I’m a co-founder at RTGS.global. I was COO from company founding in 2019 to end-2023. Now I'm an advisor. RTGS.global is a cloud-native Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) that enables Payment-vs-Payment (PvP) settlement for FX trades in the interbank market, based on liquidity backed by central bank funds. We support end-to-end instant cross-border payments. I feel lucky to have been part of a business that has taken me to the heart of London’s financial sector every month… Show more I’m a co-founder at RTGS.global. I was COO from company founding in 2019 to end-2023. Now I'm an advisor. RTGS.global is a cloud-native Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) that enables Payment-vs-Payment (PvP) settlement for FX trades in the interbank market, based on liquidity backed by central bank funds. We support end-to-end instant cross-border payments. I feel lucky to have been part of a business that has taken me to the heart of London’s financial sector every month or so, while still making my home base Halifax, Nova Scotia. Startups aren’t always easy but starting RTGS.global has been great in at least two ways: it’s exciting to tackle a large infrastructure problem that has such profound impact on the global economy; and my colleagues are the kind of people I'd like to hang out with on a Friday night even if they weren't co-workers. Show less

Many fintechs are changing the way payments are made, including payments that run off the big card networks -- Visa and MasterCard. A lot of the innovation is hitting the front-end (UX/CX). PayTic is different. It's gone after a critical but neglected part of card payments: the back office (disputes, fraud, scheme fees -- all the fun stuff that all-too-often culminates in a big mess of reconciliation errors).I'm on the board of this company and made a minority investment. I was… Show more Many fintechs are changing the way payments are made, including payments that run off the big card networks -- Visa and MasterCard. A lot of the innovation is hitting the front-end (UX/CX). PayTic is different. It's gone after a critical but neglected part of card payments: the back office (disputes, fraud, scheme fees -- all the fun stuff that all-too-often culminates in a big mess of reconciliation errors).I'm on the board of this company and made a minority investment. I was attracted for two reasons. First, I know from first hand experience watching many banks start new card programs that the back office is what most new issuers aren't ready for -- way more legacy and way more complexity than they expected. That was as true for banks in Vietnam or Cambodia I onboarded in 2005 as it is for a fintech issuer in Europe (or community bank BIN sponsor in the US) on a rocket of growth in 2024. Second, the people (notably the founder, Imad Bouhmadi), who exhibit the vision, grit and determination that are the mark of good entrepreneurs. Show less

Dr. Jackie Kinley is a gem for Nova Scotia and Canada. A psychiatrist by training, she has dedicated a good portion of her life to supporting those with acute mental illness. But her greatest gift lies in her unique protocol that is designed to prevent, or at least stem, a slide into mental deconditioning -- before it's too late. Jackie is a champion for resilience.Her evidence-based model for building resilience is grounded in years of clinical experience, research and a deep… Show more Dr. Jackie Kinley is a gem for Nova Scotia and Canada. A psychiatrist by training, she has dedicated a good portion of her life to supporting those with acute mental illness. But her greatest gift lies in her unique protocol that is designed to prevent, or at least stem, a slide into mental deconditioning -- before it's too late. Jackie is a champion for resilience.Her evidence-based model for building resilience is grounded in years of clinical experience, research and a deep understanding of the neuroscience that lies at the heart of most problems that afflict people above the neck. She's passionate and principled. She's helped me when I needed it.I love serving on the board of her company, AIR, where I am a minority investor. More specifically, I work on the board of her subsidiary that offers a digital delivery platform for her resilience program.The world needs more purpose-led entrepreneurs like Dr. Jackie Kinley. Show less

This was a stint of freelance consulting. My primary client was CFFI Ventures, the investment arm of one of Canada's most of successful entrepreneurs and business mentors, John Risley. I came to know John through his investment in Kinduct (-->Movella), where I was COO. I supported CFFI in their investment in ClearBank, a leader in agency banking and embedded finance -- first in the UK, now expanding. (ClearBank was granted the first new license from the Bank of England in 250 years… Show more This was a stint of freelance consulting. My primary client was CFFI Ventures, the investment arm of one of Canada's most of successful entrepreneurs and business mentors, John Risley. I came to know John through his investment in Kinduct (-->Movella), where I was COO. I supported CFFI in their investment in ClearBank, a leader in agency banking and embedded finance -- first in the UK, now expanding. (ClearBank was granted the first new license from the Bank of England in 250 years to provide clearing services in the UK.) After the work at ClearBank, a new portfolio company for CFFI and their partner investors (PPF) naturally emerged: RTGS.global, of which I am co-founder. Show less

