ISSUE ISSUE #35 #00
Viktor Madarasz
Chief Executive Officer
Lambros Lambrou Managing Director
EXCLUSIVE PRIME SOLUTIONS! Meet the team behind Exclusive Capital.
GAME CHANGERS
DIRECTORY O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 O6
Note from the editor View from the top. 03
Exclusive Capital 04-09
GC:OPINION AIRSOFT Technology. 10-11
Mohamad Ibrahim Exness. 12-14
Speakers Corner 15-16
Viktoria Soltesz PSP Angels. 20-21
O7
Remonda Z. Kirketerp-Møller
O8 O9
TIO Markets. 26-28
Ken Riboe
1O
London. 33-39
11 12 13 14 15
Muinmos. 22-25
Helen Astaniou
MT Proxy. 29-31
GC: LUXURY
GC: FEMME Ralph Lauren. 40-46
GC: HOMME 47-51
GC: EAT Seashells. St Raphael Hotel. 52-54
GC:FITNESS Luis Ribeiro. 55-57
GC:GOING OUT Limassol Nautical Club. 58-63
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Hello everyone, With another issue completed under the blazing hot Cyprus sun, a big thank you to our cover stars Exclusive Capital who took the time to send us some great content. In case you are not aware, Exclusive Capital is fast becoming one of the most talked about brands in their field, which is constantly evolving and offering more products to the end user. Also in this edition we have Mohamad Ibrahim from Exness, the global payments superstar Viktoria Soltesz, Kent Riboe from MT Proxy, Remonda Z. Kirketerp-Møller the CEO of Muinmos, Helen Astaniou from TIO Markets along with Speakers Corner and GC:Opinion. Also in our lifestyle section we again have had some great design work by Vera Gavrilova, the wise words of Luis Ribero in keeping us at our physical and mental peak. Along with the great fun we had enjoying the food at Seashells restaurant in Limassol! As ever thanks for reading, we do appreciate every view and the feedback that we receive,it helps us evolve into something that is wanted by the reader, hopefully looks forward to digesting and gets something out of it.
Paul ORFORD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Game Changers
Exclusive Capital
An Exclusive Team of Industry Veterans Join Exclusive Capital The Exclusive Capital vision started over 3 years ago by Chief Executive Officer, Viktor Madarasz and Managing Director, Lambros Lambrou setting out to create a high-end multi-asset investment services firm and offering Liquidity, Technology, Brokerage, Portfolio Management, and Institutional Trading services to its clients from around the world. From the outset, the vision was clear from management that to grow the company forward they would need high-caliber executives to fill senior positions, and recently the Exclusive Capital executive team has expanded with multiple industry veterans joining the company in the following key positions.
Lambros Lambrou & Viktor Madarasz Exclusive Capital
Costantinos Aristophanous (Non-Executive Director) Constantinos holds the title of Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts and a diploma in technical analysis from the U.K. Society of Technical Analysts. Constantinos’s professional experience encompasses a wide spectrum of financial services, including managerial positions for one of Cyprus’s leading banks, Director positions in several CySEC regulated Investment firms as well as General Manager position of a listed fintech company. Constantinos is also the founder and owner of multiple financial related entities such as Aristion Consulting and TiqBee.
Costantinos Aristophanous Non-Executive Director
Vladimiros Spanos (Chief Operations Officer) Vladimiros has extensive experience in the financial markets, having started his career working for a leading commodity broker in the City of London as a proprietary derivatives trader. Using the skills acquired, he then moved into the fintech industry as COO of a reputable trading platform provider mainly designing and developing quantitative algorithms and trading platform components. He is a UCL and University of Reading graduate, a member of the U.K. Society of Technical Analysts (MSTA), a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe), and a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (MCSI).
Vladimiros Spanos Chief Operations Officer
Pavlina Kanella (Chief of Business Excellence) Pavlina holds a degree in Engineering and was one of the first to acquire an MBA in Crypto Blockchain. Her solution-oriented mindset and skills led to her constant and rapid promotion among departments reaching that of COO. Her experience ranges from large enterprises to listed German Investment firms. Pavlina also holds various Director positions and is a shareholder in an Investment Service providing firm.
Pavlina Kanella Chief of Business Excellence
John Lewis (Chief Marketing Officer) As a successful serial entrepreneur, John has co-founded multiple brands such as CONVERSION PROS, iFXEXPO, TokenTarget & FUNNELCROSS. John has helped build and lead the brand, marketing communications, channels, and analytics departments of many leading B2C and B2B financial brands around the world. John is an avid enthusiast within both Brand Awareness & Direct Response Marketing and is an expert in utilising both in the most effective way to maximize acquisitions whilst lowering acquisition cost along with growing customer lifetime values.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
John Lewis Chief Marketing Officer
Giorgos Hadjinikodemou (Chief Product Officer) George began his finance career as Credit Officer at the age of 26. After successfully acquiring his CFTe Technical Analysis diploma, he became a Market Analyst. His inherent talent in understanding and analyzing the markets led him to become one of the industry’s youngest Technical Analysis instructors. George’s attested ability to develop automated trading strategies soon saw him becoming a Portfolio Manager, followed by Head of Brokerage at various CIFs.
Giorgos Hadjinikodemou Chief Product Officer
Myria Evdokimou (Chief of Business Development) Myria is well-established in the financial industry having started her career 13 years ago working for a reputable hedge fund. The past 10 years of her career have been spent working in the City of London, in business development, sales, and investor relations roles at various asset managers and investment firms. Her most recent role was at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, where she managed major multi-billion-dollar client accounts of the firm. Myria has extensive experience with both institutional and retail investors ranging from investment banks, insurance companies, pension funds to wealth and discretionary investment managers, family offices, and financial advisers.
Myria Evdokimou Chief of Business Development
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Peter Leonidou (Chief Sales Officer) Peter Leonidou is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the international financial markets. His journey in the industry began in 1997 while holding the position of Senior Account Manager and becoming a Senior Technical Analyst/Dealer later on in his career. During the years, Peter has been a Head of Sales and Chief Sales Officer in various reputable financial firms. His latest position before joining Exclusive Capital was a Managing Director of a multi-asset liquidity and technology provider firm based in Cyprus.
Peter Leonidou Chief Sales Officer
LIQUIDITY COVERAGE | PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT | BROKERAGE SOLUTIONS
EXCLUSIVE PRIME SOLUTIONS! Our unique collaborations with Tier 1 providers enable us to offer stable, aggregated, and secure liquidity with global coverage with access to over 30,000 trading instruments. Client access to expert portfolio managers with over 150 years of combined experience in the industry, offering both traditional and unconventional investment approaches. Fully customised all-in-one brokerage solution offering advanced setup, dedicated success, and support managers to help you create your own scalable online brokerage.
info@exclusivecapital.com www.exclusivecapital.com
+357 25 255 155 84-86 Pafou Street, 2nd floor, 3051, Limassol - Cyprus
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GC:OPINION How to think better - Calming the monkey mind
Don’t worry, you are not alone. We have all been there where our minds are moving at a thousand miles an hour, bouncing thoughts around our head asking us the weirdest questions and offering even more preposterous answers.Why do we do this when it serves us no positive purpose at all? Has this always been the case? How do we solve it? Welcome to the world of the monkey mind! This notion has been talked about for over 1500 years, with it first being discussed in Budhist teachings where it is outlined being the “mental-monkey” that reflects restlessness, curiosity, and mimicry associated with this animal. Moreover, they go further and state that the random, uncontrollable movements of the monkey symbolise the waywardness of the native human mind before it achieves a composure which only the Buddhist discipline can affect. So by this token, we could argue that the foundations of the monkey mind have been in place for quite some time. In recent years, if you follow football you may have become aware of sports psychologist Professor Steve Peters who wrote the Chimp Paradox. This was a big thing a couple of years back, with grizzled veterans like former Manchester United legend Roy Keane who humorously quipped “I tried to read it - I’m open minded - but my chimp wouldn’t let me!” However, former England star Steven Gerrard noted that “Steve Peters is not going to make the players run 100 metres any quicker, or do a Cruyff turn better or hit a 40-yard pass any more accurately,” Gerrard had said. “But what I can guarantee is that if the players buy into it, he’ll be able to help them with mental preparation and make them understand how the mind works, especially when you’re going into pressure situations.”
What is it? Within the Chimp Paradox, Peters argues that you can live with more control, calmness and focus once you understand your chimp. To give an oversimplified understanding over the human brain according to Peters can be broken down into three parts, the
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
frontal (the human), the limbic (the chimp), the parietal (the computer) The human is considered to be the real you that works with evidence and searches for proof, they remain open minded and maintain the ability to change their minds, and to see someone else’s point of view, rational thinking and common sense and evaluate to see if something is feasible or realistic. The chimp is an emotional machine that we all possess. The purpose of this is to ensure your survival and is independent which can make decisions on its own. The chimp needs to know if it is safe and is continuously looking for danger. It can be seen to be mistrusting and prone to paranoia. The computer is the storage area for thoughts and behaviours that the chimp or the human has put into it. It then uses the information to act in an automatic way.
