Richard Stoffelen is the Chief Financial Officers of Centogene - an international privately owned BioTech/HealthTech company, based in Germany. Here he tells us about what it’s like to be the CFO of Centogene and offers his piece of advice for other financial directors.
What were the goals that you arrived with when becoming the CFO of Centogene over a year ago?
My primary goals were to professionalize the finance department of this fast-growing company, to raise a first round of external capital (Round A/Pre-IPO funding), and to prepare the company for a successful IPO.
Would you say that you have started working towards accomplishing them?
Together with the existing and new Management Team and greatly supported by the Sr dir Corporate Finance/Investor Relations, we have been very successful so far, which was confirmed by successfully raising €25 million in the Round A funding.
Currently, we are working on the further continuous growing of the company and its processes, and towards the IPO plans in the near future.
What is the company’s growth strategy? What part do you play in it?
The company has been on a great growth trajectory ever since its foundation about 10 years ago. We have positioned Centogene in the international medical diagnostics field. We grow very fast in our pharmaceutical segment, where we deliver services to the global orphan drug developing companies: a.o. patient screening programs, assistance in drug-discovery and –development programs, longitudinal monitoring programs, developing biomarkers for monitoring the patients and improving the early diagnosis.
My role in all of this is to support the strategic business, with adequate financial modelling, planning, budgeting and funding.
You have over 25 years of broad experience with international audit functions – how did your career path lead you to becoming the CFO of Centogene? Which one of your experiences was foundational?
After being in the Audit profession for a long time, a lot of the roles I had played in that field have contributed greatly to my new role:
· Running an office, and being part of the management team of KPMG for the south of the Netherlands has strengthened my managerial experience.
· Doing management development roles in KPMG in the Netherlands, Hong Kong and China was a crucial experience that helped me in the development of the new management layer at Centogene.
· Working on business development in audits in the past has provided me with valuable knowledge in relation to doing what I do now when securing funding for Centogene.
· Working across the world in various roles proves to be extremely helpful in a managerial role, especially in a company with employees from over 30 countries.
· Having been involved in many strategic processes, helps me tremendously to look around the corner of the pure finance function, which is crucial to deliver on all the needs for a modern CFO.
What is your motivation behind working for a biotechnology company?
It is fascinating to be at the brink of many new developments that really make a direct impact on the lives of many people around the world.
It is fascinating to be in this fast-moving industry, where new opportunities arise on a daily basis, and where we, as management, have to make important choices on a daily basis in relation to the right opportunities to pursue.
Where do you see Centogene in 3 years? What does the future hold for the company?
In my opinion, Centogene will expand significantly in 3 years and will be delivering even more services to patients and the orphan drug industry, having an even bigger impact on people around the world – and not just patients and their families, but also on investors in both our company and the orphan drug manufacturers.
What would be your top three tips for other CFOs?
1. Be aware of the business needs, don’t focus solely on the finance role.
2. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
3. Enjoy what you are doing and cherish the contribution you can have in the development of your company.
About Centogene:
Centogene - The rare disease company
Transforming global genetic date into medical decisions.
While only a small number of people are suffering from a singular rare disease, 350 million people worldwide are suffering from rare diseases, whereas 80% of rare disease are caused by mutations in our genome.
Centogene is ideally positioned to serve and support patients and physicians worldwide while accelerating drug discovery and development of orphan drugs.
· we are the sole provider of a GLOBAL perspective to >3.200 rare diseases
· we close the gap between the diagnostic and therapeutic hemispheres
· we continuously translate scientific discoveries into innovation like new biomarkers and novel molecular tests to guide drug development and clinical practice
· we leverage our vast –omic data to support the development of the personalized therapies of the future
· we have the largest genetic mutation database (CentoMD®) regarding rare diseases with patient date from over 115 countries worldwide
Website: https://www.centogene.com/
Helene Bouteleau began her career in 1997 and has since then held a number of Management positions. In August 2000, she joined the PSA Group and its three world-renowned brands - Peugeot, Citroën and DS. Her first role was in the finance department in Portugal but she then moved to Paris to become a Key Account Manager and expand her business experience and knowledge. In the following years, Helene held a number of Senior Management positions with the PSA Group around Europe, including Director of Finance for Peugeot Croatia and then Peugeot Portugal, Head of B2B coordination and Used Vehicle Sales for Peugeot and Citroën in Iberia and finally, Peugeot Brand Director in Portugal.
