John Casey, a proud Dubliner, works for Fexco, a fintech company based in Kerry, which makes his allegiance difficult when the popular Gaelic football teams from these areas face off. Yet, with football rivalries put aside, Casey has built an impressive 13-year career with Fexco, commencing with an eight-year term in Hong Kong, followed by five years in Japan. Now operating as the Vice-President for Asia Pacific, Casey shifted to Singapore recently when Fexco inaugurated an office there last November.
Casey, a University College Dublin BComm graduate, leaned more towards the interpersonal side of the corporate world. He found himself attracted towards marketing and pivotal customer management roles, initially at document company DMG, then Vodafone and ultimately AIB, before he and his family relocated to the Far East in 2010 from Ireland.
Just as the bubble of the Celtic Tiger burst, Casey and his family were in a state of gloom. They were in the process of getting an Australian visa when an opportunity in Hong Kong surfaced. With sorrow turning into a desire for adventure and Fexco offering a job, they decided to take the plunge. Having his sister-in-law and her family already settled in Hong Kong made the transition smoother.
Casey admits it’s simpler to move with younger children. As they mature and form solid friendships, moving becomes difficult. The challenging part of their latest shift was the goodbye their elder daughters, aged 17 and 14, had to say to their friends. Still, attending an international school provides a similar experience to most students shifting places frequently.
The Caseys reside near the centre of Singapore. The children’s school is a five-minute drive away, while Casey’s office commute is about 20 minutes.
Casey, in his account, appreciated the ease of access and navigability of the city, but he simultaneously acknowledged the high cost of living. He used to play football at a rather high level in Hong Kong, however, his footballing days were brought to an abrupt end due to a cruciate ligament injury. Nowadays, he spends his time running for relaxation.
For Casey’s professional pursuits, Singapore serves as the ideal base due to its role as a significant hub for international financial services. He emphasized the importance of establishing a local presence, as several of their multinational partners are based here. Singapore’s close proximity to Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam is also beneficial, as these are places where they are actively trying to expand their influence.
In Singapore, English is the principal language used in business, making it less complicated to work there than in Japan, according to Casey. He mentioned how his children had picked up more Japanese language skills than him and even played the role of translators. This certainly came in handy as he amusingly recalled an instance of ordering coffee but ending up receiving hot dogs.
Casey highlighted his attraction to a dynamic organisation that always strives for progress. He mentioned the thrill of being amidst such a continuously evolving environment, complete with fresh services and emerging markets.
Talking about the business culture in Japan, Casey noted that establishing relationships required an enormous amount of time and patience, significantly more than what he was accustomed to. After getting a grip on the customs, however, he affirmed that it all started to seem logical. Much of this, he explained, is due to paying attention to others and taking personal accountability. In a massive city like Tokyo, housing over 20 million individuals, he posited that a behavioral code is crucial to prevent disorder.
Speaking of his company, Fexco, originally founded over four decades ago to offer currency and bureau de change services, he proudly mentions how it has evolved into a global payments and business services firm. Today, Fexco operates in 29 nations around the world and employs more than 2,500 people, marking its robust presence in the Irish business landscape.
Casey expresses her enthusiasm for working at a perpetually progressive firm that ceaselessly discovers fresh grounds and introduces novel services. The current phase, according to her, opens a completely new perspective as it gives her the chance to comprehend the developments in the region and examine how they could contribute. Being employed by a globally renowned Irish company brings her immense joy and the bond it creates with her homeland is, in her words, profoundly delightful.
Separately from its established offices in Singapore and Japan, Fexco operates a branch in Hong Kong, which supervises Macau as well. There are nine staff members in the area and it’s Fexco’s firm belief in the value of having their personnel on-site to nurture their vital affiliations with their banking and payment processing counterparts, as Casey mentions.
Japan already bears a significant mark of Fexco due to their dedication and financial commitment, and the company is also functional in Australia, India, and the Philippines. The principal offering in this region remains the currency conversion aspect while Casey’s responsibility involves broadening their business reĢgime in the spheres of dynamic currency conversion, multicurrency pricing, ecommerce, and ATMs.
She also doubles as a receptor of current trends and discloses that the trending issue at the moment is ESG. Consequently, she is understanding the situation in the Asia Pacific and exploring how this can contribute to the larger scheme of things.