How to manage the monkey. Recognise who is in charge at that point or thought process. Is it the human or the chimp? Whenever you are having feelings, thoughts or behaviours that you do not want, you are being hijacked by your chimp.
For those of you who are interested to read more by Steve Peters. His book is called, The Chimp Paradox: The mind management programme for confidence, success and happiness.
The answer is to understand how the brain works and accept these and work with it. In every situation and thought process goes to the chimp first. It then decides if there is anything to worry about. If there is no concern the chimp goes to sleep and hands it over to the human If the chimp is concerned he will make his own plan of action to find a solution. One key thing to remember is that the chimp is far more stronger than the human so don’t try and control it, just try to manage it by nurturing and managing your chimp to get the best result for you. If you have an aggressive and dominating chimp, then by playing sports is a way to fulfil this primitive drive. Moreover, chimps are always looking for praise and recognition, so remember to praise it Exercise the chimp by letting it vent, let it say exactly what it is thinking. Whether these are thoughts, worries or feelings no matter how irrational it may be. Once it goes silent it is time for the human to take over and take action who handles all the sensible issues raised and does not deal with the nonsense thoughts. It is advised that you exercise your chimp in a locked compound so you do not vent all of your rage in public, but at an appropriate time and place Once the chimp has finished exercising, it will then be able to receive information from the human.which by using facts, truth and logic, the chimp can calm down and be reasoned with and you can successfully navigate and manage your chimp thoughts by feeding it mental bananas as a way of a reward system. Game Changers resident therapist and monkey charmer Maria Meramveliotaki argues that to manage the situation “we should take a step back and separate how the monkey is interpreting the information, and then take action based upon this. Monkey management is key to understanding how to navigate a successful relationship between yourself and those million miles an hour thoughts that can often swamp us.” Remember your chimp is always alive and kicking so you must be willing to work with it. Peters argues that “It is not good or bad, it is a chimp! It can be your best friend, or your worst enemy even at the same time! This is the chimp paradox.” So based upon that statement...good luck with that!
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Exness MOHAMAD IBRAHIM Regional Director (MENA) at Exness
The huge explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut in August 2020, along with the Covid-19 crisis, corruption and poverty, are now suffocating the country’s financial system. As a result, brokers who had their regional offices in the country for years, decided to withdraw and cease their operations. The transformation that is required is not only about online trading; the entire Lebanese financial services system needs to adapt. We need to see serious changes take place in the leadership and running of the country for significant improvements to take place and encourage foreign investments back into Lebanon. Q How does the scene in Dubai differ? Dubai has impressed the rest of the world when it comes to how they are handling the Covid-19 crisis. After enforcing very strict lockdown measures where citizens had to apply for a permit to leave their homes, the Emirate quickly had an open-door policy (as long as a negative PCR test was presented on arrival).
Mohamad Ibrahim Regional Director (MENA) at Exness
Q What was the Lebanese FX scene like when you first got into FX over 10 years ago? Lebanon has a rich and diverse history and was once even referred to as the “Switzerland of the Middle East”. The Lebanese banking system was one of the most renowned in the region, where the financial stability supported the flow of massive amounts to Lebanese banks. FX brokers enjoyed a golden age as people had savings and were eager to make more money. This made Beirut serve as a regional hub for FX brokers. Unfortunately, the mismanagement of the banking sector, the development of widespread economic struggle as well as a deep debt crisis, led to commercial banks having to suspend international transfers and applying partial capital control; this resulted in Lebanese traders and investors being disconnected from global markets.
These changes happened just a few months after the pandemic hit us. Now a year on we’re even seeing events such as the iFXExpo move from Cyprus to Dubai which demonstrates the country’s willingness to keep on transforming its economy. Dubai was chosen due to its location and openness to attract international businesses. Exness were the Official Global Partners of the event as we wanted to show our support for the expo in the region. With this kind of support from the industry and the UAE as a country, the possibilities to grow a successful business in the region, especially an online trading brokerage, are limitless. Q Years ago the Middle East market was the place to be for the big ticket clients. Is this still the case? Absolutely. I believe it is more the case now than ever before. The Middle East has been attracting attention with its high-profile events that are drawing in international investors to the region. The first-ever Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia, the World Cup in Qatar and the World Expo in the UAE are drawing a whole new focus to the region. Abu Dhabi has also been hosting its annual Formula 1 event here since November 2009 which has seen brokerages invite their VIP clients to the corporate hospitality suites for years. The leadership in the UAE have a long-term vision for the country. Dubai also presents itself as a leader in digitalization as they started accepting cryptocurren-
cies for real estate purchases and also as a payment option for trade licenses and visa fees. Q You are a specialist in developing business globally. From your experience, how different is the MENA region from the rest of the world and how different is each country in the region when you are building the brand? Exness has achieved record figures lately and is growing at exponential rates both geographically and product-wise. The brand is already well established in Europe and Asia meaning there are some solid foundations that ensure we will be successful when expanding into the Middle East. The UAE is one of the most flexible countries to set up a Forex and CFD brokerage. This as well as the substantial support I’m receiving from the Exness HQ has allowed me to develop a coherent growth strategy to launch the brand in the region. The UAE seems to be extending its efforts to welcome international business as the Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al-Marri recently said in an interview that the UAE aims to double its economy to 3 trillion dirhams ($816.82 billion) over the
next decade. They welcome international brokerages with open arms and want to open up access to the region’s investors. Of course, the region extends beyond just the UAE. The MENA region consists of 20+ countries including the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to other potential countries like Jordan, Egypt and Morocco. There are a lot of similarities but when you look closer each country is also very unique in terms of how financial institutions are run and how foreign brokerages can establish themselves. Of course, the Arabic language and some customs change slightly from country to country as well. Q Can you just have one marketing message to cover the entire region? It all depends on the broker’s individual vision and values. Exness places a strong focus on transparency, reliability, and innovation – both internally and externally. I believe this is what differentiates Exness from the competition and enables growth year after year. At Exness, we integrate our company values
in all our messaging. So, when we develop our marketing messages in the region of course we will adjust to local customs and cultures, but our marketing message will always be formed around our core values. Q From our experience, doing business in the MENA region does focus quite heavily on meeting people face to face. How has being locked down impacted this? It’s true the MENA region does place a lot of value on meeting people in person. The rapport that is built through personal connections is paramount to business success in this part of the world. Human connection, referrals and recommendations are some of the highest sought after ways companies receive new business in the region. Nothing is more valuable than a satisfied client that recommends you to a friend or family member – it’s truly the best compliment we could receive and what we strive for on a daily basis. We did feel the impact of the lockdown and the pandemic to start with, mainly due to everything happening so quickly, but we soon adapted. Our ways of communicating with clients and offering support 24 hours a day have always been digital, so in this sense not much had to change and our interaction with our traders continued to be seamless. Q What separates your brand from the multitude of others in the MENA region? There are many things which differentiate us but I think the most important is our company philosophy. At Exness we provide our clients with the most efficient trading experience, which is a perfect fusion of ethics and technology. This has always been part of our core ideology and guides our product development from start to finish. Our “better-than-market” trading conditions, pricing and execution also make us stand out from the competition, as these are very steady even during unpredictable market conditions. Q What’s the best way for readers to contact you? The Game Changers readers can reach me via my social media pages listed below any time. I look forward to them getting in touch and answering any further questions they may have or elaborating on the above.
Speakers Corner Tales from the co-workers ANONYMOUS We have all seen the meme about an employee not leaving a job, they leave a bad boss. Is this actually true? Can we despise our colleagues more than bad bosses to make us move from our current employer?
to keep pushing yourself on knowing that once your revenue drops they will have you out the door quick... or are you just in fact a massive twat? I guess it is something you will take to the grave with you.
GC asked...you replied. Enjoy!
I am not paid to do this
Fresh as a daisy.
It’s not asking a lot for you to do a little more than is in your job description. We are not asking you to clean the toilets with your toothbrush, just act as a team player, so we can all get the job done. If everyone had your attitude on forming a unionised workforce of one, we would all be out of a job!
Please respect that we work in an enclosed space with it being an air conditioned vacuum sealed office, and adhere to the most basic and rudimentary form of cleaning your body. I am slightly junior to you, so bringing up that you stink is not great for my future progression. I think the one day I couldn’t smell you was the day that I got covid, and that was one of the upsides of the next 72 hours of fever.
