Profile of the month : Jean-François Albala

Name : Jean-François Albala

Age : 37

Function : Account Manager

Education : Bachelor degree in law – Helmo Liège

What’s your background before joining Gambit’s family?

After graduating, I immediately joined a Liège insurance company where I worked as a group insurance manager. It was during this period that I developed a taste for the (small) commercial side of the job and I decided to keep a commercial and relational aspect as the main thread of my professional career. Once my “Rosetta plan” was finished in Liège, I decided to start working in Brussels in order to train myself in languages (Dutch and English). I then spent a good ten years developing my commercial skills in the IT sector but also in consultancy.

What were your reasons for joining Gambit?

I knew Gambit somewhat before I did my first interview there.  I was eager to come back to work in Liege in order to have more comfort in my family life.  Alongside this desire to get closer, it was essential for me to be on the same wavelength as my employer, to share the same values and to have the same vision for the development of the activities. I had the opportunity to meet several people during my application and on each meeting there was the same “click” and the same vision of things.  It was obvious!

Can you describe your job at Gambit?

As Account Manager, my first mission is to be the commercial point of contact for Gambit’s existing customers, to ensure quality and customer satisfaction.  In addition to this “customer engagement” function, I have a “business development” mission on the Belgian market only.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The position I hold today allows me to combine the commercial and relational aspects which are the main threads of my professional career.  Today I am busy creating and developing a solid relationship with our customers based on service excellence, transparency, trust and honesty. From an organisational point of view, I really like the dynamic atmosphere that prevails in Gambit.

What are the challenges of your job?

A commercially oriented function is by definition a challenging function! Moreover, in today’s global health and economic context, the challenge coefficient is increased tenfold!

What are the two essential assets in your job?

Listen and listen!

In your opinion, what are the challenges in the Fintech industry that Gambit will have to face?

Innovation and excellence are at the heart of Gambit’s operations. Gambit is a Fintech that was a Fintech long before the word existed! In other words, we have to be ahead of the market, think long term and innovate.  The players in the financial world are at an important turning point in their evolution.  Consumer habits are changing, the “millenials” have grown up and are becoming the first consumers of financial products. At Gambit, our R&D team is constantly innovating to enable this new digital generation to invest in a simple, fast and secure way! Making money a better support for what comes next is what Gambit is all about.

What is, in your opinion, the most important added value that a Gambit solution brings to its clients?

Gambit’s added value lies in our ability to innovate, to be ahead of the market and to be extremely flexible.  We are no longer a software provider but a service provider.  We make it a point of honour to provide a high quality service to our customers.

• Gambit in 3 words : Pragmatism, transparency, excellence.
• Your hobbies : Movies, car racing, and so many others!
• Your main character trait : Phlegmatic (I must have distant English origins)
• The phrase you say most often at work : I’m in a meeting. I’m on my way…