)

Finance Logix Technology Conference (Las Vegas, NV)

FPA of New York (New York, NY)

Current position (1)

Speaker, Entrepreneur & Chief Executive Officer at

Blue Ocean Global Technology

Presentations

Presentations (5)

The New Networking: Building Relationship Capital

The Digital Revolution is accelerating our access to knowledge and revolutionized how we communicate. Finance is grounded on quantifiable metrics and knowledge gained through the rigors of academic & professional development programs. While a technical framework is required and fundamental to a successful career in finance, we overlook the importance of what we can only measure qualitatively, including networking. Success in life is a function of our interpersonal relationships.

Networking is a learned skill and does not require the personality of an extrovert. A memorable introductory conversation and exchange of business cards will increase relationship capital after applying a process for patient and purposeful follow-up. Creating a network of trusted friends and colleagues, who will provide information, introductions, mentoring and partnership, will expand your personal and professional opportunity set. Results follow planning, practice, and commitment.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset & The Intangibles of Success

An entrepreneurial mindset represents a truly unique opportunity for today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders. Flexibility, creativity, and intellectual freedom often catalyze an entrepreneur’s desire to start a business. Entrepreneurship, a fundamental driver of our global economy, is defined by French Economist, J. B. Say [1767–1832], as a shift of economic resources out of an area of lower productivity into an area of higher productivity and yield. This is also true of intrapreneurs, defined as those who apply an entrepreneurial to their employment culture. Intrapreneurs often become entrepreneurs.

The intangibles or "soft skills", represent the tipping point between achieving great success and simply remaining average. These skills are rarely taught in college or graduate school. How does one quantify trust, relationships, communication and emotional intelligence? The interdependent of our global economy places a premium on these soft skills.

The Fintech Revolution

Every day people are empowered with unfiltered information and global communication access from a device that fits comfortably in our pocket. It took the Internet 12 years to gather its first billion users, and a third of that time to reach three billion.

The Digital FinTech Revolution is accelerating our access to knowledge, transforming how we communicate, and creating a wave of digital disruption that will reshape the financial services industry. As regulators and banks refocus on updating their policies and operating models, the next generation of Fintech platforms, including robo advisory, blockchain, digital payment, Bank in a box, security, and P2P lending, are already off to the races.

Global investment in financial technology rapidly increased by 3,770% from $930 million in 2008 to $36 billion in 2016. The opportunity to innovate for quantitative finance professionals has never been more compelling than it is today.

The Power of Social Media

By 2025, digital computing and communication technology will connect eight billion people to one online community.

Never before in history have consumers had so much influence and power at their fingertips; businesses large and small must learn how to adapt and embrace such change. Kodak and Blockbuster exemplify how quickly the average lifespan of a company listed in the S&P 500 significantly decreased from 67 years in the 1920's to 15 years today.

Social media is a transformational platform for cultivating trust, increasing engagement, and expanding market share across both demographic and geographic boundaries. Social media is not about selling, its about developing connections and communicating effectively. Great content drives engagement and marketing.

Digital Revolution & The Technology Planning Process

Technology pervades every aspect of an organization and must be coordinated with a strategic plan. The rate at which technology evolves creates choice, which can be overwhelming and confusing. Leaders require a transparent, accountable, and proactive technology partner.

A rapidly changing technology landscape necessitates technology planning and has never been more critical to the growth and sustainability of a business. The right technology decisions improve performance; the wrong technology decisions exacerbate challenges. Technology planning is the process of meeting your organizational goals with a prudent allocation of your technological resources. Efficient and effective technology planning integrates strategy, branding, and execution across an organization.

Past talks (9)

The Demographic Dividend

The US State Department’s Foreign Service Institute

Virginia, USA

2017

An Entrepreneurial Mindset & Intangibles of Success

Women Economic Forum

New Delhi, India

2017

Digital Revolution & The Technology Planning Process

Scotiabank Executive Strategy Retreat

Grand Caymans, Cayman Islands