Golden Boy. You really are a twat, but you make the owners so much money that they won’t fire you, despite being a disruptive presence. One thing I have been curious to know, is that by acting like this part of your driver
Who let the dog out? Telling everyone how much you got laid at the weekend, We don’t think you are a stud, more like a walking STD. We can see why your wife left you, as your promiscuity (fact or fictional) covers a lot of deep seated psychological issues that you have. Cod psychology tells us that those who go on talk about it this much, it is very rarely replicated within
their reality. It’s no problem, it must be hard to break up with your wife, however there is no need to overcompensate, just be yourself. I am sure the ladies will prefer it.
Cheer up FFS. I have known several people close to me who were diagnosed with depression. You’re not depressed as you claim, you’re just miserable with no goals or anything to inspire you in your life. On the upside, my massive use of headphones to block you out, has led to me listening to some very long form podcasts that have increased my knowledge significantly. Every cloud etc etc….
It’s written in the stars! Thanks for bringing in your tarot cards and what seems to me to be various occult-like trinkets into the workplace...said nobody ever! As far as I am aware, the office is not inhabited by spirits from other realms, nor am I particularly interested in having my tarot cards read at lunch. Normally I like to sit in peace and digest my food with the minimum of astrological conversation. As you do not have any form of special (paranormal or other) ability, you are reading from the written prompt they gave you in the box, along with a huge amount of confirmation bias on the person you are aimlessly slapping the cards down in front of. Feel free to get a job at the fairground, where you can do an amazing job as both the bearded lady and fortune teller!
The vegan queen. Thanks for letting me know you are a vegan (once an
hour, every hour). Why do you feel it is necessary to have to tell everyone your badge of honour? It’s not so much that I like the factory farming process or the inhumane way that animals are killed. I just really do not like hummus that much,which is pretty basic food calculus on my end. No need to comment on everything that enters my body, I see how it comes out the other end if it’s all the same to you.
The veteran As a veteran of sales for many years, why are you always broke? You always have an old sales war story about previous sales conquests from a different era, or when the clients were bigger back then, or the leads were better. You have got a story for everyone, normally ending with can you buy me a beer, or can i borrow some money. Dude, you were made sales manager, as you suck at sales and are better at admin and the happy clappy stuff... get the hint!
The door’s that way! Your constant one way diatribes about leaving the company, and finding pastures new… is it a cry for help, did you suffer abandonment issues as a child? If not, do us both a favour and dial it down a notch or two. The promotion you have been angling for, sadly I have just got and it will be announced in a month. We will have a chat to see what you want to do. It’s time to make your choice, put up or shut up!
Health matters. I know we have just gone through 2 years of medical uncertainty for everyone. However, do I look like a doctor? Constantly telling me your latest medical con-
dition, and why you feel like you wont make ‘old bones’. Maybe a great suggestion would be to pack in the smoke’s, get some exercise and perhaps try ingesting some form of vegetable.
get oiled. It’s time to acknowledge that your whole life revolves around booze, and the same rotation of stories after your third beer when we can see your hand not shaking as much.
When you are sitting there wheezing (pre c.ovid) like an asthmatc bovine, surely that is an indicator to get yourself in shape so you can enjoy your life.
You kind of set yourself up as a bohemian deep thinking Karovac type drinker, however you are sadly not this. Neither are you a recounter of witty interesting stories. If you put as much energy into your work, as getting us all to come for a drink with you afterwork, you would be rich! (although it would probably kill you!)
The weekend cold and flu sufferer… Mate, we all know you do a lot of drugs. The way you look and smell like crap on a Monday, with a vacant look in your eye along with the changeable moods. For a man of slight physical stature, by Tuesday you are consuming enough calories to run three marathons! Moreover, universally we are all happy it’s Friday, but you are ecstatic knowing that party time is very near. P.S. when you think we can’t hear you making your special coded messages to your dealer for the pick up later that night we can. Just we choose not to acknowledge it as it is incredibly dull if I am being honest.
The coffee Nazi If the expensive coffee that you buy is so much better than the cheap stuff we buy by the kilo, why does your breath smell like the third ring of hell? Pop a mint in that puppy then feel free to come over and talk to me. Until then, no shoulder talk, as it smells very similar to satan’s anus.
Just keeping you in the loop... CCing the boss on everything is a dick move. We know you use it as a form of passive aggressive control, and to show the boss that you are doing something mildly productive at some point in the day. Why are you such a bitter person?
Reheating stinking food I love to try food from far off and wonderful places, however it’s a bit rough when you bring in the dried fish heads or whatever they are and reheat them for lunch. I have always been easy going on people’s food choices for lunch, however this even nasally challenges me having to share our small office. I think once our overlords get us a bigger place which is ventilated to the minimum health and safety standards, let’s bring in last night’s catch at a later date
Afterwork drinker
Are you lonesome tonight?
It’s very sad that you have a secret booze battle, and that when you invite us for a beer on a monday after work is really just finding someone to talk at whilst you
Why do you have to Initiate unnecessary meetings for a ‘quick catch up’ every day? You never discuss work after the third minute of participation. I really
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
miss the productivity and solitude of lockdown.. also the ability of not having to attend these everyday.
Going up in smoke! Our HR person who wanted us to do a huge company zoom ‘pow wow’ to discuss anything but work on lockdown for 30 minutes a week, as it would be good for morale. Seeing everyones head in a small box talking nonsense was probably not helped by my enthusiastic home marijuana consumption as soon as I woke up.. With the amount I was smoking and generally ingesting I was curious to know if everyone else was just sitting in a shirt, combed hair. And not too much else on Anyway, we are all back now, and pleased to report I am fully clothed during my 9-5.
Tomorrowland...today! Dear lord of rave, we can hear it through your headphones at ear bleeding levels...turn it down
The smutmonger. One of the upsides to having a window seat is that you can see the pleasant view of our nondescript surroundings and people happily going about their day. One of the downsides is that we can see the reflection from the phone, and we can see you watching your phone based smut whilst eating a sandwich at lunch...Save it for hometime pal!
The yoga guru I totally respect and admire that you are great at yoga and have an incredibly strong body, more importantly you do not bore or try to indoctrinate me into it. However, is it not possible to keep your shoes on whilst working in the office? If you are going to do this, please can you give them a good scrub everyday, as those hooves can get quite fragrant in an enclosed space. Thanks in advance.
Old father time. We all know you have worked here since Jesus was a little boy. However, this does not make you senior to me. We both have an equal skillset, and I should tell you to back off, however I have had to resort to writing to an electronic magazine to complain about you as I just like a quiet life.
The (side) hustler. We all commend you on trying to make a residual income and get out of this job. However, for the love of all that is true and decent, please can you stop trying to sell us your latest multi level marketing scheme. Each new one you foist on us, you have a cult-like devotion to, and we can see you are getting more desperate because of the money that you sink into them.. You’re a decent person, so it is sad to see you try and sell your wares to the newcomers as soon as they begin here.
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PSP Angels VIKTORIA SOLTESZ Founder of PSP Angels
Does your company have a payment strategy? Every company has a detailed strategy which usually covers everything from sales to HR. Handing all finances is usually the job of the accounts department… but who is responsible for the payment strategy? If you wait for your Chief Accountant or CFO to spare some time from the daily tasks of the reporting on accounts receivable /payable in order to set up such strategy, your company might be in trouble. Accountants are amazing in accounting. But online payments (mainly which involves high risk) became a special industry on its own, and payment planning demands its own attention. Collecting funds “as they come” and allowing them to flow by themselves is a classic business mistake, which might cause serious delays, lost revenue opportunities and unnecessary costs for your business. To understand everything about the incoming and outgoing funds we need to answer the following questions: • how much • how often • where from or to • what currency • and whom pays or we pay to Answering these questions honestly can make a significant difference on your financial stability and profitability. With an effective payment strategy, every incoming our outgoing amount becomes an opportunity to maximise profit, while reducing risk and optimise workflows. Without strategy, your cash flow, liquidity and customer satisfaction might be taking an unnecessary risk or cost.
