Delano heard from Thibault de Barsy, vice chairman and general manager of the Emerging Payments Association trade group (read his March 2020 interview here); Susanne Schartz, chief operating officer at Seqvoia, which provides technology services to asset management companies (read her March 2020 interview here); and Marnix van den Berge, managing director, financial intermediaries for Benelux, France and Nordics at Capital Group, an investment fund company (read his April 2020 interview here).
Aaron Grunwald: What has changed about your teleworking routine since our interview last year?
Thibault de Barsy: Running a trade association based on networking, we have tried to recreate as much as possible the features of “in real life” meetings. A first example is to organise digital lunches gathering CXOs of our industry, but where all the guests are being delivered simultaneously the same menu--usually a sushi box--wherever they are in Europe!
We also have a monthly “networking cocktail” called EP@Home organised with our sister association in London. The participants enter a large digitally recreated room where you feel like in a real cocktail event with its high tables, a thematic corner... and some “real” beers sent in advance to reward early registration.
Susanne Schartz: The main change is that I am back in the office 3 days a week since last September. But working from home has become a well-established routine, and I use either work location as it best fits my work and life needs.
Marnix van den Berge: Since our shift to working from home last year, not much has changed apart from being firmly settled into the work from home routine. For me, my office routine has been fairly stable with less family interruptions compared with early on when my family and I were all trying to find our feet and adjust to all being at home.
One big change for us has been the welcome addition to our family of our new dog which obliges me to spend more time outdoors. As such, I am more aware of taking breaks between meetings to walk outside and walk the dog.
What (if anything) has changed in your home office setup since then?
Thibault de Barsy: A new printer, the previous one died in my arms after many years of good service, but could not resist my children printing their homework! Its dimming light slowly faded like HAL on 2001: A Space Oddity. Then, I had to throw away the expensive cartridge I just bought because it was not compatible with the new one. Both made me cry.
Susanne Schartz: My home office setup is the same as last year. A door to close behind me is still important, even though I am normally on my own when working from home.
Marnix van den Berge: I have changed my home office setup and now occupy a room on the top floor where I can spend hours without being disturbed.
Can you share some pictures?
Thibault de Barsy: Preparing lunches and dinner for the whole family has become an obsession requiring the fridge to look permanently stuffed like I was running a small restaurant. With everyone having different constraints over their lunch time, the family table looks like the canteen of a SME with employees having lunches in turn:
Photo provided by Thibault de Barsy
Susanne Schartz: There is not much change, but some decoration has appeared. One--a hand-painted board with ‘cat rules’ that my niece did for me. It sometimes reminds me to relax and take things as they come:
Photo provided by Susanne Schartz
My friend gave me a Pirelli calendar mock-up for Christmas--it makes me smile a lot:
Photo provided by Susanne Schartz
We put up a photo we took during holiday--a very early morning in the streets of Havana. This represents all the things I still want to discover:
Photo provided by Susanne Schartz
Photo shared by Marnix van den Berge:
Photo provided by Marnix van den Berge
Has it become more or less difficult to balance professional and personal life, for example, during extended periods of homeschooling?
Thibault de Barsy: What we miss most as a couple is going out to restaurants and concerts, therefore, for Valentine’s weekend, we were very happy to participate in one of the “Because music matters” concerts at the Rockhal with its prior covid screening. We also went to the movies as soon they reopened and invited couples for dinner parties. Then of course this includes ordering from our favourite restaurants like Come a la Maison. Without those small moments, we would already have been registered in the local mad house.
Susanne Schartz: I worked normally throughout this entire period, just from a different location. I know I am lucky that this is possible in my profession. On the personal side, I feel that life is reduced--I see less people, less frequently. So much is ‘not possible’ these days. I am hoping for summer when hopefully, infection numbers go down and we can meet outside.
Marnix van den Berge: I have no complaints whatsoever as the work-life balance has been great over the last year. I have managed along with my wife to help our daughters out with their homework where possible and necessary.
We’re approaching one year of covid. What have you learned, so far, from this experience?
Thibault de Barsy: Professionally, I realised that organising public webinars with cliché topics such as ‘the influence of covid on the payment industry’ was becoming much too mainstream, therefore we refocused on organising real ‘private’ debates on focused topics between our members or with top executives of the European Commission. for example. You realise that when discussing under the Chatham House rules, what you happen to hear from the participants is different from the usual ‘corporate’ pre-formatted communications. My personal hope is that, as pandemic is a life and death issue, we will collectively realise that the end of the crisis opens a new era for free speech and a language of truth.
Susanne Schartz: For me, the initial slowdown of life was good--I concentrated more on myself, on the essentials and the question of what is important to me.
I am impressed in general by the creativity that has emerged--from family zoom conferences, and birthday surprise boxes delivered home, to online travel games.
Welcome back to Marnix van den Berge’s home office. Photo provided by Marnix van den Berge
Marnix van den Berge: The workload has increased however the efficiency has increased as well. Time to deliver client information has been quicker, with higher levels of engagement from all involved parties. Client contact is stronger than ever and that is always a welcome positive.
Are you eager to return to the office (or work there more regularly)?
Thibault de Barsy: I am certainly eager to have more “in real life” meetings. The large meeting rooms of the Lhoft have allowed us to have at least a few of them for important encounters. Keeping a mask is not an issue for me as long as I can look my contacts in the eye.
Susanne Schartz: We recruited throughout the last year and prioritised newcomers in the office while bringing in experienced staff from time to time. Now, I am looking forward to having more people in the office with me!
Marnix van den Berge: I am eager to meet clients and colleagues again. I don’t believe we will get back to the time before covid-19 in terms of being in the office for the sake of it, however it will be nice to exchange ideas in person with clients and colleagues overall.