Kinduct (now part of Movella) was a home-grown success story in Halifax, Nova Scotia, founded by a friend and entrepreneur, Travis McDonough. With a bunch of talented buddies, Travis his personal passion for sports and human performance and turned it into a booming business. The company was a pioneering SportsTech firm that built a digital Athlete Management System (AMS) used by teams in the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and beyond. As someone who had only ever worked in a completely different… Show more Kinduct (now part of Movella) was a home-grown success story in Halifax, Nova Scotia, founded by a friend and entrepreneur, Travis McDonough. With a bunch of talented buddies, Travis his personal passion for sports and human performance and turned it into a booming business. The company was a pioneering SportsTech firm that built a digital Athlete Management System (AMS) used by teams in the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and beyond. As someone who had only ever worked in a completely different industry (electronic payments), this was outside my comfort zone -- but that was part of the appeal. When I moved home to Halifax from Singapore, I got a seat on the Kinduct bus just as it was closing its Series A led by Intel Capital. I started on contract from April to September of 2016, and then became SVP Operations and, in turn COO. I moved to an advisory role for a year, starting in May 2018, as I was transitioning back to my familiar industry stomping ground of electronic payments.Kinduct had great people: hard-working but fun-loving, and determined to make a mark on a burgeoning industry from an unlikely home base. Working there lit a spark in me that said, "I want to be a part of building a business from the beginning." Before long, I became co-founder of RTGS.global. Show less

This was a dream job of sorts, as a member of the Asia Pacific Leadership Team (APLT). We split Asia into multiple P&L business units, from Japan, China, and a cluster up other markets up north, to Oceania down south, and South Asia to the west. Southeast Asia rounded it out, itself with two units: one with more developed card markets (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), and another with more emerging, if fast-growing, markets within ASEAN. I ran this latter cluster, with overall responsibility for… Show more This was a dream job of sorts, as a member of the Asia Pacific Leadership Team (APLT). We split Asia into multiple P&L business units, from Japan, China, and a cluster up other markets up north, to Oceania down south, and South Asia to the west. Southeast Asia rounded it out, itself with two units: one with more developed card markets (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), and another with more emerging, if fast-growing, markets within ASEAN. I ran this latter cluster, with overall responsibility for Visa in Indonesia, Philippines, Guam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. I was already familiar with some of those markets, having been Visa's first in-situ Country Manager for Vietnam nearly a decade earlier, when I lived in Ho Chi Minh City and opened Visa's office that served Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. But other markets were new and fresh territory for me -- e.g. Indonesia and Philippines, where we had established offices and a booming business. Myanmar was an especially exciting market to have in the portfolio. It had been part of my responsibilities many years earlier when I oversaw Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos but, insofar as Myanmar was concerned at that time, my only responsibility was to ensure compliance with OFAC and other sanctions, which prohibited American businesses from doing business in the country! Fast forward 9 years and the market had now opened up to the world, giving me a chance to be a part of Visa establishing an on-the-ground presence in Yangon. It was exciting. In the end, this chapter in my career was bittersweet. On the one hand, it was a dream job, working with lifelong friends and mentors on the regional leadership team. On the other hand, it was shorter than planned when I had some health challenges that contributed to a family decision to move home to Canada. But it capped a great run at Visa that gifted me lifelong friends and many cherished memories. Show less

This role evolved as we consolidated multiple assets related to emerging market payments capabilities into a single business unit. It subsumed the product my team had created and trialled in Rwanda (mVISA -- see below) and other assets that had been forged out of the acquisition of Cape Town based Fundamo.The business unit -- "Emerging Markets Digital" -- was responsible for Visa's digital products across all emerging markets. I had global responsibility for the product roadmap for… Show more This role evolved as we consolidated multiple assets related to emerging market payments capabilities into a single business unit. It subsumed the product my team had created and trialled in Rwanda (mVISA -- see below) and other assets that had been forged out of the acquisition of Cape Town based Fundamo.The business unit -- "Emerging Markets Digital" -- was responsible for Visa's digital products across all emerging markets. I had global responsibility for the product roadmap for mobile financial services. Show less

