Intelligent Fin.tech Issue 05 | Page 60

OFF THE BOOKS

ROBIN SMITH , REGIONAL VP NORTH AMERICA , MAMBU

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

wWhat would you describe as your most memorable achievement ?

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
60 www . intelligentfin . tech