Five minutes with Tink’s chief payment officer, Tom Pope

Tom Pope is payment manager at Tink One of Europe’s leading open banking platforms, which enables banks, fintechs and startups to develop data-driven financial services.

Describe your journey to fintech. How did you get here?

I worked as a management consultant and came across payments a bit by accident. I was attracted – and still am – attracted by the combination of extreme complexity (you always learn), the fact that many solutions are nowhere near perfect (so there are great opportunities to make significant improvements), and the large size of the market if you get it right.

Who was your childhood hero and why?

I grew up by the sea, so I was quite fascinated by Ellen MacArthur’s record-breaking circumnavigation. Months spent alone, 24/7 racing in all kinds of weather, with little hope of surviving if things go wrong – it requires some gravel. It inspired me to absolutely not do anything so dangerous myself.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

You are only as good as the team around you. When it comes to leadership, it is very important to take in the opinions and ideas of those you work closely with. It promotes an environment for collaboration, which is important when doing things no one has ever done before.

What was the last book you read – and how long ago did you read it?

I usually have someone on the go at once. The last one, which I finished a couple of weeks ago, was Adam Zamoyski’s Napoleon biography – wonderfully written and absolutely moving.

Name one technology you could not live without and tell us why

My AirPods! I spend a large part of my day on the phone, so AirPods allow me to turn “dead time” – commuting, going somewhere, hanging out the sink – into something productive.

Who do you look up to when it comes to leadership and mentorship?

It may be a cliché, but I’m a bit of a disciple of Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel. I think he really understood how an organization should work. I’m also extremely lucky to have worked with some very impressive leaders, and I actually grew up with one – my father. One of the most important lessons I have learned from him is to be open, fair and humane in order to build trust. This lesson has never been more important than in today’s talent market: people do not have to work with you – you have to earn the right to do so.

What is the biggest challenge / advantage you have faced to date in the fintech industry?

The open financial movement creates powerful opportunities for change. Good technology has come before, but this is great, novel technology combined with powerful regulation. We are on the side of both consumers and regulators, and it is a happy place to be.

Is it a personal achievement from the last 12 months that you are especially proud of?

Maybe not proud, but I have exercised less, eaten and drank more, and mostly liked not being trapped!

Describe yourself in three words

Energetic, fast, driven.

What inspires you in Fintech today?

Solve the payment task. By gathering the various elements of open finance, we can reduce costs, improve the user experience and virtually eliminate fraud. It’s something of a holy grail for payments, and being able to lead a fantastic team at Tink to solve it is a fun and stimulating challenge.