Since February 2016, she’s been Director of Finance for the PSA Group in the UK’s Headquarters in Coventry. Here Helene spoke to Finance Monthly about her career, the impact she’s had on PSA Group’s performance and tells us how CFOs can create value through their Finance strategy.
Could you tell us a bit about your career path prior to becoming the CFO of PSA Group? What brought you to your current position?
Before becoming CFO of PSA Group in the UK, I had held several finance positions and I had already had CFO experience within the group (in Croatia and Portugal). Having this previous experience gave me the capacity to adapt and deal with difficult situations. To reinforce and develop further my experience, I had also held positions within other areas of sales, such as Key Account Manager for a B2B in Paris, which allowed me to have direct contact with customers, Operations Director in Portugal, which allowed me to experience all the other back office areas like Network Development, Programming and Logistics, Aftersales and Quality, B2B and Used Cars Activity. Before joining the UK office, as a Brand Director of the Peugeot Brand, I had a wider vision of the business. The fact that it was in a smaller market provided me with an excellent overview of the business and how as an organization, we constantly have to adapt to changes and be flexible. Evolving and growing the business further come with constant challenges for all of us in PSA Group.
PSA Group’s sales and revenue in 2016 reached €54 billion. How would you say has your role impacted the company’s performance last year?
All of my roles as a CFO have always been paired with working in difficult and challenging situations and the latest one is no exception – we were faced with Brexit a few months after my arrival. With the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the company faced some issues and dealt with a new context of uncertainty, as well as the foreign exchange impact. All the business decisions had to involve the Finance department, as the goal was to find the right balance for volume and profitability. The Partnership with the Business Areas had to be continuous last year and still carries on in 2017. The closer we are to the Business and the Field areas, the better we can react.
What motivates you about your role? Has being a CFO of a multinational company always been your ultimate goal?
What motivates me about my role is the fact that I am an added value for the company and the business. The whole organization must be focused in creating value. With my previous experiences, I managed to have an overview of the business – something that is very important in the decision-making process and gives me a different approach towards the Businesses areas. I really enjoy working within this business and being a CFO represents a key position and above all in a market with the maturity that exists in UK. I take this challenge as an important step in my career but not ultimate.
What lies ahead of you and PSA Group? What are your aspirations for the future?
Although I’ve been with the PSA Group for 17 years, the organization has allowed me to experience a lot – I’ve worked in 5 countries in 9 different roles. This flexibility and constant change mean that we are constantly evolving and moving forward. I hope my time with the PSA Group continues to be that exciting in the future.
You spoke at the CFO Agenda conference in London on 1st of June. Could you give us a brief synopsis of your talk?
This session explored the key strategic drivers for strategic thinking and planning within an organization, as well as ways of creating value through your Finance strategy. In fact, this is fully in line with my business vision and how I manage my team. Naturally, the Finance Department has a cost controlling function, but what I find to be more important is to be part of the team, in order to drive the business and increase the volume and profitability. Thus, I believe that all Finance Departments must work as a partner with the rest of the teams. The Finance function must understand that it is our job to satisfy our customers – internal customers - and we must work in a proactive way. Once we manage to achieve this, the credibility and the confidence allow us to develop a global team focus on the business and the important growth factors. Of course, in the meantime, the Finance Department must remain objective and act in the best interests of the company.
How could CFOs create value through their Finance strategy?
It is my belief that the CFO is in the best position within an organization to foresee the potential issues that can arise in the future. Therefore, the CFO is the one who must drive the strategy changes, along with the business areas and the rest of the Management Board. Once the business areas have the right understanding, they will be able to design actions, adapt the business strategy to the context and then tackle the possible difficulties. This will then result in an innovative and proactive company – a leader instead of a follower.
What is the best advice you would share with fledging CFOs and Finance Directors?
