Sabrina Wu has followed her curiosity to some incredible places. To Thailand, where she cared for rescued circus elephants. To Finland, where she navigated a team of huskies across a frozen lake and through a forest. And to Australia, where she now works as the anti-fraud officer for Morgan Stanley.
It was Wu’s curious and questioning nature that led her to the information systems (IS) program. When she arrived at BYU from Taiwan, Wu recalls, “I wanted to get the best education, so I asked people, ‘What’s the best program at BYU?’” She kept hearing the same reply: Look into the options at the business school.
As she began prerequisites at BYU Marriott, Wu was immediately intrigued by her IS class. “On day one, the professor said, ‘In the technology field, things change really rapidly. By the time you graduate in four years, you’ll realize that we taught you nothing.” The professor’s joke resonated with Wu, and her unflagging curiosity carried her through the undergraduate IS program.
“One of the greatest things I learned at BYU was cultivating a skill set to learn continuously,” Wu says. “There’s always that top 5 percent in every industry—people who are known for being very good at what they do. That’s because they keep learning. My father taught me the same thing: Keep learning, keep moving.”
After her graduation in 2006, Wu accepted her first position in IT audit at KPMG, where she provided IT assurance services across various industries and later focused on banking institutions. She spent six years with KPMG, moving into operational risk, which focuses on identifying and managing risk in day-to-day operations.
Wu’s job wasn’t the only thing that changed—her location did as well. KPMG gave her the opportunity to move from its Costa Mesa, California, office to Sydney, Australia. “The initial plan was to stay here for just one year,” Wu says. “It’s been 16 years now.”
Although Wu stayed in Australia, she moved on from KPMG, stopping at First Data for a year. She then spent a decade at Commonwealth Bank where she later transitioned into financial crime and fraud-risk management. As she advanced through these roles, she pursued further studies in IT security, risk management, audit, anti-financial crime, and fraud management. She earned multiple certification titles, including certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS) and certified fraud examiner (CFE).
Her ever-expanding skill set helped her land her current position at Morgan Stanley, where she began working in 2023. In her new role, Wu supports the existing fraud management practice, implements fraud monitoring rules, leads project initiatives, and provides fraud awareness training. “My position covers the systems as well as the processes, so it’s quite exciting,” Wu says.
Wu’s broad skill set has not only enabled her to help people avoid scams and protect their savings, but it has also allowed her to serve as a mentor for BYU students and volunteer for many nonprofit organizations, including Starlight Children’s Foundation and Can4Cancer. Additionally, she served as the diversity and inclusion lead during her time at Commonwealth Bank.
Wu expects that she’ll continue following her curiosity into new professional territories. “You can see in my portfolio of experiences that I moved from technology risk to financial crime risk to fraud management—all very different domains of expertise,” she says. And while her career continues to evolve, one thing will likely remain constant: her appetite for learning.
“Continuous development is crucial,” Wu says. “It helps us to refine our skill set and make wiser decisions. Knowledge is power as well as a treasure for us to explore.”
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Written by Shannon Keeley
This article was highlighted in the Alumni News section of Marriott Alumni Magazine's fall 2024 edition.