What is a payment strategy An effective payment strategy is a series of fully inGAME CHANGERS Issue #35
formed decision about your payment providers: their risk, costs, and full range of services. As online payments are booming, high risk solutions are changing all the time, so you need to evaluate all opportunities on the market who has the risk appetite to accept your business. Surprisingly, the fees are subject to rapid changes too. It might be the payment provider who is changing their fees, or it could be your company, which has grown significantly in certain areas in the last 3 to 4 months, whereby more volume means lower fees; you might be eligible for a discount which you are not taking advantage of. To make sure that you are having a cost-effective yet safe solution, you will always need to have an up-to-date information about the payment market. This information and the payment decisions shall be then monitored and revised periodically, following the latest market trends, and benchmarking your competitors’ solutions. The payments strategy not only considers all the factors which can affect how the money is moved between the different payment providers, i.e.. when and how the payment is received or spent but also how and where the money is kept before being sent further. Knowing how long are we “parking” our funds before we use them (or pay out the shareholders or clients) and what are the exact fees, opportunities and risks on these periods are also critical to achieve maximum operational effectiveness. For example, if you only want to reduce your costs, you may want a payment strategy that takes advantage of multiple providers and a cashier system which allows cascading from the cheapest to the more expensive solutions. However, is you are losing a significant amount of deposits at the checkout, you might want to have a look at the
acceptance rate or the conversion ratio of your current providers and educate the customer service or retention department of how collect funds from your clients in multiple ways, regardless of the fees. An effective payment strategy will also likely require you to update some operational processes and expand the number of ways you make or receive payments. A strategy which places high priority on security may lead you to increased costs by demanding more expensive and throughout licences. To maintain success throughout the constant changes, your payment process needs to be able to adapt to a variety of different factors, such as multiple payment types — often across borders and with numerous partners and institutions. The ideal payment automation solution will be flexible and designed to grow with your business, ensuring your payment options are never restricted. Multiple ways, new solutions, fresh innovation, and alternative payments are all promising safe ways for you to be ahead of your competition, but whom shall you trust your client’s and own funds?
How to set a payment strategy
1. Follow the money
Check on your current payment methods, by creating a detailed diagram about all money inflows and outflows, allocate risks points and costs to the different providers. Understand what percentage of the payments are successful and what’s the reason for declines. Understand your clients preferred payment methods and make sure you provide all the desired ways to ease their payment experience. Understand all the risks associated with your current payment providers
2. Challenge and evaluate
Question all current solutions and methods quarterly. Keep your eyes on the payment market to get up-to-date information about what your competitors are using. Understand all new opportunities and solutions. Get information about your customer’s payment behaviour changes. Investigate and assess all new providers and see if how you can you fit your company setup within their risk appetite.
3. Work with professionals
Gather all information about your partners. Train your colleagues by creating awareness of the situation. Delegate the payment related responsibilities to the most senior person in your team or hire a part time expert who can guide you with fresh ideas and exhaustive market knowledge and contacts. Your strategy should include personnel management and training so your colleagues also understand how your strategy works and what they can do to support it to the fullest.
Viktoris Soltesz
Founder of PSP Angels
4. Use the latest technology
The technology and systems you use can also play a very important role in your payment strategy. Your payment consultants can direct your attention to new threats and opportunities on the markets you are present, and other legislation changes which can streamline the payment process.
So who’s job is to do all that? Someone with experience, of course. But payment professionals are hard to find, and even harder to hire for part time. Small and medium sized businesses will not need a payment expert full time, 8 hours a day, but cannot work effectively without an expert’s market knowledge. Setting up clear goals and the right KPIs for your payment operation is priceless and can save a lot for your company if it’s done by the right person. Plus, the high-risk payment market is still running on personal contacts, subjective fees and favours. If your company doesn’t have a payment strategy or payment expert yet, it’s time for a change. A payment professional can help you design and implement a payment strategy that fits your requirements and works for you. To learn more, visit www.pspangels.com or email info@pspangels.com
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Muinmos REMONDA Z. KIRKETERP-MØLLER Founder and CEO of Muinmos
Q Can you give the readers an outline of your extensive background? I am a qualified solicitor and RegTech entrepreneur, with a specialism in regulatory matters in financial services. I am also the Founder and CEO of RegTech firm, Muinmos Aps which is headquartered in Denmark. My focus for the last nine years has been on revolutionising regulatory compliance and client onboarding in the financial services sector, using sophisticated technology to automate highly complex and regulatory processes. Prior to setting up Muinmos, I worked in the retail FX sector for many years. I was a co-founder of CFH (now Finalto) and spent over a decade in senior executive positions at Saxo Bank and CFH where I gained first-hand experience about the complexities involved in compliance and client onboarding across multiple jurisdictions. RegTech is a real passion of mine – I was involved in the sector before RegTech was even a recognised term and, as such, I am a regular speaker and expert advisor on regulatory matters in financial services and am also a contributing author of ‘The RegTech Book.’ Q Outside of the two big FX brands in your country, is there a healthy FX ecosystem? There’s a lot of innovation in Denmark and it’s a great place for business. However, like all the big FX brands here, we are operating in a global space and so our location is not a key factor. The ecosystem is basically global nowadays. What’s most important to us is that we understand our market and can provide clients with world-class solutions. For Muinmos, this means providing financial institutions across the globe with technology to enable them to onboard clients quickly and remain compliant across multiple jurisdictions.
financial institutions themselves are being used by money launderers and terror organisations so they set a long list of rules that financial institutions need to adhere to. The result of these two sets of laws, and others like them, is a marketplace that is, presumably, safer for the investors and the financial institutions. However, this heavy regulation has its price: in Europe, according to EU research, MiFID II related compliance alone costs financial institutions about 2-3% of their total revenue. This can cause financial institutions to raise their rates, which is bad for investors, the financial institutions and the market as a whole; or not to comply fully with regulation, which again exposes both the individual investor, the market players and the market itself to risks. Enter RegTech – and a platform like ours, for example, which automates compliance processes, significantly cutting their costs. Our client onboarding platform takes care of client categorisation, suitability and appropriateness, all KYC/AML checks, risk assessments, client lifecycle monitoring – all instantly and automated. Think how dramatically this lowers costs, and enhances compliance. Now financial institutions no longer have the incentive not to comply (making both investors and regulators happy); they pay a lot less for compliance, so they can offer more competitive prices; they’re protected from fines, lawsuits etc.; and they’re also protected from crimes aimed at them, like fraud. So what is RegTech? RegTech is technology that ensures more transparency, more lawfulness, and therefore simply makes the world a safer place.
Q To the uninformed like myself, what is RegTech?
Q I have been reading more in the media about fines given out by regulators, which from my very basic understanding could have been avoided if they had some form of RegTech. Why are firms still not making this a fundamental part of their business?
Regulation Technology is the market’s, the financial institutions’, the investors’ and regulators’ ‘best friend.’ Take, for example, online trading. After 2008, authorities realised we have to protect investors in order to prevent the crashing of the whole financial system, and thus protect financial institutions themselves. Authorities also realised years ago the
I think most financial institutions are using RegTech solutions, to some extent. Maybe not comprehensive RegTech solutions like ours – a lot of financial institutions still have manual or decentralised onboarding processes – but certainly some form of RegTech. Otherwise they wouldn’t survive. Imagine a financial institution that onboards clients manually.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
It’ll take hours at best, weeks at worst. Clients won’t wait that long – this is an online world we’re speaking of – they’ll go to someone who has a straight-through-process (STP). The problem is financial institutions are adopting RegTech solutions that aren’t sufficient. They take care of one part of the chain, but neglect the others. And it’s in those “weak links” that the mistakes happen. I always say, computers don’t make mistakes. They’re fast, they’re very good at repetitive tasks, and they don’t make mistakes. So let them do that, and let your compliance officers do what they are good at – using their judgement. Let them focus on the high-end side of the tasks. A lot of compliance people are afraid if they take our solution they’ll lose their jobs. But I have never seen that happen. Financial institutions that have adopted our solution haven’t decreased their manpower, they have simply increased their onboarding numbers. They have been able to extract and pull all relevant data sets within minutes, enabling the compliance team to make informed decisions, and freeing up their time to do less administrative compliance work. Another reason preventing financial institutions from adapting RegTech solutions is that some of them are tied to legacy systems which they have already invested heavily in or they have very complex and time consuming procurement and integration processes, making it harder to acquire new solutions. These have been long-standing barriers but as the fines become more frequent and the benefits of RegTech solutions become more widely acknowledged, we are seeing these barriers slowly being removed.
Q Why did you start Muinmos? I started Muinmos because I love solving puzzles. I saw, first hand, how the field of client onboarding and CLM was becoming a regulatory minefield. Online trading platforms from all over the world were onboarding clients from all over the world – this is an international legal maze. And it was a puzzle that was getting increasingly difficult to solve. The first thing I did was to draft, on a paper napkin, an algorithm to solve that puzzle. That’s how our regulatory compliance engine was born. We call it mPASS™, it’s an AI powered engine that provides the financial institution with all relevant regulatory clearances to secure them against mis-selling. After that I realised, that I couldn’t leave it at that – the client onboarding process has another puzzle, the KYC/AML puzzle. So we created another software solution, called mCHECK™, which performs all types of KYC/AML checks like PEPs, sanctions, adverse media, ID verification, proof of address, beneficial ownership, company checks etc. instantly and connected to many data sources. And then there was another puzzle to solve – the risk. We pulled all the information from solving the previous two puzzles into a third puzzle-solver, which we call mRX™. This combines and analyses all relevant risk attributes and provides the financial institution instantly with data on what’s the risk of onboarding the client. It wasn’t easy to build this giant puzzle-solver called Muinmos, but luckily some of the most talented technologists in our industry have chosen to work at Muinmos. We have an amazing, highly experienced and highly motivated team and have grown an impressive global client base.