The best advice that I can give to a CFO is to be genuinely interested and passionate about the business, while sharing this passion with the whole team. A CFO must really understand the story behind the figures and this is fully achievable only when you’re close to the field teams. This background knowledge will then enable you to add real value for the company.
This month’s CFO Insight feature looks at the work of Rob Gorle - Finance Director of Perkbox, a leading digital employee engagement and customer loyalty saas platform. It’s designed to help businesses of all sizes attract, retain and motivate staff and customers. Since its launch in 2015, Perkbox has grown its annual revenue to £14M and recently raised £4.3m through crowdfunding platform Seedrs – the largest of its kind, which included an investment from VC Draper Esprit. Robert has previously worked at a number of other tech start-ups, including Zattikka and Plumbee. Here he talks about the ins-and-outs of his position and the challenges and rewards of supporting financial and commercial projects in such a high-growth and fast-paced environment.
You worked for Yahoo! Inc. for over 7 years – could you tell us a bit about the experience? What did these 7 years teach you and how do you draw on this in your current role?
Yahoo! has some of the smartest and most driven people, many of whom have gone on to work with or set up other leading companies. Despite its size, it’s managed to keep a fun, young ‘work hard play hard’ culture. I had a number of roles, where I focused on financial planning and analysis. I spent three years at its HQ in Silicon Valley, getting involved in group-level planning. It was a rare opportunity for me to learn and get experience across a range of finance areas, ranging from systems, planning, management insight, commercial product analysis through to governance and M&A - much of which is still relevant to a fledgling start-ups’ finance team. I learnt how to work within a complex matrix organisation structure – everything after that has been relatively simple!
What goals are you arriving with as a Finance Director of Perkbox? What do you hope to accomplish?
It’s important to understand the structure of the business and ensure that there are appropriate systems and controls in place, so that we have a solid foundation to scale. I’ve been here a few months now and we’ve already rolled out a new budget and forecasting framework, planned our first audit and are mid-way through implementing a new accounting system. I’m also looking forward to bringing a different perspective to the leadership team to support key decisions and prioritization, and to help identify any potential issues early. With this combination of governance, insight and decision support, I hope to help the company scale to achieve its huge potential in a growing market.
What are some of the challenges have you been faced with so far?
Perkbox received a £4.4M funding in December and has already started to invest in its team. One common challenge at this exciting stage with new funding, is the difficulty in prioritizing investment across multiple requests from different products and functions, as well as new initiatives. Perkbox’s management team have maintained its focus on the core UK market to firmly establish itself as a leader, but different opportunities and extensions to the product are constantly under review.
Where revenue has tripled for two years running, the company has certainly experienced some growing pains. Without the time or priority to invest in new systems, the level of manual work has increased significantly in some areas. The new Netsuite accounting system will help to address this and help us scale by interfacing between different systems and automating various time-consuming processes.
Perkbox is a young, innovative start-up and it is critical to keep the energy and spark alive by empowering individuals to make quick decisions, while at the same time having robust processes and control in place during periods of rapid growth. We have updated key processes and even found, in some cases, that it was possible to reduce decision-making friction through clearer approval responsibilities, but we are aware that this is an area that needs to be regularly updated as the company grows headcount and expands.
Could you tell us about Perkbox’s extensive plans to expand in the UK?
Over the past two years, Perkbox has become one of the leaders in the UK market, with over 5,000 customers, ranging from employers looking to engage a small team, through to customer loyalty schemes with 100k+ users. We are continuing to focus our resources on the UK, where we have now grown to over 130 staff. In January, we opened a new office in Sheffield to handle some of our sales and customer support areas.
We’re aiming to increase our market share for both customer loyalty and employee engagement products, and are rolling out tools across the business to help us segment our markets. Our initial offering was very much focused on SMEs, but as our range of perks and discounts has grown, we’ve become an effective retention tool for customers of all sizes.
What does the future hold for you and Perkbox? Do you have any upcoming plans or projects you would be willing to share with us?
We’re very much a technology company and are constantly redeveloping and improving our product. The 2017 plan includes a full roadmap of new features for making the rewards and discounts easier to use and administer and more relevant and engaging for different types of customers. We’re always on the lookout for great channel partners to offer new rewards, and for enthusiastic staff who share our passion for creating engaging products.
