On the lighter side of things , we ask Robin Smith , Regional VP North America , Mambu , what makes him tick .

Personally , it ’ s having raised three brilliant and successful children and having a very strong relationship with my family . Professionally , it ’ s having been part of a start-up core banking software company that we grew from zero to over 100 customers in five years and subsequently sold the company to Fiserv .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

In university , I worked full-time for a local family-owned business and the business owner , and my mentor enabled me to engage directly with a local community bank to facilitate several special growth projects for the bank . This not only exposed me to the financial services industry in a meaningful way but to the technologies required to support the bank .

When an opportunity arose to join one of the pioneers in banking software development I jumped at the chance and never looked back . It was never really about the technology itself , but how the technology could be used to help a financial institution serve its customers better .

What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position ? My centre point is across three dimensions – people first , being a student of the business and being a servant leader .

What do you think is the current hot technology talking point ?

In financial services technology , it ’ s about all things digital as traditional financial institutions try and create customer experiences which are more like what we experience from the likes of Amazon , Netflix and Apple .

How do you deal with stress and unwind outside of the office ?

Not well – but when I do it is usually activities of any kind that involve family , being on the water in some way shape or form and golf .

If you could go back and change one career decision , what would it be ?

I would have stayed in the local , familyrun business I started at while in college . It was a unique business which focused

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