I led a skunkworks project charged with incubating new business models for Visa to meet the needs of low income, unbanked consumers in emerging markets. We invented and patented a first-of-its kind mobile money service designed to bring interoperability between financial institutions and mobile network operators (MNOs). In looking for the right market to pilot this offering, we chose Rwanda, incorporating a Visa business in the country and opening an office in Kigali that included… Show more I led a skunkworks project charged with incubating new business models for Visa to meet the needs of low income, unbanked consumers in emerging markets. We invented and patented a first-of-its kind mobile money service designed to bring interoperability between financial institutions and mobile network operators (MNOs). In looking for the right market to pilot this offering, we chose Rwanda, incorporating a Visa business in the country and opening an office in Kigali that included existing and new Visa staff. We piloted the new mobile payment service called mVISA. In the end, the product wasn't commercialized at scale, but learnings fed into future product developments related to mobile phone based 'push payments' that use the Original Credit Transaction (OCT) embedded in Visa Direct, a key engine of growth for Visa today. What we didn't know when we entered Rwanda was that, far beyond a pilot for mobile banking, we would end up forming a broader public-private partnership (PPP) with the Government of Rwanda aimed at accelerating the electronification of the Rwandan economy more generally. We ran creative educational programs for financial literacy and trialled support payments to refugees in UN camps, among other things. This was one of the most gratifying projects of my career. Our small but passionate team brough a diversity of perspectives and life experiences and was proud to champion a double-bottom-line mindset before ESG was a thing. Mostly, it was a gift to get to know so many kind and inspiring people in a country that is too often associated with the horrors of the genocide against the Tutsi at the expense the many other riches of its culture and people. The stamps in my passport tell me I visited Rwanda more than 40 times over three years, from a home base in Singapore. This gave a lot of jetlag, but also gifted treasured memories and invaluable experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Show less

Today, mobile payments are so embedded in everyday life that we don’t even call them that. They’re just payments. We tap our phones on a reader and march on with our coffee, or pass through a ticket gantry to board a subway train. No big deal. It wasn’t that way in 2006. This job was an exciting five year stretch where I ran innovation for mobile financial services – first in Asia Pacific and then, after an internal consolidation of regions, also the Middle East, Central Europe and… Show more Today, mobile payments are so embedded in everyday life that we don’t even call them that. They’re just payments. We tap our phones on a reader and march on with our coffee, or pass through a ticket gantry to board a subway train. No big deal. It wasn’t that way in 2006. This job was an exciting five year stretch where I ran innovation for mobile financial services – first in Asia Pacific and then, after an internal consolidation of regions, also the Middle East, Central Europe and Africa. This was the period when innovation in mobile payments globally were exploding from two vectors. First, the Japanese and the Koreans were years ahead in mass market adoption of smart phones, and had come to do all kinds of things with contactless payments that would bleed into other markets. Second, in emerging markets – most notably Africa, where M-PESA in Kenya had unleased a revolution in financial services for the ‘unbanked’ – everyone knew mobile phones would leapfrog old-school ways of doing banking and payments (cards, ATMs, bank branches). During my time leading this group, we did a number of exciting things related to person-to-person (P2P) payments and e-commerce via mobile devices. I was part of negotiating various partnerships and a joint venture in India, and represented Visa on the World Economic Forum’s Mobile Financial Services Working Group. But the most exciting memories lie in being a part of some world firsts that may very well have played a part (however small) in changing how payments are made: first, brokering (in Korea in 2007) a tripartite business model between Visa, financial institutions, and mobile network operators that saw Visa account credentials loaded to a mobile carrier’s SIM card for the first time ever; second (in Malaysia in 2009) overseeing the launch of Visa’s first commercial mobile payment service using what is now the global standard (EMV + NFC) for radio frequency contactless payments we all use every day. What a ride! Show less

During this year, I was Country Manager for Visa in Singapore and Brunei. I think the correct term for career instalments like this is "teachable moment". Or "learning opportunity". Being Singapore country manager for a great company like Visa is a privilege. I was fortunate to be entrusted with it. But it turns out, it wasn't for me. With the benefit of hindsight, my older, wiser (?) self knows that I took this job for the wrong reason -- "it's a promotion!" -- not the right… Show more During this year, I was Country Manager for Visa in Singapore and Brunei. I think the correct term for career instalments like this is "teachable moment". Or "learning opportunity". Being Singapore country manager for a great company like Visa is a privilege. I was fortunate to be entrusted with it. But it turns out, it wasn't for me. With the benefit of hindsight, my older, wiser (?) self knows that I took this job for the wrong reason -- "it's a promotion!" -- not the right reason ("this is tugging on my heart strings"). How so? I had loved being a Country Manager for Visa in Vietnam, but it turns out that my DNA is about starting and building new businesses; I love to be a part of creating something fresh. Singapore represented an amazing business for Visa, and I took some gratification from negotiating some big deals, including the first co-brand card combining mass-transit commuter functionality with Visa payment services. But in the end, the role warranted someone who was keen to manage and grow an established, 'steady-as-it-goes', business, not build a new business. It wasn't for me. Fortunately, my deputy at the time was perfectly placed to take over the reigns (and hit it out of the park for years to come), freeing me up to be a part of the mobile payments revolution in Asia and Africa that spoke to my heart. Show less