Jekaterina Stuge is the chief financial officer of Amber Beverage Group (ABG), a company that consolidates Baltic operations (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) of the SPI Group, globally known mostly for the production and distribution of the Stoli and Moskovskaya vodka brands. Jekaterina joined SPI Group before ABG was created and one of the first projects that she worked on was the creation of the unified Baltic holding company. Main objective for the creation of the holding was to establish a strong vertically integrated operation covering production, distribution, logistics and retail, all sharing the common goal of being the leading beverage production and distribution company in the Baltics. The organisation’s objective was centralisation of all administrative functions within Baltic companies under one roof, so that subsidiaries could concentrate on their primary business objectives. Here Jekaterina tells us more about Amber Beverage Group, the advantages of operating within the Baltic region and introduces us to the ins and outs of her role, as well as her recent accomplishments.
Please tell us more about Amber Beverage Group?
The Amber Beverage Group (ABG) consolidates the majority shareholding of the beverage production company Latvijas Balzams JSC, and the 100% owned distribution and logistics entities Amber Distribution Latvia SIA, Bravo SIA, Amber Distribution Estonia OU and Bennet Distribution UAB. Previously, the Baltic companies of ABG had operated under the direct supervision of SPI Group HQ in Luxembourg.
To achieve successful consolidation and integration, we have made significant effort to create engaging and ambitious culture amongst our managers and staff. During the process of restructuring, we concentrated on taking out all administrative support functions from operating companies and creating a holding company that will provide shared services of Finance, HR, IT and Central Marketing for our Core Brands. We put a lot of effort on reviewing the processes to exclude duplication of functions within operating companies, in order to make the communication lines clear and effective. Our central team structure now is a good platform for further expansion of ABG.
A good example is our recent acquisition of Fabrica de Tequilas Finos, a company that owns a tequila brand and has a production facility in the town of Tequila, Mexico. Despite this company being located in a completely different part of the world, we manage to take over IT and Finance functions within 2 months and are now providing support services from Riga.
As the CFO of ABG, I have defined my focus on the continuous improvement of our ability to deliver excellence starting with day–to–day tasks. I was leading a project concerned with the implementation of common ERP (Enterprise Reporting Platform) for our companies in the Baltics, as well as common Document Management system and several other Business Intelligence tools. Implementation of common ERP was a crucial step to unifying and automating processes within our operating companies, which supports our objective to minimize the unnecessary routine tasks. Full implementation of ERP system in all our 6 companies is underway and is expected to be fully operational in 2017.
What motivates you most about working for Amber?
I truly enjoy driving progress. Every day I challenge myself and my team/colleagues for a more efficient, smarter way to achieve our business goals. I have many ideas and initiatives that at first appear impossible and it is so rewarding to see them implemented and contributing to our business performance. Our goal - to deliver excellence in everything we do – to me is not just a slogan. It’s a good reason to raise the bar!
During the last 3 years our group companies have changed significantly - transforming from stand-alone, old-school bureaucratic entities to a very modern, progressive, technology-driven holding with dedicated people who work together to achieve the common objectives.
I enjoy being the pacemaker of those changes and I’m proud of the results that we have achieved.
Amber Beverage Group products are sold in over 170 markets around the world - what are the challenges associated with operating cross-border in this sector? How do you overcome these alongside your clients?
The key challenge is always to sell more. We sell our products mainly based on FOB or EXW terms, so from sales support perspective, the major challenges are the legal aspects - registration of all our trademarks in accordance with the local county requirements and ensuring that all back labels include all requested information, according to the different jurisdictions’ legislation.
In terms of market competition, where does Amber Beverage Group stand globally and what are its goals moving forward?
With our newly created and invigorated export team we have made significant steps in building the new distribution network across the world for our brands. Our fast growing international business, which is operating form Riga, Latvia, covers over 50 export markets. We are proud that we produce the 4th largest premium vodka brand - Stolichnaya for SPI Group in our production plant in Riga. Via our network, we are able to reach out to our clients, which helps us to sell our brands in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Malta, Panama, South Africa, China, UK, US, Spain, Italy and a number of other markets. Recently we also acquired the Moskovskaya Vodka brand from SPI Group. We are continuously changing and evolving by improving our brand assets and strengthening the position of our leading brands (Moskovskaya Vodka, Cosmopolitan Diva and Riga Black Balsam) across leading spirits markets.