Bharat Bhushan (Senior Developer), Emil Leach Kongelys (CTO), Michael Thirer (Commercial Director), Julien Mabit (Customer Success Director) and Remonda Kirketerp-Moller (Founder and CEO).
Q To the uninitiated, what makes good RegTech software? For me, there are four key things. Firstly, it needs to significantly enhance at least one aspect of the compliance process. Secondly, it needs to be cloud-based, and easy to install and integrate with existing technologies. Thirdly, it needs to be simple to configure, so that it can be easily adapted and updated as regulatory parameters change. And finally, it needs to be easy and intuitive to use. Q What makes yours different? I think in our niche, which is client onboarding platforms for financial institutions, you can generally find two kinds of solutions: a. A solution that solves a piece of the puzzle for any financial institution, like a data-provider that can help you stay compliant with AML requirements or a configurable risk management tool; b. A comprehensive solution which solves all of the puzzle or at least a large part of it, for a certain financial institution to which it was specifically tailored. What these solutions usually do is take a certain financial institution’s workflow or checklist, and code it into a computerised workflow or checklist. It’s not exactly automation – more like creating a computerised work environment, which is still often a good step forward from the manual work that preceded it, but of course it doesn’t challenge the status quo and doesn’t address if there are issues with the original work-flow. Muinmos’ client onboarding platform solves all of the puzzler for any financial institution. It performs, instantly and automatically, all aspects of the
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
client onboarding process; and it can be bought and integrated by any financial institution within a week or a couple of weeks. It’s a game changer; we are a complete STP solution. Our products cover the following key areas: •
•
•
Investor protection – making sure the investor is correctly categorised and the products and services offered to them are suitable and appropriate for them. Society Protection – making sure the financial institution isn’t used for criminal purposes such as money laundering or financing of terror Financial institution protection – client risk assessments.
Q Once the salesperson has dazzled me with the software, how easy is it to use for the potential new client? Very. After all, “easy to use” is the whole idea of the platform. The whole idea is to make a process which is extremely complex, both regulatorily and administratively, and make it simple and easy. We automate a large part of the process, so that part is easy; and we present the outcomes of the automated process in a traffic-light display, with comments and annotations, making all the data available and accessible to the compliance officer. It’s very user-friendly and it usually takes no more than one or two training sessions for our clients to start using the platform. Q Who in an organisation should be looking at your product or reg tech in general? That’s a very good question. Because our offering covers the entire onboarding process as well as CLM, the relevant functions in a financial institution are the
onboarding teams, compliance, legal, risk, sales, IT, marketing and, of course, management. Our platform brings value to each of those functions, so we get approached by all of them. A lot of times we demo the platform to one team that approaches us and they ask to hold a second demo with members of other teams; this sometimes leads on to meetings with additional teams too.… which is no surprise as this platform is relevant to so many functions within an organisation. It’s not like anything they will have seen before. Q With a large percentage of FX brands being offshore, should they also look at RegTech software as well? Absolutely, for three reasons. The first being that any of the offshore regulators are aligning their regulatory framework to fit the rest of the world to protect investors from being mis-sold financial products that are not appropriate for them. They have introduced stringent procedures for financial institutions to demonstrate clear compliance at the onboarding stage in order to fight against money laundering, financing of terrorism, corruption and so on. We are seeing a surge in fines from offshores - so absolutely the need for RegTech solutions to assist them to comply is a must. Many of the offshore regulators are, in fact, looking for RegTech solutions to help them amend some of the regulators’ frameworks that are, to a large extent, outdated in today’s digital world. The second reason offshore FX brokers look at RegTech software is that it improves the customer’s onboarding experience – and that is very important in a competitive market like the FX market. The third reason offshore FX brokers should look at RegTech software is to protect themselves against financial crime or fraud aimed at them. An FX broker needs to know who they’re trading with, regardless of any regulators or possible fines. Q What advice would you give to any up and coming entrepreneurs? I would say if you truly have a dream and an urge to fix something through an innovative mind set - go ahead and don’t look back. The journey is incredibly tough, it tests you every day and don’t think you can sleep peacefully once you have made the decision to start your business – you can’t! But the reward of building something from total scratch and seeing it grow into a global company is incredibly rewarding. I have loved every day of the Muinmos journey - from the first day of walking into an empty office all alone
Remonda Z. Kirketerp-Møller Founder and CEO of Muinmos
with nothing but a dream to seeing it reach our current stage of growth is truly amazing. I am proud of what we have achieved, I’m incredibly proud of my team and without them, Muinmos would not be where it is today. However, it would be wrong to say this journey is for everyone. It really takes a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights and an incredible level of dedication and belief in the journey to make it truly happen. So if you’re someone who likes to be in a comfort zone, steady job and pay, free weekends, peaceful sleep, no responsibility for anyone or anything, this is really not your journey. A successful employee doesn’t have to be an entrepreneur, but successful entrepreneurs need to have employees that thrive in a dynamic environment. Q What’s the best way to get a look at how Muinmos can benefit their brand? We would love the chance to demonstrate our regulatory onboarding platform or any of our individual modules to anyone who is interested in finding out more. Please contact info@muinmos.com for more information.
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TIO Markets HELEN ASTANIOU Chief Marketing Officer at TIO Markets
You think you know what marketing is? 3 Misconceptions addressed. When I’m asked by people who don’t know me, what do I do for a living, I tend to default to the easiest answer and use a word that everybody kind of, sort of understands. Regardless of which language I am speaking at the time and irrespective of which country I’m in, I’ll always answer using the English word. Kamno marketing. Faccio marketing. I’m in marketing. Not wanting to dull the conversation with the ins and outs of what that actually looks like on a day-to-day basis, I leave it at that. I’m pretty sure nobody actually really wants greater depth on the issue, but there is a part of me that really wants to elaborate on the excitement and the challenge of that world. So this article is my opportunity to release all that unspoken and unsaid verbal content about what marketing really is. You think you know what marketing really is? Keep reading and let’s see if that’s true.
Misconception #1.
Marketing is purely creative False. Marketing in today’s world is increasingly data driven. A successful marketer in today’s digital world must have access to the kind of data that will help them to understand the effectiveness of any given campaign. Your data for instance might show that a specific campaign or platform or medium is not achieving its objective. The only way to spend valuable marketing funds efficiently, is to analyse, respond and act on the data you have. This way your budget will reach much, much further, and your chances of exceeding your targets are maximised. To put things in perspective, my marketing team consists of coders, number crunchers and project managers, as well as the super-creative talent-set. Together, they work to disseminate and translate the emotion of our brand into a digital world . This is not to say of course that the creative element is not important.The aesthetics of a brand are of course king when it comes to sell-ability. But if your brand message isn’t in the right place at the right time - your data can provide answers to these questions - then you may as well throw your budget into the wind.
Misconception #2.
Marketing campaigns provide a false spin on the product or service that they are promoting. Be honest. You’ve heard the word ‘marketing’ being used in a derogatory way. Several times, I’m sure. That’s because there is no doubt that the design and presentation of a specific product or service can provide an abundantly greater emotion than the actual core product it represents. The example that first enters my mind is Coconut Water. Farming communities in Eastern Asia have been drinking coconut water since time began. To sell this to Western consumer profiles, the water needs to be shoved in a tin or carton, a funky logo printed on the front and the price grossly inflated to give the feeling of exclusiveness. Whilst simplistically summarised for this example, in short, that’s the power of marketing. In forex it’s a different story. The CFD instrument on one MT4 platform to another,cannot be drastically repackaged from one broker to the next. What can be marketed differently however - and with great degrees of differentiation - is the company ethic that the specific broker conveys. One broker for instance may be pushing hard its no-deposit bonuses or its trading competitions, compared to another broker which might focus on messaging of reliability or the importance of financial education and risk-avoidance. Without wanting to place an overt advert to the company in which I personally work, we would never, ever aim to provide false marketing - and not least because it will get us into hot water with the financial regulator. But because it’s against our company ethic.
Misconception #3.