In this role, I was general manager for Visa's business in Indochina, serving as Visa's first on-the-ground Country Manager in Vietnam, with additional responsibility for Cambodia and Laos. (Actually, I was Country Manager for Myanmar, too, but because Myanmar was subject to OFAC sanctions from the US Department of State, my only responsibility at the time was to ensure that we conduct no business there!) What an opportunity. Visa in Asia Pacific had just made a decision to expand into… Show more In this role, I was general manager for Visa's business in Indochina, serving as Visa's first on-the-ground Country Manager in Vietnam, with additional responsibility for Cambodia and Laos. (Actually, I was Country Manager for Myanmar, too, but because Myanmar was subject to OFAC sanctions from the US Department of State, my only responsibility at the time was to ensure that we conduct no business there!) What an opportunity. Visa in Asia Pacific had just made a decision to expand into lesser developed markets, establishing more local offices. In what I figured would be a passing comment that would surely be deflected, I said to the regional President as part of a chance encounter, "If you want a volunteer to open the office in Vietnam, I'll do it." Within short order, it was showtime, and my wife, our six-month old son, and I were bound for Ho Chi Minh City. Someone told me I was the youngest ever Country Manager at Visa at the time. The effect of the Doi Moi market reforms in Vietnam were, by that time, in full swing. All the same, there was not a single foreign payment brand licensed to operate in Vietnam. I was proud to secure our operating license and to build a local team of consummate professionals. We built the business from a place of principle. Vietnam still had memories of what goes wrong when consumer credit gets extended too fast, too far. So we built the foundation of Visa's volume on debit, not credit, and placed a premium on investing for the long term (e.g. smart card infrastructure, not magnetic stripe).I loved everything about my time in Vietnam: the people, the job, and our adventure as a family. If I have a regret, it's that I didn't stay longer. Show less

I was responsible for Visa’s product innovation agenda in Asia Pacific, covering e-commerce, smart cards, mobile commerce, and money transfers. During this time, my team launched Visa’s first-ever EMV chip-based contactless payment card service (Malaysia, 2004) – the basis for the contactless payment card offering that is now a mainstream global service for Visa. (Some years later, we would reach a similar milestone, in Malaysia again, for mobile phone based payments.)

This was a defined-term assignment to Visa's Tokyo office to kick start Visa's migration from magnetic stripe-based payment cards to smart cards in Japan – one of the first country-wide migrations in the world.Because Japan has always been so close to my heart, and because I had some facility for the language (however imperfect!), this was a great match.There was a personal challenge with this posting, though we made the most of it. My wife and I agreed that, after two years in… Show more This was a defined-term assignment to Visa's Tokyo office to kick start Visa's migration from magnetic stripe-based payment cards to smart cards in Japan – one of the first country-wide migrations in the world.Because Japan has always been so close to my heart, and because I had some facility for the language (however imperfect!), this was a great match.There was a personal challenge with this posting, though we made the most of it. My wife and I agreed that, after two years in London, we would return to Asia. We also agreed that Singapore would be the right destination. She got a job in Singapore...and I had one too...but my gig would see me based in Tokyo for a year. We agreed to do a year apart, with the proviso that we would regularly travel to meet up either in Tokyo, Singapore or, quite often, a random destination in between. Before long (when kids would start to arrive) this would no longer be practical but, for this year, we turned it into a plus! Show less

For this, my second year in London, I was initially unsure of what to expect, returning back to Visa after a year's adventure at a startup. It ended up a fabulous year. I worked in the head office for Visa's Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region. It was a stimulating year, with a mish-mash of exciting projects, ranging from oversight of chip card migration in Poland to the rollout of emerging market smart card solutions for Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. I left this… Show more For this, my second year in London, I was initially unsure of what to expect, returning back to Visa after a year's adventure at a startup. It ended up a fabulous year. I worked in the head office for Visa's Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region. It was a stimulating year, with a mish-mash of exciting projects, ranging from oversight of chip card migration in Poland to the rollout of emerging market smart card solutions for Western and Sub-Saharan Africa. I left this role to move to Visa in Tokyo, as my wife completed her two-year MBA and we decided to move back to Asia. Show less

