February summary!

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If you missed out on the Voice of FinTech podcast in February, here is your roundup! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.

Charitable donations - do you know where your money goes? Chase Harmer, Director at Wishes, Inc. (USA)

Chase Harmer, Director at Wishes Inc., spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about digital transformation in charitable donations. 

Here is what they discussed in more detail:

  • Chase's backstory

  • Charitable donations – why does the process need a digital upgrade? 

  • Wishes to provide transparency and enhancing making connections of donors with causes

  • Scalability of Wishes solution

  • How can you benefit from credit card rewards for charitable donations?

  • Key clients and partners: individual donors, charities, retailers and credit card companies

  • Technology angle – a proprietary tech at the heart

  • Business model

  • What’s your favorite business book? Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great Book 2)

  • The best way to reach out: Chase Harmer 

Digitalization of wealth management with Ryan George, CMO of Docupace (USA)

Ryan George, CMO of Docupace, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about the digitalization of wealth management, wealth management and WealthTech trends and implications for wealth advisors. 

Here is what they discussed in more detail:

  • Ryan - how did you get to what you do these days?

  • Wealth management in the US – what are the recent trends, and how do you see the outlook for this year?

  • What is Docupace – what is the problem you solve, and why is it worth solving?

  • What is your solution/services? 

  • How do you differ from other solutions in this space?

  • Is your solution scalable?

  • Who are your key clients?

  • What’s your technology angle – is it proprietary tech or do you bundle various technologies together?

  • To recap, how do you see the future of financial advisory further down the line?

  • Favorite business book: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a 2008 book by Dan Ariely, in which he challenges readers' assumptions about making decisions based on rational thought.

  • What’s the best way to reach out: Ryan George on LinkedIn or Docupace website

Innovation in private markets and wealth management with Efi Pylarinou (Switzerland)

Efi Pylarinou, a global FinTech influencer, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about the digitalization of wealth management, wealth management and WealthTech trends and implications for wealth advisors. 

Here is what they discussed:

  • Efi´s transformational journey

  • Rebranding of private markets - why is it needed? 

  • What about risk, aren't private markets labelled as alternatives as they pose a higher risk to investors?

  • How do you see the future of asset management?  Why do we still have active asset managers if, for years, we hear that they cannot beat the market and are not cost-effective?

  • Passive funds and robo-advisors – are robo-advisors a threat to ETFs?

  • What does customer centricity mean for large wealth and asset managers?

  • Do you see AI-driven insights as a major competitive capability in the future of wealth management?

  • How do you transform incumbents into data-driven, agile organisations without transition threatening their core business?

  • When is commission-free trading coming to Switzerland?

  • Outlook for crypto this year

  • Recommended reading: The People Centered Economy: The New Ecosystem For Work, Business in Personal: Be the Leader of Your Life and Business or Paolo Sironi´s books

  • The best way to reach out or get Efi´s content: https://linktr.ee/Efiglobal

Digital transformation with Marco Santos, CEO Americas at GFT Group (USA)

Marco Santos, CEO Americas at GFT Group spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about helping incumbents with their digital transformation efforts, namely transition to the cloud.

Here is what they covered:

  • Marco's background

  • How do you transform incumbents into data-driven, agile organizations without transition threatening their core business?

  • Banks care about their client data – how can you use the cloud, with servers often abroad, in banking?

  • Are banks more open to migration to the cloud now than, say five years ago?

  • What are the key pros and cons for incumbents considering moving to the cloud?

  • How can you switch cloud providers down the line?

  • How secure is using the cloud for a large bank?

  • How long does it take, and how do you de-risk migration to the cloud?

  • Favorite business book: Exponential Organizations by Salim Ismail and others

  • The best way to reach out: Marco Santos on LinkedIn

If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com. Alternatively, you can also leave a voicemail here.

Keep safe!

Sincerely,

Rudolf Falat