The bigger the budget, the bigger the splash. No. And yes. But mainly no. Whilst budget is indisputably important, all the budget in the world couldn’t get you in the top spaces organically on google if your website didn’t rank well for SEO. With such a huge volume of unpaid marketing activities that can help your brand to spread like wildfire, there is no end to the list. Social content, video blog content and backlinks to name but a few. Think for yourself - are you more convinced of the trustability of a specific product by a paid ad, or by word-ofmouth? Obviously the paid ad comes from a budget allocation, whereas the word-of-mouth is free. The - possibly - sad truth of the matter though, is that this ‘word-of-mouth’ example I’ve used, is also most likely the result of a concerted marketing effort. So, asking a marketer what kind of budgets they work with is absolutely no reflection on the kind of reach and impact that this marketer has the potential to achieve.
Helen Astaniou Chief Marketing Officer at TIO Markets
So, there we have it. You can’t put money on the kind of catharsis that comes from setting the record straight. Hopefully at the very least, the next time you bump into a marketer at a social gathering, you can give them an all-knowing ‘aaahhh’ and a respectful nod. Thank you for reading!
MT Proxy KENT RIBOE Managing Partner at MT Proxy
Q Tell us about MT Proxy. What is your vision for the company? We create custom-built proxy server networks. Our networks are designed to help forex brokers reduce client-side latency and boost client connectivity worldwide. Our goal is to become the go-to industry provider for all forex brokers, big and small. Through our technology, we want to help forex brokers improve their service and deliver a better, faster online trading experience to traders worldwide. Q What are the challenges brokers face when trying to reduce latency? Many brokers believe that by having their main server in a major trading hub like New York, Tokyo, or London, they can reduce latency for all of their clients worldwide. But this isn’t the case. Having their main servers in these locations is great for market-side latency, but it won’t do anything to improve their client-side latency. And in order to truly reduce latency for clients, brokers need to reduce latency at all stages of the trade execution. The best way for forex brokers to do this is by choosing the right service providers. Firstly, they need to partner with great bridge and liquidity providers. This is the most efficient way of reducing market-side latency. Secondly, they need to find a proxy server provider that can help them get closer to clients. By having proxy servers in strategic locations worldwide, brokers can benefit from faster data transfers and therefore faster trading. This is the most effective way of reducing client-side latency.
Q Are there any countries where reducing latency can be more challenging for brokers? Any country south of the Equator is going to be more challenging. This is because those countries are quite far from most of the major trading hubs, and from most of the major liquidity pools. To reduce latency in these countries, brokers need to work on boosting their connectivity in those regions. But this is easier said than done, as even large, global internet providers often have connectivity issues in these regions. That said, the brokers that find a way to reduce latency in these regions will have a significant edge over their competitors. They will be the brokers that offer the best service in those countries, and that stand to make the most profit in these key emerging markets. And our proxy server solution can help them with this. Q How does your solution help forex brokers overcome these challenges? We have extensive experience in creating proxy server networks, and in boosting connectivity in all parts of the world. We know which internet service providers offer the best service, and we also know how to help ensure brokers benefit from the best connection routes. While it is possible for brokers to try to set up their own proxy servers in-house, letting us do it instead saves them a lot of time and money. Our solutions are fully-managed - we find the best proxy server locations, we find the best internet service providers, and we ensure that the entire proxy network is always running smoothly. All, at a fixed monthly cost, starting at 196 euro per proxy server. Working with us means that brokers get to enjoy better connectivity, and that traders get to enjoy better trading. And that matters. Q What changes do you think we’ll see in the forex market in coming years? Many forex brokers are diversifying their offering, and working towards becoming multi-asset trading companies. This means that they will be more dependent on their providers - particularly those offering trading, bridge, and liquidity solutions. Many forex brokers are also looking at extending their offering, and moving towards 24/7 trading. This applies mostly
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
for the cryptocurrency market, but also for the forex market too. As weekend trading becomes more popular, brokers will have to support an additional 100 trading days per year. This will put more pressure on the brokers, and on their IT teams. It will be exciting to see which brokers will be the first to adapt to these new market trends. Q What advice would you give to new forex brokers looking to enter the market? Think “mobile first”, and think “24/7 trading”. You’re competing with the big guys, you need to be better and more agile. Being awesome at marketing does not necessarily help anymore. Be different and think ahead.
Q What advice would you give to established forex brokers looking to improve their service? Think “client first” and think “win-win-win”. Enough with the churning. Create a winning scenario in which your providers support you, you support your traders, and your traders stay. That’s the secret to long-term success in our industry.
Q What special offers does MT Proxy have for brokers looking to try its solutions? We offer a free two-week trial to all brokers. We want them to have the opportunity to try our solution, and to see how much it benefits both them and their clients. So far, the free trials have been a huge success. Every company that has tried our service has also decided to stay on as a customer. We also like to give new brokers a little extra, and they are welcome to contact us about special offers. We’re happy to help them compete with the other larger brokers, in terms of trading execution and preventing latency arbitrage.
Q How can brokers contact you to find out more? They can reach out to us via our website, mtproxy.io. They can also contact us via email at hello@mtproxy.io.
Kent Riboe Managing Partner at MT Proxy
Game Changers Magazine
Lifestyle
GC:LUXURY London With the end of summer here and after a couple of years of disruptive travel, what better way to spend all that money you have saved from not having a great deal to do, than going to one of the world cities... London.
Stay Dukes Hotel - Mayfair With its heritage style and warm hospitality, Dukes is a sophisticated home-from-home in the heart of the city. Its Victorian exterior evokes a time when artists and writers rubbed shoulders with royalty in fashionable St. James, London. Open the door and discover all you need for an inspiring break. You’ll find elegant rooms and suites, where antique furnishings sit alongside the latest technology. For the ultimate in luxury, book The Duke of Clarence Suite for grand views over Green Park. Downstairs, this boutique hotel offers something for any mood or time of day. If you’re feeling energetic, work out in the exclusive gym, followed by a steam in the Italian marble steam room. Savour seasonal British cuisine, and unleash your inner Bond at DUKES Bar, and sip the most famous martini in the world.
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Visit British Museum Curious, engaging, witty and effortlessly intuitive: we are a new generation of lifestyle hotel delivering the unexpected in the heart of Mayfair. A stylish, imaginative home for the modern traveller, we redefine what it means to be a London hotel. Inspired by the whimsical characters of our past and present, we are flamboyantly dressed, yet carefully understated. Our beauty seekers have a palette for curiosity. We leave all the frills behind and deliver the services of a high-end hotel in a warm, convivial setting. Embracing our whimsical roots, our rich heritage has been revived to create something remarkably memorable overlooking Green Park. Above all, we are Dandy, welcome to The Townhouse.
National Gallery Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in Trafalgar Square,it is regarded by many as the most representative sampling of European painting in the world. Free to enter, this is a must see for any London stay over.
Thames cruise The Thames is the lifeblood of London, bringing industry to the city for centuries. It is England’s longest river, leading into the North Sea at its end. It has been the base for settlements since prehistoric times, and was a strategic importance to the Romans and English Kings, as well as during both World Wars. There are a number of companies in London offering cruises across the Thames. Cruises run as regularly as every 30 minutes from several key locations. The cruises pass several key sightseeing locations, including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.
Borough market Borough Market’s rich heritage – around 1,000 years of history – is part and parcel of its appeal, but our focus is very much on the here and now. The Market, which is run by a charitable trust for the benefit of our community, has never stopped evolving. A few decades ago, it was a wholesale market serving the greengrocers of south London; now it acts as a beacon for sustainable food production, short supply chains and social connection, drawing visitors from far and wide. Our stalls, stands, shops and restaurants are all completely distinctive – unique in the food they sell and in the people who sell it. Between them they offer a dizzying diversity of British and international flavours. What all our traders have in common, though, is their level of knowledge and expertise, their commitment to doing things the right way and the emphasis they place on making or sourcing the best food they possibly can.
Eat Core by Clare Smyth Previously head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Clare Smyth struck out on her own and has since established one of the best restaurants in London. Core was widely tipped to gain a coveted third star in the 2020 Michelin Guide but was instead held on two stars to the surprise of industry experts. Still, it seems only a matter of time before Smyth joins her former boss, Ramsay, at the three-star table. The vibe at Core is different to what you might expect; Smyth calls it “casual luxury,” taking humble ingredients like the potato or carrot (the Lamb Carrot, a dish of braised lamb but with the carrot taking center stage, is one of Core’s signatures) and “flipping it on its head” to create sustainable haute cuisine. The blend of high-end and casual is in a refreshing twist that adds to Core’s atmosphere. Smyth wants everyone who comes in to have a good time and to make sure diners relax enjoy themselves, something that she thinks is more important than winning awards.