As previously mentioned, we acquired a significant equity stake in Fabrica de Tequilas Finos, Mexico this year. The acquisition is expected to offer us new opportunities, in regards to expanding distribution into the USA and South and Central America.
Our plan is to continue to improve our production capabilities with focus on purchasing, planning and infrastructure improvements to support our goal to deliver quality products at a competitive cost.
What achievements have you made in your role thus far and how have they contributed to Amber Beverage’s performance in 2016?
During the last few years, I have stimulated fundamental changes in the organization, including centralization of the Finance and IT departments and improvement of business processes through automatization of the major business processes, as well as a number of significant improvements in the financial management that affect the healthiness of our financial position. For example, in 2016 I led the restructuring of all of our loan facilities, negotiated additional changes to a number of clauses and covenants that helped us to reduce the borrowing margins. I also implemented effective management of working capital.
Our holding has also benefited from putting all of our cash resources together, in one cash pool – which resulted in both organic and inorganic growth.
The role of a CFO has significantly evolved in recent years - in your opinion, what might the future of CFOs look like in the future?
The role of the CFO has definitely broadened over the past years. Beyond the core responsibilities of financial reporting, audit and compliance, planning, treasury, and capital structure, many CFOs are today playing an important role in operational decisions, and being key advisors to business decision making through the organization. The CFO plays a major role in performance management, and in the development of highly efficient tools to make the decision making more transparent, more straight-forward, and based on more relevant information.
Today CFOs are involved in reviewing and developing efficient processes within their organisations, in order to drive the most cost-efficient performance. This includes automatization of functions and implementing preventive controls from one side, and more flexible business management solutions on the other side, often IT/technology-driven.
I firmly believe that modern financial management should be working with a view of the future - when the finance team is less focused on generating reporting around past performance and ensuring other "passive" support functions, but rather being at the heart of generating the business.
What would you say are the advantages of operating in the Baltic States?
It is a rapidly developing region that still has a lot of unrevealed potential for growth, combined with environmentally friendly living conditions and highly qualified people.
This month Katina Hristova had the privilege of interviewing the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer of O2 - Patricia Cobian. She became CFO of O2 in August, taking on the role when the corporation’s new CEO Mark Evans appointed her to his board.
O2 is the commercial brand of Telefonica UK Limited and is a leading digital communications company with the highest customer satisfaction for any mobile provider according to Ofcom. With over 25 million customers, O2 runs 2G, 3G and 4G networks across the UK, as well as operating its nationwide O2 Wi-Fi service. The company owns the successful giffgaff brand as well as half of Tesco Mobile and has agreements to provide the network service for other leading mobile brands including Lycamobile, Sky and TalkTalk. O2 has over 450 retail stores and sponsors The O2, O2 Academy venues and England Rugby.
Over the next few pages, Finance Monthly hears about Patricia’s experience within the telco sector, how her work at Telefonica has helped towards becoming O2’s new CFO and her next steps and goals at O2.
You were recently appointed as O2’s new chief financial officer – what’s your vision for the company and what goals are you arriving with as a CFO of the telecommunications services provider?
Although new to the CFO role, I’ve worked in the telco sector for 17 years – 10 of those with Telefonica.
Throughout that time, O2 has shown that it’s a special brand and business. It has a strong track record of taking bold and disruptive business moves on behalf of its customers – from bringing the iPhone to the UK in 2007 to ripping up the rule book on tariffs by launching O2’s Refresh – the UK’s first contract that allows customers to upgrade their devices whenever they want.
I’ve long believed that if you look after your customers, the bottom line will take care of itself.
Our strategy of putting our customers at the heart of everything we do has brought success: we have just celebrated seven years of the highest customer satisfaction scores in the industry, as measured by the regulator. As a result, we have the most loyal customers, proven by having the lowest churn figure in the market. We now connect more than 25 million people to their passions and the people and they love and work with.
