With a Bachelor in Finance and a Master of Science in Management under her belt, Rita joined the Flinks team early in 2018. In this profile, she talks about her background, life at Flinks, and what it takes to be a kickass Account Manager.
You are Head of Accounts. Can you describe what that’s like at Flinks?
Being Head of Accounts at Flinks means supervising all clients’ accounts and enhancing clients’ journeys toward success. From the moment they enter an agreement with us, it is my responsibility to make sure we analyze correctly their needs and requirements, that they are being supported through the whole onboarding process and have all the necessary tools to implement Flinks’ solutions to their current and future use-cases.
The beauty of my position is that I’m in the heart of the action. It allows me to work closely with sales, operations and product teams. This transverse view gives me the opportunity to learn the technical aspects of our products, while remaining close to the market and customer’s needs, everyday.
We also have the chance to collaborate with interesting industries, and customers who understand the challenges of open banking, as well as the added value we can bring to their user experience. This understanding allows for more open and relevant discussions with our customers, and this privileged dialogue is a shared pleasure.
What were you doing before joining Flinks?
To be honest, nothing to do with FinTech at all! After my studies, I decided to operate a change and discover a whole new industry. I was the Project and Account Manager of a design and engineering startup in the entertainment industry.
How would you describe Flinks in a few words?
Focused. Playful. Empowering.
Why Flinks?
The team. Everyday I am surrounded by people who are extremely good at what they do. It can be scary, challenging and sometimes even uncomfortable, but everyday you improve and step up your game a little bit more. There’s no time to take your achievements for granted in such a fast paced environment! It is really amazing to see how the whole team is always ready to tackle any challenge or any bump in the road.
What do you love about your work?
Definitely being part of the solution: whether it is helping a client with an integration or a business decision, shaping step by step the department of Account Management, or taking part in achieving the vision of Flinks.
What’s a typical day like for you?
Everyday is pretty much a roller coaster. First thing in the morning I go through my emails and our internal interactions to see if there’s any emergency or important task to tackle as soon as I’m in the office.
Once at the office, I typically go through all of our clients requests to prioritize accordingly. I then have a joint touch base with the Integration team to align our priorities and put our energies toward the same requests.
Once everyone is set for the day, I am either on a kickoff call with a new client, tackling a case with the Head of Integration or regrouping with the Sales team to plan our pipeline and make sure that the onboarding of our new clients is properly taking care of. The Account Management department is mainly driven by clients requests and the operation team.
At the end of the day, I am making sure that all clients have been acknowledged for their requests or have been given an update. At this point, if I still have some energy left in me, I try to update our files and work on adjacent topics that will help bring value to our teams and Flinks.
Your parents are Moroccan; you were born and raised in Paris, before moving to Montreal. How has this helped to shape the awesome account and project manager that your are today?
I would say that my determination and my drive come from my Moroccan side. I usually don’t take no for an answer, and if it doesn’t work as planned, I try to find another angle to tackle the situation or reach the end goal.
The way I analyze, strategize and plan, is definitely linked to my education and my life in Paris! We focus a lot on structure, content, every detail is important. You have to visualize carefully your next steps and mistakes are not really welcomed.
As for Montreal, I developed a great deal my open mindedness and learned to approach failure differently. It really helped me to be more forgiving with myself and follow what I wanted in life.
Flinks being proudly Canadian, in which Canadian city would you most like to live if you weren’t in Montreal, and why?
Vancouver. It nailed the right balance of outdoors energy and economic dynamism. The landscapes are incredibly beautiful and it was ranked on the top-tier of “best cities to live in”. Bonus, they also have a vibrant Tech sector: I couldn’t ask for more!
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