The Golden Chippy - Grenwich Back in 1977 Mr Chris Kanizi arrived in London with the grand ambition of studying medicine and training as a doctor. Not all dreams work out as planned and instead of learning how to operate on humans he became an expert Fish Surgeon. First opening their doors of their traditional British chippy back in 2005. Since then they have grown into becoming a local favourite and a legendary/established part of the Greenwich community. They are very particular about the ingredients and carefully source them from trusted suppliers who offer very fresh ingredients cooked with love and, of course, the secret Golden Chippy recipe. After years of collecting glowing customer reviews and recommendations they achieved the holy grail - In 2016 The Golden Chippy was voted London’s number one restaurant on TripAdvisor!
Drink Old bank of England One of the most stunning pub interiors in the city of London now with a new lease of life, paired with honest pub grub and fantastic, Hertfordshire brewed beers. Our pub resides in the old Law Courts branch of the previous Bank of England which operated from 1888 to 1975, although you may not be able to get a loan with us you are bound to receive attentive service, and a unique experience in the country’s capital. The location is also famously directly between Sweeney Todd’s barber shop and Mrs Lovett’s pie shop!
The Westminster Arms The Westminster Arms is in the heart of political London, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament. It features a division bell so MPs can dash back to the House in time for the vote. As well as politicians and journalists, the pub is usually bustling with civil servants, tourists, conference delegates, actors and models and has served many famous faces including Desmond Tutu, Bill Clinton and Angelina Jolie.
The Connaught Drop by the Connaught Bar in Mayfair and step into another world. Conversation flows over sparkling glasses and candle lit tables. Behind the bar, mixologists conjure up new concoctions and timehonoured classic cocktails. Before you savour that first sip, take in the surroundings. Textured walls in platinum silver leaf and a cool grey bar set a stylish tone. Designed by David Collins Studio, the bar evokes English and Irish Cubist art of the 1920s, with a touch of timeless elegance.
Shop Sloane street Sloane Street is internationally recognised as one of the world’s most exclusive and luxurious shopping destinations. Situated in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, it stretches from Knightsbridge in the north to Sloane Square at the southern end. Sloane Street accentuates the very best of London life and style. Renowned for its elegant catwalk of iconic luxury brands, unparalleled service and exclusive products, its impressive list of flagship stores includes Tom Ford, Chloe, Salvatore Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Rag & Bone, Saint Laurent, Alberta Ferretti, Marni and Gucci. The Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the area in 1712. Today, iconic luxury brands are interspersed with chic townhouses, beautifully manicured gardens and characterful side streets, such as Ellis Street and Pavillion Road. Part of the Cadogan Estate, Sloane Street and the surrounding area ooze heritage and pedigree.
Bond Street Since its foundation in 1700, Bond Street has been a playground for society’s wealthiest, most stylish and influential people. Past residents of the street have included Admiral Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton as well as a number of renowned authors and poets. Today, more than 300 years on, Bond Street remains a much-loved destination for celebrities, socialites and the international jet set. Home to some of the world’s most prestigious retailers, including Asprey, Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Cartier, Dolce Gabbana, Hermès, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Ralph Lauren and Tiffany Co. Bond Street offers an unrivalled mix of history, traditional elegance and modern luxury. Bond Street and its surrounding area boasts a impressive number of Royal Warrant holders and is home to some of the world’s most individual and unique hotels and restaurants, including Claridge’s and The Ritz, as well fine establishments such as The Royal Academy of Art and the world-famous auction house, Sotheby’s.
Dover Street Market Find prestigious labels alongside clothes and accessories from emerging designers at cutting-edge fashion hotspot Dover Street Market London. Created by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, Dover Street Market’s stripped industrial space is spread over six floors and includes dedicated areas for fashion pop-ups and a bakery. Discover the latest Comme des Garçons trends, alongside established and up-and-coming designers – including the likes of Balenciaga, Gucci and Dries van Noten.
GC: FEMME
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BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Bandana halter bikini top COST: $70 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Smocked wide leg pant COST: $84 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Bandana print hipster bottom COST: $64 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Ruffle V neck dress COST: $88 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Jacie Calfskin stirrup sandal COST: $495 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Jinny logo canvas slip on sneakers COST: $65 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Rosalind sandal COST: $35 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Polo X Feed tote bag COST: $198 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Rafia Medium Tor bag COST: $248 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Striped canvas large bellport tote COST: $199 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Heritage panto sunglasses COST: $297 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Modern cat eye sunglasses COST: $210 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Automotive Butterfly Sunglasses COST: $198 USD
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BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Hudson stripe beach towel blanket COST: $100 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Darby striped beach towel COST: $70 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Brystol stripe beach towel COST: $125 USD
BRAND: Ralph Lauren NAME: Surf polo bear beach towel COST: $70 USD
GC:HOMME SUNGLASSES, SHORTS, SHIRTS & SHOES! With what seems to be the endless summer of 2021, here at GC we thought it was only right to publish a second summer selection before the temperatures drop and we have to cover up again!
BRAND: PERSOL NAME: Steve McQueen Round Frame Sunglasses COST: € 351 www.persol.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: GUCCI NAME: Square frame sunglasses COST: € 386 www.gucci.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: AMIRI NAME: Aviator frame sunglasses COST: € 729 www.amiri.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
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BRAND: BALENCIAGA NAME: Flat D frame sunglasses COST: € 293 www.balenciaga.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: SUPREME NAME: Gucci Mane T-shirt COST: € 1.129 www.supremenewyork.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: STUSSY NAME: Dice painted shirt COST: 135 GBP www.stussy.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: REISS NAME: Blue linen short sleeve shirt COST: 85 GBP www.reiss.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: SAINT LAURENT NAME: Espadrilles COST: 320 GBP www.ysl.com PICTURE CREDIT: Flannels
BRAND: GUCCI NAME: Gucci P stripe shorts COST: 599 GBP www.gucci.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: GIORGIO ARMANI NAME: Organic silk and cotton pique polo shirt COST: 810 USD www.armani.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: TOMMY HILFIGGER NAME: Brooklyn shorts COST: 70 GBP www.tommyhilfigger.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: RALPH LAUREN NAME: Leather hanford low top trainer COST: 85 GBP www.ralphlauren.com PICTURE CREDIT: Flannels
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BRAND: BOTTEGA VENETA NAME: Open knit polo shirt COST: € 750 www.bottegaveneta.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: RALPH LAUREN NAME: Prepster shorts COST: 72 GBP www.ralphlauren.com PICTURE CREDIT: Flannels
BRAND: DOLCE & GABBANA NAME: Milano sliders COST: 259 GBP www.dolcegabbana.com PICTURE CREDIT: Flannels
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GC:EAT SEASHELLS ST RAPHAEL HOTEL BEACH - LIMASSOL Tel.25 834200
Normally I would follow the advice of the late great Anthony Bourdain and never eat at a hotel restaurant and review it, however today is an exception to the rule. It was a baking hot day, with the thermostat touching forty degrees celsius, which is around 110 degrees in American. Along with this a hungry child in the back of the car who needed their belly filled up with food. When we first came out of the lockdown, myself and my daughter would often find ourselves down at the St Raphael beach next to the jet skis, and other various mechanical water based activities which my now middle aged body could easily break a collarbone on. After finishing our swim we always had an ice cold slushy, which for readers not familiar with this drink is a frozen crushed ice drink with various coloured chemicals added to it to make it taste something which closely resembles either strawberry or raspberry.
Moreover, If you are looking to live a little dangerously, mix them together and watch your child hit that sugar high. The great thing about the location is that you can go for a swim with your child to take the edge off the slushy, and bring them down slowly from the inevitable tweeking from excessive sugar consumption with a swim in the sea and pretend that you have seen some fish. With both of us owning empty stomachs we hungrily surveyed the menu of the seashells restaurant which much to my surprise is vegan / healthy choices. Now anyone who has taken a hungry child out for food will know that it is incredibly rare that they will opt for a vegan restaurant as their choice to eat at. Quite often you will be limited to choices in their selection as it will no doubt have ‘bits in it’ which will automatically disqualify itself from a child’s plate. WIth our food delivered promptly, I was pleasantly surprised that the hotdog (meat free) that we both chose, looked visually like its meat based cousin. Moreover, it was covered in several pieces of popcorn (not a mistype) and what seemed to be some type of honey mustard sauce. Normally when the both of us eat on a beach trip, I like to go for minimum fuss food that does not come on a huge plate
that can feed five people or have a huge complex looking meal. A simple rule of life is, when you eat at a beach, don’t eat a meal with 5000 calories in it as you have to swim and not sink in the next 45 minutes. You want it delivered fast and be filling, not a three star michelin arrangement on your plate where you want to savour every mouthful. Also don’t feel like this is just a hot dog and burger joint for those who want to wear the vegan badge of honour, the Seashells menu is incredibly extensive including salads, wraps, sushi and pastas which no doubt all taste very nice and you can continue with your day with no issue. The venue and decor look very nice for what it is (a beachside fastish food place), which has a nice bit of greenery and fans to cool us off on a scorching hot day. It is nice to have a bit of a change from the heaviness of what restaurants now want to sell you a burger based on height and the 8000 toppings that go with it. This is no good if you are about to go jet skiing or something, as you will probably sink like a stone. It is well worth a visit if you are looking to visit the beach without having to take huge hampers of food to satisfy your families needs. Take a trip to the beach and combine it with seashells, you wont regret it.