We will continue to be customer-led. We will keep being obsessive about our customers – truly understanding what they want and need, and delivering a best in class customer experience. But all of this is not the preserve of the marketing or business insights team. I’ve challenged all of my team to know and understand our customers – only then can we as a finance function make informed investment decisions and deliver value for the business.
Secondly, I want us to continue to be mobile-first. For a number of years now, companies have moved towards quad play strategies – bundling TV, fixed line broadband, landline and mobile. And they have been bundling fixed technology because they have it on offer, not because consumers want it. We are different. We have always been technology agnostic, and we will continue to focus on offering what customers need, not assets that we have bought and need to find a way to monetize.
Today, customers want mobile connectivity. Four in five adults own a smartphone and for the first time, more people are choosing their phones rather than laptops or computers to access the internet. People are no longer simply relying on mobiles for functional calls. They are becoming the remote controls for our lives: for shopping, entertainment, business, news, home life. In fact, people are three times more likely to say they can’t do without their mobiles than a fixed internet connection.
It’s clear evidence that fixed telecom businesses need to be in mobile, whereas we don’t need to be in fixed line.
It is this mobile-first approach, coupled with our understanding of the customer that means we are the best-positioned operator in the UK to capture and drive the opportunities of an increasingly mobile and connectivity-hungry economy.
You have more than 15 years of experience in the TMT space- can you tell us a bit about your previous positions and the lessons that they’ve taught you?
I have not followed what some would call a traditional route to get to where I am today. Rather than qualifying as an accountant, I began my career as an engineer. Although I have taken a different path to most CFOs, my experience has put me in good stead - I am a strategist, comfortable with evaluating the big picture and taking the long term perspective, I am commercial and understand the drivers of value in the business, I am methodical and I am obsessive about details (and of course the numbers).
In further education I studied maths, fluid mechanics, operations research and electronics for six years, but it wasn’t long before I was focusing on corporate finance and TMT at McKinsey & Company. I spent seven years with the firm, working in Madrid, New York and London and building in-depth knowledge of the TMT sector and corporate finance. I credit McKinsey with giving me the opportunity to develop an international career, and I still count on great friends and mentors from that time.
I initially joined Telefonica in 2006 as SVP Strategy & Development for O2 Europe before becoming Chief of Staff to the Telefonica Europe CEO in 2009. In that role I developed a deeper understanding of Telefonica’s European operations and focused on stakeholder management. In 2011 I joined the Executive Committee for Telefonica Europe as Business Development Director, overseeing a period rife with key partnerships and M&A activity. Key milestones over that period were the sale of the Irish business and of Telefonica Czech Republic, but also the IPO of Telefonica Germany and the acquisition of ePlus. I then joined O2 as Strategy and Transformation Director in 2014 before becoming CFO.
Looking back on my career so far, I would highlight the importance of being open to learning and seeing that as the key source for development. And equally importantly, the value in surrounding yourself with brilliant people. Some people might find that threatening – but for me, only by being open to understanding a new angle and by surrounding ourselves with people who can bring a new perspective and different skills can we continually challenge the status quo, think innovatively and deliver for our customers.
Your appointment comes at a crucial time for O2 considering the on-going debate about the business and the upcoming spectrum, what challenges have you been faced with so far?
I have spent most of my career working in the telco sector. It’s one of the most dynamic and innovative around. But it’s also one of the most fiercely competitive and regulated markets.
People’s demand for connectivity is clear for everyone to see. Almost 40 million people have already signed up to 4G in the UK so they can work, do business, watch videos and shop on the go. Data use on our network continues to accelerate year on year. It presents a huge opportunity for businesses both within and outside of our sector, as people and businesses demand mobile-powered products, apps and services.
With Britain’s economy in a period of uncertainty, finding ways to unlock growth is vital to our ability to compete on a global scale. The digital economy is already growing around 30% faster than the rest of the economy, according to think tank Innovate UK. Meanwhile Deloitte’s 2016 Mobile Consumer survey revealed that 4G adoption has more than doubled in the past year from 25% to 54%. It is clear that mobile connectivity is the invisible infrastructure that has been powering our economy.
But for individuals, businesses and communities to use mobile connectivity to its full potential – particularly in a post-Brexit Britain - we need to set the right conditions to ensure a competitive and fair mobile marketplace. We need to work together to build a digital infrastructure that’s fit for the future.
