‘In conversation with’ André Boesing, VP International Business Development

We’re delighted to launch the next instalment of our ‘In conversation with’ series. For this, we recently sat down with André Boesing, our VP International Business Development, to learn more about his journey at emerchantpay. With a passion for cultivating effective global partnerships, André thrives on establishing and building business growth for long-term success.

In the following Q&A, André walks us through his journey as VP International Business Development, and how he inspires his team to reach new heights in their fintech careers.

Can you tell us about your journey at emerchantpay?

My journey with emerchantpay started around eight years ago. I initially worked for emerchantpay as an external advisor, before I was offered a full-time position as their VP International Business Development, which I eagerly accepted.

In particular, I was keen to use my skill set and experience to help the company grow into a major cross-border payments player. Since this time, I’ve led huge global deals, helping the business to expand its operations in key markets across the world such as Asia and LATAM. Overall, I’ve found it to be a truly rewarding experience to contribute to emerchantpay’s growth and work as part of a dedicated and diverse team.

How would you describe your role as VP International Business Development?

International business development is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, requiring people to be able to confidently navigate market shifts such as changes to regulations and compliance. Being resilient and a strong negotiator are also crucial, as you work with a mix of payment entities and stakeholders at all levels, which means you will need to balance different demands and requirements in line with your overall business objectives.

Another important element of business development involves setting up operations in new and foreign markets. To do this successfully, you must walk in someone else shoes, and deeply understand the market you’re hoping to expand into. This means you need to be adaptable and become familiar with the local culture and language, so you can effectively introduce your business and build networks. You also need to be flexible and willing to travel a lot to build strategic relationships with key stakeholders for business expansion.

What would you say is the most exciting part of your job?

In my opinion, the most thrilling aspect of my role is the ability to overcome obstacles and explore new growth opportunities for emerchantpay. When I first began working for emerchantpay, I joined a large team that was tasked with setting up operations in Asia from scratch. Across the span of two to three years, I was travelling across Asia to help establish our offices and required partnerships. In parallel to this, we set up the same for LATAM. These projects involved a monumental amount of work, collaboration and dedication to execute, and seeing the end result and how it’s all come together has been greatly fulfilling.

What personal qualities or skills have been instrumental in your success?

I have a strong drive and commitment to achieving excellence, while also being an effective communicator and negotiator. Every country and every culture is completely different. This means that you need to be diplomatic when making business decisions and, if possible, be able to speak multiple languages. I’m currently fluent in three languages, with an ability to speak many other languages beyond this. Although this is not necessarily essential, it has helped me a great deal to cultivate and foster strategic business relationships internationally.

You must also be able to work well under pressure and ensure you have a clear set of objectives to work towards, so you can effectively execute deals and forge relationships with various stakeholders across the world. Another element of this role involves being customer-centric and adjusting to varying time zones. Specifically, you need to be flexible and willing to accommodate meetings with merchants, local banks and other payment entities with different time zones to successfully establish agreements.

What three words would you use to describe emerchantpay?

I would say emerchantpay has a really strong sense of “family”. While we have different teams across the globe, we’re all united and passionate about what we’re doing. Everyone is also “hard-working”, and willing to chip in and support one another to get the results. Another term I would use to describe emerchantpay is “huge potential”. In the last few years, we’ve grown significantly in both our operations and solutions, with no plans to slow down. It’s gratifying to look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved together as a team as well as what’s to come in the future in terms of business expansion opportunities.

How do you keep your team inspired and motivated to reach new heights in their performance?

I’m a great believer in the saying “you learn by doing”. If an employee is hungry to expand their skill set and experience, I will happily provide them with the opportunities to achieve this. This involves including them in relevant business activities and mentoring them, so they can build their experience in managing specific markets.

Something else that ties specifically into an employee’s success and is something I urge my team to be is self-motivated and to not be afraid to go after opportunities to succeed. Business development is a highly competitive field, and alongside this, markets are constantly changing, which requires an agile approach and the ability to stay abreast of the latest regulations.

Another core aspect is being able to set clear targets for teams to work towards. Having this in place, ensures people can tackle projects efficiently and have a sense of achievement when a project is completed.

Do you have a favourite book, podcast or other educational material that has been especially helpful for your career?

A person I have found to be especially helpful in assisting me grow professionally is Simon Sinek. He’s written a few books discussing the power of habits and how people can be successful leaders. One concept that resonated with me, in particular, was his advice about being the example of what the company wants to be, which is something I always endeavour to embody in all aspects of my life. When mentoring people, I will try to teach and lead by example, to motivate my team to grow and succeed in their fintech careers.

André’s story – driving business expansion through fostering strategic relationships

André’s drive and commitment to fostering sustainable business growth has helped emerchantpay to make payments easy for more clients across the globe. His perseverance and growth-oriented mindset inspires his team to push the boundaries of payments and explore new opportunities for business development.