Employee Spotlight: Kelsey Gibson, Principal, Client Success
On a regular basis, we talk with our team members about their experience working at Canoe, and their future goals and aspirations. This week, we spoke with Kelsey Gibson, Principal, Client Success.
Tell us about your background. How did you find Canoe?
Prior to Canoe, I worked in middle office client servicing roles at Northern Trust and Rockefeller Capital Management. I also spent time at a management consulting firm supporting clients’ strategy and operations initiatives.
I first learned of Canoe when a previous colleague of mine–Maura Coyle–joined the Canoe team. I started reading about Canoe and its offering, and I was immediately interested. That interest grew exponentially after meeting other members of the Canoe team and learning about their vision for the company’s future. I knew I wanted to be a part of the Canoe team and was excited to join the Client Success team.
How has your previous work experience contributed to your success at Canoe?
One of the biggest pain points I found during my time in middle office roles was the manual entry of portfolio data. It was so tedious and time-consuming and took focus away from more meaningful tasks. This same pain point is often the primary business driver mentioned by clients when signing on for Canoe. Having been in a Canoe power user’s seat before, I’m able to understand their questions and concerns as we work together to ensure Canoe fits seamlessly into their workflows.
My time in strategy consulting also lends well to partnering with executive sponsors to ensure their team is realizing as much value as possible from Canoe. Whether it’s realizing additional use cases or working with the Product team to solve an identified gap, it is important for me to understand the perspectives of all stakeholders to ensure the client is set up for success.
What has been one of the biggest challenges you have faced in your role and how have you overcome it?
The biggest challenge is a great one to have – rapid growth. Since joining Canoe, we’ve taken on nearly 100 clients. Each of those clients has a unique profile and use case, meaning each instance of Canoe should be customized accordingly. As a relationship manager for many of these clients, I make sure I know as much as possible about each client’s scope and what they need from Canoe. Taking the time to learn the details not only allows me to offer best practices and workarounds that resonate with the client but also demonstrates that the Canoe team is truly invested in every client’s success.
Canoe has grown substantially since you joined the company. What aspect(s) of the company excite(s) you most from a client success perspective?
The evolution of Canoe in just a few years’ time has been amazing to be a part of. There have already been so many improvements in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and user experience, and the teams behind the scenes never stop looking for opportunities to make the platform better. With all that’s been accomplished in such a short time, I’m excited to see the enhancements to come and how they’ll add to a great user experience for our clients.
If someone were interested in becoming a relationship manager in the fintech industry, what advice would you give them?
The role of a relationship manager in the fintech industry is as a client’s primary partner and advocate. This means always operating with a client-first mentality to ensure they see the value they expected from the product. Remembering that the client’s success is ultimately your success is critical for this role.