Journey to Leadership at InComm
I entered the workforce in late 2007 just as the US subprime mortgage crisis was peaking and starting to cause unease in the global financial system. Consequently, I was unable to find employment in my preferred areas of real estate and finance. Instead, I was lucky enough to find an operations job with InComm where I owned capital project management activities and cared for our facilities and mission-critical equipment. Having spent nearly two decades with the company, I worked my way around the organization, learning as much as I could about fintech, payments, wealth management, financial education, and more. My current role involves providing toolsets, frameworks, and support systems to our international salesforce. Other responsibilities include oversight of international project management, market delivery activities, and various other duties, including technical product ownership and tool development.
Balancing Operations with Strategic Innovation
Interestingly, I view it more like a collaboration than a balancing act. Each side seems to consistently influence the other as the market and technological tides ebb and flow. Overseeing international operations includes, by default, having to maintain pace with innovative advancements and incorporating such advances into the operating model. Accordingly, frameworks, operating procedures, and process models must be flexible and must constantly evolve to avoid obsolescence. Moreover, such a philosophy helps to build and maintain a strong competitive advantage.
There is no shortage of challenges in the day-to-day lives of knowledge workers and making sure to integrate advancements like robotic process automation (RPA), for example, can completely transform an operational workflow for the better. Our team enjoys being proactive in this sense. By implementing a continuous improvement mindset, we take pride in actively identifying exciting innovations and then finding where they fit within our ecosystem. This approach allows for ongoing incremental improvements to the operational structures. And, likewise, when we struggle internally, we look to the innovation pipeline for new solutions. So, I see both as two sides of the same coin.
Solving Global Collaboration and Operational Challenges
Most of the operational challenges I encounter would be considered physical in nature. Language barriers, time zone challenges, cultural differences, regulatory environments, geopolitical tensions, and the like round out the usual suspects. These types of issues can often be defeated with well-developed digital toolsets and engaged stakeholders. Other challenges include market competition, economic shifts, currency fluctuations, and other cross-border anomalies. Due to their nature, these usually require strategic leadership and heavy cooperative planning.
“Success in international operations comes from understanding cultural nuances, fostering collaboration, and integrating innovation. At InComm, we embrace automation, real-time payments, and continuous improvement to build adaptable systems that empower teams and drive sustainable growth across the global fintech landscape”
Our team promotes smooth cross-functional collaboration by ensuring workflows are as efficient, easy to use, accurate, and timely as possible. This promotes less rework, fewer slowdowns, and frees human resources to focus on building stronger relationships with our clients. The less time our salesforce is tied up in administrative struggles or unfit tools, the better. Thus, we implement cross-functional collaboration through the use of custom-built processes, toolsets, and advancements that automatically connect and progress operational tasks. This can include items like automated reporting, regular meetings, and reducing or simplifying the required inputs to get projects moving. Such collective improvements make it easy for resources to follow along and can mitigate or remove many of the physical barriers previously mentioned.
Trends Reshaping Fintech and Payments
Critical to the next stage of money movement, real-time payments are revolutionizing transaction speeds, enhancing operational efficiency and improving the customer experience. Recent advancements in AI and machine learning have powered personalized financial services, fraud detection, data security, and new ways of selling. Blockchain technology helps with transparency and efficiency in cross-border transactions, which can streamline operations and reduce costs. Embedded finance models promote seamless integration into nonfinancial platforms, helping to expand reach.
These advancements effortlessly traverse geographical borders and make international expansion smoother. Open banking and API ecosystems are also transforming traditional methodologies by encouraging agile partnerships and accelerating innovation. These trends not only drive operational efficiency but also simplify operations by harmonizing regulatory requirements and standardizing interoperability across global entities. By leveraging these technologies, fintech organizations like InComm can optimize operations, drive sales and navigate the complexities of the global market with greater agility.
Guidance for Future Global Operations Leaders
Operational success can only be achieved through partnership, relationship building, and promotion of a culture built on support and understanding. When you cross geographical borders, you will inevitably encounter stark differences in both business practices and life. It is your duty to educate yourself about these differences so you can empathize and organize. Once these factors are better understood, you must envision and deliver frameworks that simplify interactions and promote greater efficiency and accuracy. This can only be secured through a collaborative spirit and regular contact with those you support. Interconnectivity, automation, proactive communications, feedback loops, and quality time spent learning and adjusting are critical, not only to your success but to your organization’s success as well.
