Perspectives - James Arnett, Partner and Head of APAC, Capco

In select issues of Britain in Hong Kong, the Chamber checks in with one of its Sterling Members to get a fresh perspective on local businesses, and a peek into the personalities of our captains of industry.

HOW IS BUSINESS?

We are in a good place. We grew significantly in 2021 and are targeting even higher growth in 2022. While there is a degree of drag in Hong Kong due to COVID restrictions, we're seeing strong demand from our existing core clients and also robust levels of net new business. That is particularly true in insurance – with significant technology transformation underway across the market, and the convergence of wealth, health and insurance propositions and products, there is a clear opportunity for a dedicated financial services consultancy like Capco.

Capco, a Wipro company, is a global technology and management consultancy specialising in driving digital transformation in the financial services industry.

From a capital markets and securities services perspective, there is strong demand aligned to robust market growth for our clients across Asia. That work is predominantly around regulation and classic business consulting change. In the wealth, SME and commercial banking spaces it is more of a digital play with new platforms, propositions and millennial-oriented digital-first app offerings. More broadly, as in Western markets, there is a big focus on data management and analytics and on enhancing data commercialization.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FIRM IN THE REGION THIS YEAR?

We will be concentrating on four core markets – Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia – and are confident there is strong growth potential in each across our key domains of capital markets, insurance, wealth and banking. As noted, there is now a massive shift towards digital being the norm, and a focus on the data that drives and underpins that evolution. Both of those trends play directly into our established expertise and experience globally.

WHAT IS THE FIRM’S REGIONAL VISION AND BUSINESS STRATEGY?

We launched in this region in 2014 and our focus has historically been on international banking. That will not change, given we work with most of the top 50 banks in the world, and indeed I only expect to see that engagement increase. In addition, we now have a greater focus on partnering with local clients to support their transformation needs around data and digital-first, and that is already bearing fruit.

A key development has been Capco’s acquisition by Wipro in April 2021. We continue operating as an independent, if wholly-owned, company and brand, but – given Wipro’s status as a global leader in information technology, consulting, and business processing services – that union means we are now positioned to deliver end-to-end transformation at scale. That enhanced capability has already translated on the ground into a number of specific new opportunities.

WHAT, TO YOUR MIND, HAS BEEN THE MOST CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN THE SUCCESS OF YOUR COMPANY?

I’ve been in region since January 2021 but with Capco for 11 years, and over that decade or so Capco has grown from 600 to 6000 people globally. That has come from staying very focused on our clients and our core financial services domains. However what really sets us apart is our culture. Capco has retained a real family-type culture that is also highly entrepreneurial, with plenty of freedom to express your ideas and, as we say, to ‘be yourself at work’.

The onus we place on diverse perspectives and creative thinking allows us to really change the game – to positively disrupt our clients and the financial services marketplace when it comes to creating and launching products faster, reducing costs from a client’s base or deploying technology in an optimal way. There’s a recognition that we're a ‘big small company’, that we care, that we’re very easy to work with, very collaborative.

WHAT IS YOUR DAY-TO-DAY FOCUS PERSONALLY?

Making Capco the leading financial services digital business consultancy in Asia. We have invested heavily in fresh leadership across the region, which speaks to our commitment to both Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. There is a notable appetite for investment and transformation among our clients and other financial services institutions right now, and we are well positioned to support them on that journey.

It is vital to stay relevant and connected to your clients, so I spend up to 60% of my time with them and the rest with my teams. Another key focus as regional head is on how we develop and grow our people and also attract new talent. We have rebooted our graduate programme – that's very important not only to meet short-term talent needs but also for our medium to longer term growth. Today’s graduates are tomorrow’s leaders after all.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE CURRENT KEY CHALLENGES IN ASIA AND HONG KONG?

There are still COVID-related restrictions to consider obviously. The main challenge though is around talent – our work is certainly technology driven, but at heart it remains a people and relationships business, and it is clearly a very tough recruitment market here in APAC. That said, the same challenge exists in London or New York, and while some people are moving out of region, we're also seeing plenty of others wanting to move back or come here for the first time.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE HONG KONG’S STRENGTHS AS A REGIONAL FINTECH HUB?

There's clear strength in Hong Kong. Fintechs here are well funded and well backed, and we are seeing some unicorns come out of the market. That said, in terms of how fintechs are incubated, more could be done. Looking across other markets globally, the growth, nurturing and mentoring of fintechs is running at extremely high levels – the US or the UK being two key examples. So there's likely more to be done – but the groundwork is very much in place to support that push to the next level.

HOW DO YOU SEE FINANCIAL SERVICES IN HONG KONG CONTINUING TO BE TRANSFORMED BY TECHNOLOGY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS?

We will continue to see an acceleration away from legacy technology and mainframes towards cloud migrations, with an increase in the adoption of Software as a Service in the cloud. The legacy technology core is being removed and modular fintech is being plugged in. Companies are increasingly recognizing the value of fintechs when taking out very manual processes, enhancing cost efficiencies and improving controls, and we accordingly have deep partnerships with InvestCloud, Coherent and Xceptor, to name but a few, to deliver transformation to our clients. The area going through the most transformational change on the tech side right now is insurance, due to the high level of legacy IT infrastructure.

PERSONAL

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING IN HONG KONG?

I’ve been in Hong Kong 18 months now. I had worked here previously during 2008-09 and again 2015-16, though I was more in and out, but for my wife, who's from Southeast Asia, it's the third time she's lived here.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE IN HONG KONG?

Saturday and Sunday mornings on the beach, typically Repulse Bay, with my two young kids.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE (NON-PROFESSIONAL) OCCUPATION?

Once upon a time it was football, then it was trail running – but now it's probably playing with my kids in a swimming pool or at the beach.

IF YOU HAD A MOTTO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Dream big.