This month we interview senior Members from Planet, Judopay, JM Finn and Green Flag
Patrick is Chief Executive of Planet, a payments company that provides tourist VAT refunds and currency conversion services for 400,000 merchants, 100 banks and 15 million tourists in 66 markets across the world.
What is your career history? I was Group Marketing Director for Bank of Ireland for five years when, in 2002, I was asked to set up Post Office Money – a joint venture between the Bank of Ireland and the UK Post Office with a focus on fairness to customers. In 2012, I moved to Fintrax which provided tourist VAT refunds and currency conversion services to luxury brands and department stores. We've had a hugely successful few years, and in 2018 we re-branded as Planet.
Why marketing? Marketing is key to shaping the direction of a business. There is a real onus on marketers to represent the customer viewpoint, which is what I have always focused on. If marketers do not represent the customer, then their voice will be diluted or ignored and other more customer focused competitors will take market share.
What excites you about the future of Financial Services? Money remains at the very top of customer minds right throughout their lives and that’s what makes it interesting to us as marketers. Today, we are seeing more innovation in financial services, especially from a technology perspective, than we have ever seen. With the advent of new banks, fintech companies, new payment options, new identification mechanisms, it is a very exciting time for our industry
What’s the best advice you have ever received? Don’t ever take yourself too seriously – no one else does. If you have a serious decision to make, sleep on it. Leave ego to others – it stops you listening and learning. And you don’t write your own legacy – your team does.
What skill will you be developing over the next few years? The advent of artificial intelligence will dramatically change the way we do things, and I believe it will have a major impact on marketing and business growth, so I am spending time trying to really understand the applicability of AI to our company.
If you could have one mentor, who would it be? The late Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines was an icon. His favourite phrase was ‘I would rather have a company bound by love than a company bound by fear’. Southwest Airlines had 46 years of consecutive profitability through many tough years for the airline industry.
Oliver is Head of Marketing at the wealth manager, JM Finn.
What is your career history? I started life in sales for an asset management company before a combination of the dot-com crash and being tasked to write a business plan for a newly launched fund range steered me towards a marketing role. I built a non-US marketing team for Lehman Brothers, a particularly exciting time in my career which was abruptly halted by 2008’s financial crisis. I found my way to the world of private client wealth management, where firms were realising that new business doesn’t grow on trees and the marketing function is not just about events and branded pens. What excites you about the future of Financial Services? Experience in sales is good grounding for a marketer. In my early days I had to walk the floor of the big US wire-houses and try to engage commission hungry, time-poor advisers – never have I felt the need for the right tools to assist me in making the sale more than then. It’s a lesson I always come back to.
What worries you about the future of Financial Services? In no particular order: changing demographics, the pensions time-bomb, a change in government and/ or tax regime, and lack of diversity. The latter point could be the undoing of some providers. As the attitude towards wealth changes across the generations and financial independence is now the norm, having a diverse work force to reflect a more diverse client base is increasingly important.
What’s the best advice you have ever received? I was presented with a last minute opportunity to take part in the Global Challenge, a round the world yacht race, which meant taking a year out. When discussing the pros and cons with my then boss, who had just promoted me, he suggested that I would resent working if I didn’t go because of work. To quote Mark Twain: “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do".
What advice would you give a marketer starting out today? 1. Always look at what you’re doing from an end user perspective. 2. Get to know senior management and what makes them tick so you can communicate your ideas and your marketing plan to the appropriate stakeholders. Don’t presume they’ll see your way of thinking and keep it simple. 3. Network both internally and externally. There’s always someone willing to help but you can’t predict when you’ll need it. If you could have any mentor, who would it be? Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer who reinvented simple.
Jeremy is CEO of a payment services company called Judopay. A marketer at heart, he always tries to start with the customer.
What is your career history? I was intent on a career in advertising though my first role in display space sales at News International was not quite what I had in mind. Still, it made me a very commercial person from day 1 and roles followed at some great companies – Prudential as it embraced marketing for the first time, Reuters at the dawn of the internet, Natwest and differentiating as “more than just a bank”, building Mastercard as a brand in the UK, Visa in a commercial director role, then heading up their mobile business and bringing Apple Pay to life in Europe. I then had a portfolio career in fintech before joining Judopay in 2018. We’re passionate about building a cashless world and changing the way people pay.
What excites you about the future of Financial Services? I’m really excited about the impact of fintech and open banking. I love the entrepreneurial energy, innovation and investment in doing things in a different/better way, fuelled by mobile and digital technology advances and a particular focus on great customer experience. Whilst there are many challenges ahead for these new ventures, and inevitably many will fail, I’m convinced that the outcome will benefit the customer – either through incumbent players being forced to change, or through new challengers redefining the way we do things.
What worries you about the future of Financial Services? Not a lot actually. It’s a resilient sector that has survived pretty well over the years and I’m hopeful we’re entering a new customer driven age.
What’s the best advice you have ever received? Start and finish with the customer – focus on what’s in it for them, and build the commercial opportunity from there.
What advice would you give a marketer starting out today? Not dissimilar to the above. And enjoy the ride. I think marketing is better appreciated as a business discipline these days, particularly as we become more data informed if not data driven – so there are some great careers to be had. Get financially literate early on though. If you could have any mentor, who would it be? Steve Jobs – the ultimate (customer) obsessive
What key skill will you develop over the next few years? Continuing to leverage data/insights for better business decisions. What lessons could we learn from other sectors? I don’t hold out particular sectors. I think there are some stellar companies across multiple sectors.
Candace is Head of Marketing Communications at Green Flag having enjoyed a fruitful career with Direct Line Group.
What is your career history? I’m not ashamed to say that most of my career has been spent at Direct Line Group. I didn’t do a marketing degree so fell into a few things that gave me great experience, such as head hunting for creative teams, and a stint in the account departments at Ogilvy and PHD. It wasn’t until I applied for a job at DLG that I really found my feet. I’ve moved around a lot - from partnerships marketing to Direct Line brand planning to Green Flag. I’ve now been part of the Rescue business for about 5 years and I absolutely love it here.
Why marketing? My Dad ran a small advertising agency in Jersey, so I grew up in that world. Our house was always scattered with artwork, which fascinated me to the point I would ask lots of questions and learn about things that inspired and motivated me. I’ve always had a creative flair, so I suppose it was inevitable that would influence my career choices.
What excites you about the future of Financial Services? There’s a huge need for the financial services sector to start thinking about purpose, what it means and how they can positively impact society and people. With emerging technology, there is a huge opportunity for products and services to evolve and adapt to consumer needs and trends. Monzo is a good example of this. It’s an exciting time.
What worries you about the future of Financial Services? There is so much distrust that we have a long way to go in how we change perceptions. It’s not an easy task but for firms to boost trust, they need to put customers at the heart of their decision making, embed this thinking culturally and consider their role in creating socially responsible products. What advice would you give a marketer starting out today? Be curious, passionate, creative, open minded and brave. The more you put in the more you get out. Marketing is a wonderful profession if you explore new opportunities, understand consumer needs and trends and really throw yourself in.
If you could have any mentor, who would it be? Oooh that’s a tricky one. Probably Richard Branson or Eddie Jones.
What skill will you be developing over the next few years? Customer Strategy and Social Purpose. Predominantly how marketing can influence business change to benefit the customer and authentically develop a strategy that’s rooted in having a positive, societal impact.