Mike Kiely, Sales Director, Financial Services, IDnow, speaks to us about IDnow, his management philosophy and life outside of the office.
Can you tell us more about your company and day-to-day role?
Founded in 2014, IDnow has built a platform that meets some of the world’s strictest compliance and regulation requirements. In 2021, IDnow acquired ARIADNEXT and identity Trust Management AG, enabling IDnow to offer its customers one of the broadest identification solutions through a single, integrated platform. As such, IDnow is in an incredibly unique position, able to support businesses with their identity-proofing needs who are looking to scale beyond the UK and into geographies that are inherently difficult to penetrate, such as France and Germany.
For me, working at IDnow represents a hugely exciting opportunity to collaborate with a talented team. I am able to help drive growth in the UK thanks to IDnow’s offerings, supporting the business to reach its global growth ambitions with a particular focus on financial services. This means working with the team to develop go-to-market strategies for each vertical and geography, producing and executing sales plans and collaborating with colleagues across the business to develop cross-divisional structures and processes, along with customer-facing activities.
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement?
I did the Three Peaks Challenge several years ago for charity. It involves walking the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours, which was really exhausting but rewarding once completed.
What style of management philosophy do you employ in your current position?
Trust and delegation are important to me. Trust goes both ways of course and has to be earned but I’d like to think that my team can trust and can count on me. Likewise, I need to know that I can delegate tasks to my team and that they will be carried out professionally.
If you could go back and change one career decision, what would it be?
I’m not sure I would change anything. Of course, I have made mistakes and there are ventures I maybe should have left before I did, but these were all part of learning and growing. I’m happy where I am right now.
How do you unwind outside of the office?
Family time and sport.
I enjoy walking and, in fact, I walk every morning for around an hour before I start work. It is something I started during COVID-19 when we were first allowed outdoors; it energises me and sets me up for the day.
I also enjoy golf, which is ironic as the famous saying goes that ‘golf is a good walk spoiled’. But what I like about golf is that the game needs a high level of concentration to play it well. I find it helps to clear my head so it lends a good three to four hours of total escapism. It’s good exercise and helps you to recharge your mental batteries at the same time.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
I like writing a list of tasks every day and prioritising based on what is going on to allow you to hit your overall goals and targets. I always try to get the hardest or most unpleasant ones out of the way first.
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment within the finance space?
I think FS organisations will invest more in ensuring that they are compliant with regulations in the jurisdictions where they are providing their services. Cybercrime and financial crime are rising and consumers are aware of this. For example, a recent study, carried out by RWB commissioned by IDnow, showed that cybercrime and digital bank fraud are the issues that concern UK adults the most when it comes to opening an online bank account. It is the responsibility of the banks to not only consider how their actions are minimising and mitigating risk in this area but also how they disseminate information to the wider population.
However, banks must ensure their systems and processes are as secure as possible, and that the technologies they are deploying today will be fit for purpose tomorrow. Many digital challenger banks have made their processes slicker and more customer-friendly – and the word is spreading.
People want to be kept safe by the systems, but they also want them to be easy to use. However, if we are to truly build trust in the digital world, there is still plenty of work to do. Businesses need to get better at identifying, onboarding and protecting their customers. Ensuring that every new customer is whom they say, while banks balance identity checks with a satisfying onboarding experience is key to building trust and revenue.
What advice would you offer decision-makers within this space looking to adopt new technologies?
Many of the technologies today seemed futuristic not that long ago. But improvements across the sector have made so much more possible.
However, decision-makers should keep in mind that as technology develops, changes to regulation will follow. Many recent changes in the UK have focused on enhanced customer checking, corporate risk and ultimate beneficial owners and the rise in the use of cryptocurrency. Future changes are likely to address the increasing use of technology in areas like customer onboarding and automated verification.