Q&A with Mark Goldspink, CEO at The ai Corporation

Mark Goldspink, CEO of The ai Corporation, is a highly dynamic, strategically and commercially, astute executive with considerable experience in providing "leading edge" technological solutions for large global blue-chip organizations. He has spent over 25 years in general management roles, and 12 years at a multinational oil company (Texaco) where he worked in all of the downstream marketing functions and developed a passion for creating long-term client partnerships. As Retail Director for the UK, he started his fascination for the payments sector and worked on both B2C solutions (loyalty scheme) and launched a very successful B2B fuel card which is still used today (FastFuel). Over the last 13 years, Mark has worked in a whole series of payment and data-related businesses. He was the Managing Director at Retail Decisions (ReD) for 5 years, which was recognized in 2009 as one of the fastest-growing UK companies. Most recently, he was the Vice President at CGI (that acquired Logica in 2012) where he was responsible for managing the Shell contract.

Successfully stopping payment fraud prevention requires “state of the art” technology and expertise in processing and managing large amounts of data.



MEDIA 7: You have had a remarkable career. Can you please take us through your highly successful professional journey?
MARK GOLDSPINK:
I am flattered that you phrased your question that way. For me, there is a simple answer - any success that I can claim comes from the teams of people I have worked with, and the support I have had from my friends and family. Most of all, I have been incredibly lucky to have worked with people that have shared my values. Yes, work has been hard, at times, but the good times far outweigh the difficult times. I have always felt that I may have a different job role, but at the end of the day, I am just part of the team. The best compliment anyone has ever given me was to say: “It’s not like we work for you Mark, but with you. You challenge us because you challenge yourself.”   


M7: The ai Corporation (ai) is referred by industry analysts to be a leader in fraud and payments solutions. What’s next for your company? Are you looking to expand into more markets?
MG:
Successfully stopping payment fraud prevention requires “state of the art” technology and expertise in processing and managing large amounts of data. I have believed for many years that if we can find fraudulent signals in millions of transactions, finding good customers should be much easier. It is a much-used term, but a 360° view is an even more valuable source of information than we can imagine, and we believe our people and technology can already offer our customers that level of insight. Yes, we are looking to expand our offering into new markets and new channels.


One of the keys to good fraud prevention is to increase the number of data sources.



M7: Who uses ai? And how are your solutions helping to prevent fraud?
MG:
Our solutions, including our new "state of the art" machine learning/A.I, protect and enrich payments experiences for more than 100 banks, over three million multi-channel merchants, and over 300 million consumer cardholders. We also monitor over 25 billion transactions and authorizations each year.


M7: How does a Dark web managed service improve your customer’s ability to detect fraud?
MG:
One of the keys to good fraud prevention is to increase the number of data sources. Our Dark web managed service does just that. However, using the Dark Web isn’t new and we began monitoring the Dark Web in 2008 to help find compromised cards.


Whether it is a customer, a friendship, or a family member – relationships are built on trust and transparency. I have never been clever enough to lie very well, so I was never tempted to keep things secret.



M7: What is your approach to market research, both customer and competitor-focused? How do you anticipate what people will want?
MG:
I am very lucky; I have a large network of professional colleagues that are incredibly helpful to bounce ideas off – I hope I have been able to help them in return.


M7: According to you, what are the best methods to create long-term client relationships?
MG:
Whether it is a customer, a friendship, or a family member – relationships are built on trust and transparency. I have never been clever enough to lie very well, so I was never tempted to keep things secret. Whenever I have tried to keep a secret, it has never ended well. With experience, you learn that being open is the best way to have long and sustainable relationships with your customers. I remember a good friend of mine, who works and volunteers for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), saying how they teach young children that if someone tells you a secret that you can never share, it is probably not a good secret, and it should be shared with another adult.

On the other hand, time-bound secrets are usually harmless ones, like keeping a birthday present a secret. When my friend told me about this way of teaching children to navigate difficult things in life, it gave me something to think about. Not being transparent when you work with business partners and colleagues can be detrimental and have negative consequences. I believe it is best to be open and honest with everyone. In the long run, it makes things a lot easier.

ABOUT THE AI CORPORATION

ai is trusted around the world for developing innovative technology that allows its customers to take control and grow profitably. Founded in 1998, they have a long track record of providing solutions to some of the world's largest financial/payment institutions and international merchants. Its long-standing business partnerships are based on making things simple and providing self-service tools that allow its customers to take control. Through their relentless focus on these tools, they constantly strive to help their customers create highly profitable returns.

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Spotlight

The ai Corporation

The ai Corporation

The ai Corporation is a trusted around the world for developing innovative technology that allows our customers to take control and grow profitably. Founded in 1998, we have a long track record of providing solutions to some of the world's largest financial/payment institutions and international mer...

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