IRELAND FOCUS
FINTECH
Risk and reward
Geraldine Gibson, managing director of AQMetrics
Geraldine Gibson’s positive attitude and enthusiasm for solving complex capital markets challenges led
her to set up AQMetrics in Co Kildare in 2012. She wasn’t willing to sit on the sidelines and watch fintech
change the personal and professional life of others without being part of the revolution, she says.
W
ith the best part of
20 years’ experience
in financial services
technology at Oracle,
Susquehanna and Norkom, Gibson
decided to get ahead of the game by
building an Irish-based company that
she believes will one day become a
global fintech leader.
She welcomes the influx of
ongoing financial services regulation
that has led to AQMetrics offering a
range of software services such as
trading surveillance, due diligence,
portfolio and risk management,
market surveillance and regulatory
reporting over the cloud.
As a result AQMetrics has become
a one-stop shop for financial
regulatory risk and compliance
solutions. Based out of Maynooth, Co
Kildare and with international offices
in London and Paris, AQMetrics’
cloud-based software is used by
fund managers, fund administrators,
stockbrokers and global financial
services companies.
As well as Irish-based financial
services firms, the company has
found key clients in Germany, the
UK and the US and, earlier this
year, announced a partnership with
Bloomberg.
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GEN Magazine
“Having built the integrated
risk and compliance solution from
scratch, AQMetrics decided to open
up the technology to partners such
as Bloomberg in order to be part
of a wider community that fosters
innovation and can react faster and
smarter to industry shifts,” Gibson
explains.
She sees the shortage of
leading global fintech companies
with headquarters in Ireland as
“inexplicable”.
“Building a global fintech business
out of Ireland requires the same
ingredients as any other location: a
culture of customer first, innovation
and being the best which can only be
done with great employees. I don’t
think any company should be put off
having an Irish headquarters for their
fintech firm,” she says.
Gibson believes that fintech
collaboration with the financial
services industry can drive job
creation in Ireland and doesn’t listen
to talk of fintech skills shortages
and knowledge gaps, believing in
building a home-grown talent base.
As well as being an advocate of
gender diversity, she believes in
equipping young people with the
much-needed technology skills
in demand by employers across
Ireland.
AQMetrics sponsors the FIT ICT
Associate Professional scheme,
which is an apprenticeship-type
opportunity where candidates are
sponsored while they ‘earn and
learn’.
Gibson says continuous learning
and innovation is part of AQMetrics’
DNA and that research and
development is core to the company.
“We continuously look at the
innovation we can bring to the
marketplace and our holistic view
of both the buy and sell side of
investment management and capital
markets is a driving force behind
the far-reaching potential of what
AQMetrics technology can help
build.
“We truly believe that regulatory
risk and compliance is just the tip of
the ic X