SmartAxis was an e-commerce micropayment startup born out of AT&T Unisource. When my wife and I decided to move from Singapore to London for her to pursue her MBA, I left Visa and joined SmartAxis. It was my first taste of startup life (which I would return to)! SmartAxis had a creative solution to a real problem but, ultimately, the impact of the dotcom meltdown on global venture capital markets meant that this job experience included getting my first liquidation under my belt. When the… Show more SmartAxis was an e-commerce micropayment startup born out of AT&T Unisource. When my wife and I decided to move from Singapore to London for her to pursue her MBA, I left Visa and joined SmartAxis. It was my first taste of startup life (which I would return to)! SmartAxis had a creative solution to a real problem but, ultimately, the impact of the dotcom meltdown on global venture capital markets meant that this job experience included getting my first liquidation under my belt. When the company folded, I was lucky to get a call from Visa, saying they had some problems I could help solving. I'm still friends with many of the people from SmartAxis -- an awesome and eclectic bunch. Show less

My first 'real' job in business was as a contract staffer in the emerging payments group at Visa, working mainly on smart card related projects and e-commerce. I then became permanent. My wife and I had moved to Singapore with suitcases and nothing more. No job, not even any firm lead. (Immigration officials allowed you to do that back then.) One thing led to another and I joined Visa, where I would work for nearly two decades. These couple of years gave us our first taste of Southeast… Show more My first 'real' job in business was as a contract staffer in the emerging payments group at Visa, working mainly on smart card related projects and e-commerce. I then became permanent. My wife and I had moved to Singapore with suitcases and nothing more. No job, not even any firm lead. (Immigration officials allowed you to do that back then.) One thing led to another and I joined Visa, where I would work for nearly two decades. These couple of years gave us our first taste of Southeast Asia, to which we would magnetically return to after spending two years in London from 2000-2002 for my wife to pursue her MBA. Show less

As part of my MBA, I did an internship at Canadian Airlines in Tokyo. Looking back at it now, they gave me a lot of rope for an intern, empowering me to meet with travel agents and corporate clients in Tokyo as part of an effort to formalize a sales division focused on corporate clients. This was my first taste of the business world, and it was in Tokyo. My Japanese was rough for doing business -- but improving -- and my colleagues (every one of them Japanese -- no gaijin) coached and supported… Show more As part of my MBA, I did an internship at Canadian Airlines in Tokyo. Looking back at it now, they gave me a lot of rope for an intern, empowering me to meet with travel agents and corporate clients in Tokyo as part of an effort to formalize a sales division focused on corporate clients. This was my first taste of the business world, and it was in Tokyo. My Japanese was rough for doing business -- but improving -- and my colleagues (every one of them Japanese -- no gaijin) coached and supported me. I lived in a shoebox in Nakano and rode a crowded commuter train to Ginza every day. I ate ramen and yakitori at every opportunity. It was heaven. Show less

In 1994, my girlfriend (now wife) and I graduated from undergrad and wanted a year abroad before going to grad school. Without much science or forethought, we chose Japan, where we understood native English speakers could easily find employment as English teachers. She landed a great job as a teacher in a program sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education. I wasn't so lucky (to be clear: they turned me down for the same program) but decided to go anyway, landing in Fukuoka prefecture with… Show more In 1994, my girlfriend (now wife) and I graduated from undergrad and wanted a year abroad before going to grad school. Without much science or forethought, we chose Japan, where we understood native English speakers could easily find employment as English teachers. She landed a great job as a teacher in a program sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education. I wasn't so lucky (to be clear: they turned me down for the same program) but decided to go anyway, landing in Fukuoka prefecture with an equal deficiency in both job leads and Japanese language skills. It all worked out in the end. I got a job at a private English language school, driving my miniature car around rural Fukuoka to teach students as diverse as a gaggle of twenty 4-year olds in a preschool to 'salarymen' to housewives at the local cultural center. Over that year, something (or many things) clicked. I was in love with Japan, and intrigued by Asia more generally. I became consumed with studying Japanese and set my sights on a grad school program that could include a Japanese language, internship an exchange component. Even though this first exposure to Japan would only last ten months, it set in motion a lifelong love of the country, and opened the door to what would become many years in the region. Show less