Dadachanji’s parents moved from India to the UK to study. The 47-year-old grew up near London, gained a PhD in physics from Cambridge University, and then spent many years working in the IT and finance sectors in London, where he also met his wife, Ulrike. His interest in physics runs in the family. “My father loved physics. He too studied physics at university, and nurtured my interest in the sciences from an early age,” Dadachanji says. His brother also studied physics.
But it’s not just science that plays a big part in the Dadachanji household. There’s plenty of room for things like music and books too. Zareer gets his love of music from his mother, who had originally wanted to become a pianist when she moved to London from Mumbai. His heart still beats for the UK, and he visits his mother there as often as possible. But he worries whether he will still be able to visit friends, family and customers in the UK after Brexit. Aside from gaining the right to vote, this was a deciding factor in his decision to apply for German citizenship. “It’s important to me to be able to travel across Europe without any hassle,” he says, and he is keen for his six-year-old and four-year-old to have that advantage too.
A new life in Germany
Never in his wildest dreams would Dadachanji have thought that he would hold a German passport. “I’ve lived the majority of my life in the UK, and that has shaped my outlook, of course. But now I’ve found a new life in Germany,” he says, although occasionally he still longs for British food, London pubs and his favourite park. “London and Bremen are worlds apart,” Dadachanji says, chuckling. He feels at home in Bremen’s Horn-Lehe district and has established good links with the city’s British expat community. His company, Model Quant Solutions, is based in his in-laws’ former home. Dadachanji specialises in mathematical models and programming for banks and assists the financial sector with complex data analyses and algorithms. “This is an area that is constantly evolving, and it requires a good understanding of the market,” he says.
