Nick, Senior Account Executive for BeNelux and Switzerland

What do you do in Backbase? What is your job?

I am a Senior Account Executive with commercial responsibility for our business across BeNeLux and Switzerland. With my direct team of 3 and my Backbase colleagues across Solutions Engineering, Customer Success and Product Management we work on a daily basis to grow our market share in the territory. In addition we have dedicated Field Marketing and Partner Sales to augment our direct sales efforts across the region as well as specific campaigns for individual accounts.

What did you do before Backbase?

Before Backbase I was doing sales for a recruitment agency.

Why did you choose Backbase?

I was looking for a more challenging role where I could make more impact. The recruitment business has very short sales cycles and is typically not a strategic investment for a customer. Having done my Master Degree in International Business I wanted a sales role that made use of my skills in international business that also resulted in delivering real value and fundamental change to an organisation. And what could be a better match than a role selling transformational Digital Banking solutions across Europe! Another exciting aspect of my role is the complexity of the sales cycle and the need to manage the different stakeholders, their individual and corporate objectives whilst navigating the internal politics. I felt in this role I can also really help my customers and make an impact in what they do.

When I joined Backbase in 2014 I was employee #129 and I really had the feeling that there was so much potential in Backbase with an opportunity for me to really develop myself and grow with the company. This has certainly turned out to be the case and 9 years later on, I am still here and enjoying the wave we are still riding.

Why is working for Backbase Sales a unique experience?

I think what is unique about sales at Backbase is that the solutions we sell and implement for our customers have a fundamental impact on their business and their customers for that matter. It is also the Backbase way to give people the opportunity to grow and develop themselves. As a young man, in my mid 20’s, I was given the opportunity to develop our business in Asia Pacific, presenting to the C-suit at banks in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. I have done this across pretty much all of the Asia Pacific countries which I thoroughly enjoyed - not every company gives its employees these sorts of opportunities. Most of the time I was pitching against people around twice my age. Although my sales territory does not seem quite so glamorous today, I still enjoy being in the boardrooms of some of the biggest banks in the world to help them with digital banking.

What do you enjoy the most in the company? And why?

What I enjoy most about working at Backbase is that we still have that entrepreneurial spirit, although we are now more than 2000 people. So with the team and the extended team we still get to run our own region the way we see fit. Which is really adding to the can do mentality and support by the fantastic passion everybody has about what we do. And as I said earlier, what I appreciate most about working at Backbase is the fact that we really play sales at the highest level. Meaning real enterprise deals that are of strategic importance for the banks we work with, so you have a lot of C-level engagements which I really enjoy. Being able to add value to the biggest banks in the world is pretty cool if you ask me.