Terry Robinson expands Vox Financial Partners
We spoke to Terry Robinson the New York based CEO of Vox Financial Partners
I am the CEO of Vox Financial Partners a FinTech consultancy which has developed new software that will improve efficiencies in the global financial services industry post Brexit.
I’m from a big family one of nine kids, I was born in Omagh but grew up in Belfast, my parents decided to move in the 1970s. I grew up in Four Winds, South Belfast and went to University in Cardiff and Manchester.
I worked at JP Morgan in London as a graduate trainee, and have been working in banking for over 25 years. I have lived in the USA for over 20 years, I live 20 miles west of Manhattan and have a partner and three young children.
Vox Financial Partners
Vox Financial Partners saw an opportunity to provide consultancy resources to large banks to address issues they were having with regulatory change for example the impact of Brexit.
We decided to expand the business in Belfast because of talent, the education system in Northern Ireland is the best in Western Europe. We found we can get undergraduates coming out of university who are incredibly well qualified. There is a strong technical component to available staff from Queens University and University of Ulster.
There is also a very good fit culturally they speak English, they want to work hard, they can work with the American investment banks who are very used to working with people from the UK and Ireland, so they sit very nicely together. We can supply resources to banks who can fit in very quickly and can hit the ground running. The scene here is quite boutique but we have been able to find the talent we need.
We had one consultant when we started in January 2017 we now have 35 a lot of that is down to the incredibly hard work of the team in Belfast.
What changes have you seen in Northern Ireland?
The quality of life has improved tremendously the shopping, the public transport, some of the nonsense you used to see in the past is gone. There is a big change in diversity of people there are a lot for nationalities here. I go to the site of one of our big clients in Belfast and it’s more like a site in London or New York, than it would have been 20 years ago.
The people here a very positive, they quality of life is very high, I really do think on a UK scale there are a lot of positives about Belfast. It’s a compact city, the public transport is good and the quality and price point of housing is very good. Belfast is so compact you can travel to the city centre quickly in New York it takes me an hour and a half into work and an hour and a half home every day, which isn’t ideal with a young family.
You can really live here and have a great quality of life. You are no distance from London, there are multiple flights every day so from a business point of view you can really do business from here.
What do you miss about home?
I miss the bread products soda farl and potato bread.
My father was a traditional Irish musician he was the Ulster Slow Air Fiddle Champion 3 years in a row in the mid 80’s I grew up in a house with traditional Irish music, so I miss the music.
The people here are very genuine you really know what you are getting with people if I am talking to someone in New Jersey I don’t click with them the same way I do with someone from home.