First, we need a regulatory environment that delivers a level playing field for businesses and supports a competitive market for customers. Creating the right incentives to invest and roll out superfast networks as we move to 5G will be critical to ensuring we capitalise on the opportunity for mobile to secure our economic future.
Secondly, we need a spectrum auction process that encourages the quickest and fairest deployment of spectrum. The next auction, due in early 2017, is an opportunity to rebalance spectrum across the mobile sector. This would promote competition and benefit customers. Ofcom has made it clear that it wants a market in which four strong operators can compete fairly. Measures should therefore be taken to guarantee that the auction does not increase of the current imbalance, does not enable spectrum hoarding and does not allow for strategic bidding, which could force up prices over and above the intrinsic value of the spectrum. This isn’t about getting spectrum cheaply, we believe operators should pay the market rate. It’s about efficient and effective use of spectrum to deliver for consumers and UK plc, and help reboot the economy.
Finally, outdated analogue planning laws and regulation need to be updated so we can build the invisible infrastructure people want. As it stands, rights of access to mobile phone masts are inadequate and affect mobile phone customers when network faults need to be fixed or new sites need to be installed. Solving this issue not only requires a bold, long-term vision, it requires leadership, partnership and collective effort by industry, government, local authorities, regulators and the public. The Digital Economy Bill sets us on the right path but we all need to work together to deliver the country’s digital infrastructure and secure an economic future for everyone.
What are your responsibilities and what does a typical day in the office look like for you?
In my role as CFO I look after all aspects of Finance, Strategy and Procurement. And it sounds clichéd but in these first three months I still have not worked a single “typical” day. Clearly some activities follow a monthly or weekly cadence but every day is different in terms of how I need to support my team or my colleagues around the board table on a key negotiation, a commercial decision, or allocating capital across the wide array of demands.
I am passionate about the role of Finance in helping the business understand the interdependencies across different actions, the impact of activity across the business but not just with the goal of explaining what happened and examining past performance, but in a forward looking way, supporting decision making.
In your opinion, what might the future of financial directors look like in the upcoming years?
The digital revolution has already disrupted entire industries, shaped new operating models and created a whole raft of roles that simply didn’t exist when I first started out my career. Almost every role in every company in every sector has been touched by new technology in the last decade. The role of the CFO is no exception.
I believe that CFOs have a central role to play - I don’t just mean by appreciating the ability of digital technology to drive cost efficiencies or streamline operations. I mean in truly understanding and championing how technology can add significant value within your business model.
To truly add value to our businesses we need to be as close to our customers as we are to the numbers. That means we need to be anticipating their changing needs and responding to them quickly. It shouldn’t only be the responsibility of the customer insight teams. The modern day finance function should be equipped to understand customer demands and expectations, and we must also better embrace collaboration with colleagues from across the business. Just as we expect our marketing colleagues to understand financial limitations and implications for a business, so too should financiers stretch their creative capacity to find new and adaptive ways of doing business.
Forward-thinking CFOs should seek out creative solutions and embrace bold decision-making to overcome business challenges and deliver for customers.
The second CFO that Finance Monthly reached to this month is Nick Haslehurst who joined moneycorp as Chief Financial and Operating Officer in 2012, bringing more than 17 years’ experience in global finance to the helm.
Established in 1979, moneycorp is one of the largest and fastest-growing players in the foreign exchange and international payments market. Providing a quick, secure and competitively priced international payments service, the specialist firm helps individuals and a wide range of businesses with FX risk management solutions, allowing them to trade foreign exchange and make international payments across the globe.
In his role, Nick oversees all moneycorp’s support centre functions, from financial control and accounting, planning and analysis, treasury, technology, compliance and legal services.
With previous positions as Global Finance Director at MasterCard Inc’s Prepaid Debit Card Division and Travelex Ltd, Nick is no stranger to revamping and implementing business strategies to help streamline largescale operations and organisational structures. Nick has been instrumental in driving moneycorp’s impressive international growth strategy, including the development and launch of Moneycorp Bank. With over 800 staff across Europe and the US, the company is set for further expansion in the near future.