GC:FITNESS LUIS RIBEIRO Founder of Club Health www.clubhealth.uk
Remedial Massage Therapy: 5 Tremendous Benefits For Your Health Let’s play the word-association game. We say a word, you tell us the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready? Let’s go.
demands and wants. The words that should be associated with it are health, happiness, flexibility and so many more.
CH: Remedial Massage Therapy
The confusion about what massage therapy can actually offer us comes from the fact that there are numerous massage treatments: Swedish, Thai, hot stone, reflexology, and more.
99.9% of the world: relax, calm, zen Whilst there is nothing wrong with associating those feelings with a massage session, it’s almost unfair to what massage therapy actually does to your body. We want to give massage the credit it deserves and most importantly, help you understand that a massage session is a treatment our body needs,
Each type of massage addresses different needs and has different benefits. What we have the bad habit of doing is put everything under the umbrella of the word ‘massage,’ never taking the time to understand what each type does.
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Today, we will be looking at remedial massage therapy – what it is, what it does and why we believe it can be an instrumental tool in creating a healthier and happier lifestyle for you.
What is Remedial Massage Therapy Remedial massage therapy addresses pain, discomfort and preservation of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Whilst it is mainly used for the prevention and management of injuries, it has broader therapeutic and healing qualities that directly impact your health. Here’s a few words from the Club’s Founder & Director, Luis Ribeiro: “Remedial massage therapy feels like a well-kept secret that I want to share with the world. It’s frustrating to see people categorising massage treatments under one roof. Obviously, it’s not their fault and this is one of the main reasons we created the Club – to redefine the way people think about exercise, diet and physical therapy. With remedial massage therapy, the benefits are countless and what’s more important, immediate. The relaxation part of it is only the tip for the iceberg. The real work comes in layers and waves that the eyes can’t see.”
Remedial Massage Therapy Benefit #1: Relieves Stress Stress is something you can’t see, you can’t really measure but you can most definitely feel. When we say that remedial massage therapy reduces stress, we don’t mean that you feel relaxed during, and a couple of hours after the session. What we mean is that the therapy is affecting your
GAME CHANGERS Issue #35
neurohormones, elevates endorphins, and decreases cortisol levels. Your body is in a state of diluting stress, increased energy and a positive mood. Mood and behaviour are the last things you associate with a massage session. Remedial massage has the distinct ability to stimulate the body in ways where your mood and behaviour are steered towards a more positive direction.
Remedial Massage Therapy Benefit #2: Improves Posture, Alleviates Abdominal & Low Back Pain You’ll notice that we frequently mention the need to improve posture and there’s a good reason for it. Good posture improves blood flow and is responsible for keeping your nerves and blood vessels healthy, reducing neck and back pain. Remedial massage therapy can address the problems associated with office jbs, sitting for prolonged periods of time and damaging posture. The therapy can stretch, balance or realign your spine. It can adjust your spine to the right posture and reset your body, relieving the nagging pain from your neck, abdominal and low back.
Remedial Massage Therapy Benefit #3: Ensures A Goodnight’s Sleep Waking up in the morning feeling tired or not getting any sleep during the night can prove to be detrimental for your health. It’s crucial to address these problems immediately and cut them at the core.
Remedial massage therapy can help with both those problems. By relieving stress, helping with blood circulation, improving posture and putting away nagging pains, it prepares your body for a relaxing night of quality sleep and helps you deal with insomnia. Moreover, remedial massage therapy is believed to trigger the release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel calmer.
Remedial Massage Therapy Benefit #4: Enhances Joint Mobility You don’t need to be a yoga instructor to be able to enjoy the full range of motion of all your joints. Simply because lack of mobility is not something that stops you from going about your day, most people neglect it. So what if I can’t rotate my shoulder in a 360-degree circle? Why would I need to do that? The reality is that neglecting joint mobility will catch up with you in the later parts of your life. The body stiffens up with age and when we don’t make it a habit to lubricate and stretch the joints at a younger
age, it will become really challenging later on. Thankfully, remedial massage includes a lot of stretching and mobilisation exercises that not only reduce pain and stiffness, but also increases strength, stability, agility and flexibility in your joints.
Remedial Massage Therapy Benefit #5: Invigorates The Lymphatic System The lymphatic system is a network of blood tissue, organs and vessels that cleanse the body of waste. It is part of the circulatory and immune system and is responsible for producing, storing, and carrying white blood cells. Where does remedial massage affect the lymphatic system? Remedial massage increases white blood cells, thereby strengthening the immune system. By stimulating the lymphatic system, remedial therapy boosts energy levels, improves overall health, enables better rest, and makes things like weight loss and decrease in inflammation possible.
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GC:GOING OUT LIMASSOL NAUTICAL CLUB For this edition of keeping it all things summery, we resisted choosing a bar or something that reflected the nighttime, and thought it was better to forsake a hangover and instead take part in something relatively healthy. Having sat in many of the eating and drinking establishments that go from the part of the seafront that houses the Crowne Plaza. I have always found it incredibly relaxing to sit and watch the small boats leave Limassol Nautical Club and go off gently into the distance. Watching the boats go over the tiny white crests of waves, gathering speed to go far out to sea kind of helps address with the childhood trauma of being taught how to use what my teachers of the time would could very loosely describe a boat, on the once yearly charade of ‘let’s show the inner city school some nature stuff’.
LNC Rowing Credit: Andreas Stesinou
We were shouted at from the sidelines, by our sports teacher whose only relationship with the sea appeared to be an excessive and enthusiastic relationship with rum. Whilst bellowing at us that we are a seafaring nation, from under the comfort of his umbrella, and his feet being firmly on terra firma. Myself and my boat based companions did receive several mild concussions from being hit several times on the head, from the randomly swinging mast which seemed to operate on its own set of rules. It always kind of put me off sailing as a past time when the opportunity arose in adulthood. For some reason they always chose to do this activity around November time, when the wind and rain were driving in your face, where you seemed to have a constant existence of being constantly cold and wet.
LNC Waterpolo Credit: Andreas Mylonas
LNC-Kayak
You kind of got the feeling that this was just some government box ticking exercise to show us some water and to float on it, with nothing really being gained by any of the parties involved. The main highlight of that day was seeing RIcky Barnes falling into the cold grey unforgiving mistress that this lake represented. Barnesy was reliably informed by the rest of us sons of Poseidon that he probably did not have a future in the navy, by the use of various colourful anglo saxon words and phrases, along with several international hand signals and gestures...the innocence of youth!
Pavlos Kontides Credit: World Sailing
It was great that the Limassol Nautical Club completely cured me of all of the above, and also helped me enjoy many sea based activities. The LNC offers great tutelage to kids by professionals who understand how to use a boat in an incredibly safe manner. Moreover, it also teaches both you and them great skills, such as teamwork and confidence in handling new situations . Having come from the frozen north, I can honestly say that you will not get a better environment to be taught or have your kids learn something new.
One thing I always felt about these types of places is that they seemed very exclusive. However, Anastasia Georgiou from the Limassol Nautical Club let us know that it prides itself as an institution that is very inclusive. “We give access to as many people as possible. Moreover, by having this way of operating has given us the honour of being represented at the olympics by such people as Pavlos Kontides (Silver medal London 2012) and Karolina Pelendritou (Gold medal Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008), which is quite remarkable when you think of the size of the country.” The costs are not prohibitive, the LNC is run as a non
LNC-Swimming
profit organisation which will no doubt go a long way in helping past, present and future olympians get access to the sea to keep their skills sharp. Moreover, if you are a local brand looking to provide some well earned sponsorship for the LNC, why not consider sponsoring them or some of the local clubs and give the grass roots improved resources. After being closed indoors for what seemed like eons, I cannot think of a better way to enjoy your freedom than getting out in the sun and the deep blue mediteranean that surrounds this wonderful country and try something new.
LNC-Coastal Rowing in Limassol
Furthermore, with being in nature a great mental antioxidant, one thing you feel is that you have actually done something with your free time over the weekend, and by having an actual experience as opposed to just laying under the AC, it;s a great way to spend a couple of hours in your free time. For more information on the great programmes that the Limassol Nautical Club runs you can visit their web site www.limassolnauticalclub.com
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ISSUE #35
THE JOURNAL FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS
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