5 minutes with Martin Best, CMO of Wirex

Martin has enjoyed a multi-category career, living and working in eight countries managing a variety of global brands. From sneakers to mobile electronics to marketing beer, his journey in fintech began in 2016. Martin's view is that working in global marketing is 'Probably the best job in the world' (beer pun, intended).?

What is your most recent position and what are you responsible for?

Presently I work at Wirex - it's a crypto-friendly fintech based in London with five million customers worldwide. We call it 'crypto-friendly' because we issue a payment card (either Mastercard or Visa), which you can link to multiple digital assets in your Wirex App, if you so choose.?

What’s the best job you’ve had and why??

I was at Carlsberg Group from 2008 to 2016 and was lucky to be on the global talent programme, meaning I was rotated to different countries and positions every 2-3 years. It really was the foundation of my marketing knowledge and developed me personally and professionally. In my time there I lived in Denmark, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore and Croatia.?

What do you think are the three most important skills for your type of role in the current market?

1. Adaptability - we're in a global recession, unprecedented socio-economic events are happening, and no marketing plan seems to last 12 months in the current climate.?
2. Insight - consumer insights used to last two to three years depending on the product and category, now that can change faster and needs continual revision.?
3. Commerciality - in times of negative growth, marketing is relied on even more to stand out and sustain a company's financials.??

What’s your biggest career achievement and how did you do it?

I'd say living and working in Russia in 2010-2012. I was the first non-Russian to work in such an operational role at Carlsberg's subsidiary, Baltika Breweries, my team only spoke Russian and all the meetings were in Russian, it was far from being a global-team back then. I had to adapt fast and overcome a lot of personal and professional challenges (especially linguistic) to adapt and thrive.?

What advice would you give to yourself in your earlier career?

It's a cliche but it is so true, 'career growth' is not a linear process, it's up-down and zig-zagged. Don't over-think and over stress the times you feel you're not making progress.?

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't eat yellow snow! Ok, more professionally, 'never outsource the insight' - meaning that as a brand guardian you must understand your own product relevance to your target audience, you cannot expect agencies and third parties to do that bit for you.?

When you hire talent, what do you look for in people?

Transferable skills and personal development mindset.?

Do you invest time in self-learning, or mentoring?

Yes to both. In digital marketing you almost wake up 'not knowing something' because it moves so fast and I have watched hundreds of hours of YouTube and other platforms when needed to upskill. At Wirex we have a strong bias to internal promotions and as such, mentoring the team on adapting to new responsibilities is important to help them succeed.?

What is the most important skill you think a person should invest in?

What you're passionate to know and learn! That might be French, SEO Marketing or Project Management, if you do it because you want to, you'll get higher returns.?

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt about work?

If I put family over work, the worst thing that could happen is I'll be fired. If I put work over family, my son might put me in a home when I'm old and ignore me. Keep a sense of perspective on maintaining the balance between those commitments!?