Moneycorp has just launched its 2016’s H1 Trading results – what have been the company’s biggest achievements in the first six months of 2016? What are you most proud of?
It was an extremely busy half-year for the team at moneycorp and there have been lots of successes to reflect on - not least, a strong set of H1 results which saw the company handle 3.5 million transactions and £11.4 billion worth of currency in the run up to the EU Referendum. Financial performance is obviously a key indicator for any business, but this has to be coupled with long-term investment and continuation of growth for the future. Financial services in all areas are changing at a rapid pace - customers expect more transparency and improved digital interaction - and at moneycorp this is always front of mind.
In April we announced the successful completion of our application to acquire a bank license, and with it, the launch of the new Moneycorp Bank, which will act as a separate legal entity to our main operations here in London. We invested significant time, resource and infrastructure into acquiring the license and we see it as a major step in establishing moneycorp as a leading global FX risk management provider and international payments specialist. Most recently, our international expansion plans have taken us into Romania, where our newly-launched office comprises a foreign exchange dealing and sales team, client onboarding desk and compliance, complete with the use our centralised technology platform.
Technology and the digital transformation of the business was also a sharp focus for us in H1. As well as investing in a complementary offshore technology hub in India, significant investment has gone into the launch of the new moneycorp app, which went live in the App Store last month, allowing global payments and FX dealing on the move. We regard ourselves as a front-runner in technology-led services, so moving moneycorp’s browser-based technology into a fast, simple, international payments app for our customers was a key milestone for the business.
Moneycorp has recently signed a deal to acquire a foreign exchange and payments business in Brazil – can you tell us about the company’s expansion plans? What does 2017 hold for Moneycorp?
At moneycorp, our expansion plans focus on controlled growth within our existing domestic and international markets, whilst establishing a foothold in new markets that offer solid and sustainable growth opportunities, both now and in the future.
In 2015, moneycorp signed an agreement to acquire a stake in a fast-growing Brazilian foreign exchange business. Earlier this year we also announced the launch of one of our largest ever commercial partnerships with global news giants CNN in the US. Both developments have given moneycorp a solid platform to expand into what are two enormous markets with significant growth opportunities. South America and Asia - two continents with buoyant property and import/export markets - are also firmly set within our sights as part of moneycorp’s long-term international expansion strategy.
The roll out of Moneycorp Bank will also be a major catalyst for our plans for international growth into European markets, allowing us to hold deposits in multiple currencies, service the payment needs of corporate and private clients overseas, and offer a full range of FX risk management solutions.
The big topic of the moment for international companies is of course Brexit; the triggering of Article 50, and more significantly, the implications of either a “hard” or “soft” exit from the European Union. Our hunger for sustainable growth remains unchanged following the Brexit result, and this includes our approach towards expansion overseas. Pre-referendum we went through careful contingency planning to prepare for either outcome, and we are now in a good place to continually adapt and eventually implement this plan as the negotiating landscape develops in 2017.
In the event of a “hard” Brexit, we are fully prepared to continue servicing our clients across the globe and pursue our long-term growth ambitions without disruption. Our sights stretch far and wide, and we are aiming to expand into two-to-three new territories each year.
In terms of competition, where does the company stand globally?
Moneycorp is one of the UK’s leading foreign exchange providers and our vision is to be the first choice for international payments. What makes us stand out from the competition is a simple but effective corporate philosophy - if we serve our clients well, success will follow. Like any other business, that means setting the standards for the industry by delivering the best and most comprehensive specialist services to our customers.
What do you anticipate for the future of product and technology innovation?
Foreign exchange is already a technology-led industry and the demand for faster, fully-integrated, autonomous solutions is more important than ever. Customers want a better online experience and moneycorp’s international payments platform and mobile app have been designed with this in mind.
When it comes to product offerings, transparency is key. Customers are more knowledgeable about the market than ever before, which means they want to see clear pricing structures with no hidden fees. Both product and technology innovation must go hand-in-hand to create an all-round more comprehensive offering for customers. Not only do businesses and individuals want to be able to make safe and secure transactions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but they also want to exchange a range of currencies with ease via a choice of payment methods.
