We take great pride in driving and embracing change to improve our technology, teams, payments solutions, and of course- our global fintech footprint. Fueled by this passion for innovating and inspiring as official fintech infrastructure partners of the International Cricket Council (ICC), we’re pleased to share our new series highlighting the movers and shakers, change makers, and transformation leaders at Nium.
Our first guest for this mission is Nium’s Jeremiah Glodoveza, SVP and Global Head of Marketing and Communications, with a reputation for making moves that take the boring stereotypes out of B2B marketing. Known for his keen vision for modernizing payments, structuring the best go-to-market teams, and a steadfast value-creation mindset to win customers, we’re chatting with one of our favorite change makers about his journey, goals, lessons, and more.
Ready to meet the master of change-making in marketing? Let’s go:
What does it mean to be a “Change Maker” in your role as a marketing leader at Nium?
A running joke in business-to-business marketing was that the “B2B” acronym stood for “Boring to Business.” You’d see variations of the same tried and tested work. A white paper here. A podcast there. All somewhat effective. Most the cure for insomnia.
To me, being a change maker in B2B marketing means bringing a little Bollywood to business. Bollywood showed traditional Hollywood that bigger, brighter, and bolder could draw billions at the box office. And look where we are today.
My formative years in marketing were in the bubble of the entertainment and consumer product industries. I take lessons from this background and apply them in my journey to change marketing. Simply put, as brands today, we’re all in the infotainment business. We’re competing for customer attention, amidst the compelling forces of Tik Tok and Instagram. How do you stand out? Why should a customer take time out of their busy day to spend with you?
Change makers see their reality and not only believe there’s a better way, but they also do something about it. At Nium, I have my team focused on an exchange of value. Provide something of value that earns you the captive audience of a customer. What would they need to see, hear, and experience that would make them stop in their tracks and spend precious moments with you?
That’s the art of infotainment. Being able to facilitate the exchange of informational value and provide it in a way that’s entertaining – that’s the change I want to make.
How do you think Nium’s partnership with the ICC ties in together to set the stage for improved fan engagement?
Our partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) is unique in that we were the organization’s first pure business-to-business sponsor. Unlike other consumer-facing brands, Nium had to approach its relationship differently.
We had to find an area of partnership with the ICC that would maximize our role as a technology innovator and champion for cricket-crazy developers. Enter fan engagement! The ICC has been looking at ways to improve its experiences – both on and off the pitch – through technology. From on-pitch innovations, such as ball trajectory and decision review systems, to off-pitch technologies, such as NFTs, mobile games, and the metaverse, cricket is becoming more of a 24/7 lifestyle for fans.
Our work with the ICC on the likes of coding challenges and hackathons is to provide opportunities for the technology and sports worlds to foster innovation, and we’re super excited about what these innovations will mean for players, coaches, and fans!
What is one change in your leadership style that you want to make in the next year?
Empathy is the most underappreciated leadership trait in the modern era. Empathy begins with being a good listener. The one change I’m going to make in the new year is to slow down and listen more. Listen to my team. Listen to customers. Listen to management.
I’m going to take the time out to process what I hear and carefully plan out my next moves. Someone famous once said: sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.
What is the top leadership lesson you can share with future transformation champions?
I’m a parent to two young girls – one teenager and one pre-teen. One of the lessons I’ve learned is that what worked before doesn’t mean it will work again. The world is constantly changing. The best research is often right in front of you.
I’ve learned more about how marketing needs to change by simply observing the consumption patterns of my kids. From the importance of the mobile device to shorter-form content, all the way to influencers and colors, children have it figured out. You just have to take the time to see it.