Adapt to thrive

The experience of onboarding remotely in a new role has been one of the features of the pandemic, usually involving integrating into a new team. But for Paul Kilcullen FCCA it went far beyond this, as he took on a leadership role in a 1,400 strong organisation.

In 2020, Kilcullen was appointed Ireland Country Head and CEO of BNY Mellon’s Irish funds services business, leading its service offering to traditional and alternative asset managers, banks, pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds.

Ahead of the curve

The oldest bank in the US, BNY Mellon can trace its Irish connections here back to the early days of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre in the mid-1990s. Its offering has evolved to include broader banking services, giving it, Kilcullen says, ‘a leading market position in financial services in Ireland and a significant role in the wider economy here, too’.

As the bank’s presence in Ireland grew to become BNY Mellon's fifth largest operation in headcount globally, it did so with an approach ahead of the curve in terms of regional diversification. BNY Mellon opened its first operations in Wexford in 2002, followed by Cork in 2006.

‘The bank is a big supporter of Ireland and of regionalisation, which has enabled us to attract and retain talent all over the country. That regional footprint will now serve us well in the new future of work,’ Kilcullen reflects.

Of his decision to take on guiding that future during the pandemic, Kilcullen says with a laugh: ‘I’m like a car; if I’m not in fifth gear on a regular basis, there’s a danger I’ll seize up.’ More seriously, he notes that he has always ‘drawn energy from new challenges and learning experiences. Prior to joining, I would have been a bit concerned about integrating into a senior leadership position while never meeting anyone in person, but I was pleasantly surprised. People have been extremely friendly and professional, and have gone the extra mile to make it work.’

Centre of excellence

The size, scale and scope of the funds industry has made it something of a jewel in the crown for Irish financial services. Employing 16,000 people directly and same number indirectly, Ireland has grown from a standing start in the 1990s to become Europe’s second-largest fund centre.

According to Irish Funds, 1,027 fund managers from 54 countries now have assets administered here, while 17 of the top 20 global asset managers have Irish domiciled funds. The pandemic has, if anything, bolstered that position, as total assets under administration grew from €5.2 trillion in 2019 to €6.4 trillion in 2021.

‘We have earned a reputation as a quality regulatory environment and a centre of excellence for high-value financial services,’ Kilcullen says, welcoming recent initiatives such as the introduction of the new Finance Bill 2021 and the Investment Limited Partnerships Act 2021, which reflect a government that ‘recognises the strategic importance of this industry to the economy and is looking to support it’.

It’s a principle that will become increasingly important. ‘Looking to the future, I expect asset managers to rationalise the number of countries they domicile products in,' he says. 'That makes it increasingly important that Ireland provides a complete range of services that asset managers can continue to leverage in years to come.’

Digital developments

BNY Mellon’s own commitment to the future also has Ireland very much at its heart, perhaps most clearly reflected by the opening of its new digital assets unit earlier this year. The bank says this makes it the first global bank to set out plans to provide an integrated service for digital assets and, subject to approval from the Central Bank, BNY Mellon’s Ireland operations will act as a custodian for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.

‘The choice of Ireland is testament to the country’s standing in the global funds network and the vibrant fintech community here,’ Kilcullen says with pride.

Of course, it isn’t that long ago since many in financial services were dismissing cryptocurrencies as ephemeral to say the least. What has changed?

‘The reality is no one knows for sure what the impact will be and how things will transpire,' Kilcullen says. 'But if we go back to the dotcom era, when the focus at the time was on the valuation of internet companies, that reflected what was a new way of transacting and doing business.'

Sustainable operations

If digitisation is one pillar of future growth, the second is surely sustainability, with a growing importance attached to environmental, social and corporate (ESG) governance across financial services and business in general. ‘ESG is very much top of mind in our firm and our ESG strategy is built on three pillars: culture and purpose, responsible business and global citizenship,' Kilcullen says.

'Those pillars influence and guide us in how we embed ESG into our organisation. We will also see a greater focus on ESG generally as Ireland aims to become an international centre of excellence in sustainable finance in the coming years.’

Diversity and inclusion is another signal of how an organisation is planning for its future. 'We can point to 41% gender diversity at senior levels in BNY Mellon, which we are continuing to build upon,’ Kilcullen says. It is also an evolving area and he points to the bank’s current commitment to developing neurolinguistic diversity, developing a pilot programme supporting opportunities for people with autism.

Route to the top

Originally from Co Mayo, Kilcullen graduated with a degree in business from Dublin City University in 1996. By 1998 he had the ACCA Qualification under his belt, becoming a Fellow in 2004.

Along the way, he found time to complete an MBA in London. ‘From the outset of my career, I always felt that you had to invest in your personal and professional development,' he says. 'ACCA has a huge amount of international credibility and you can study while progressing your career, which to me was a very attractive proposition.’

While Kilcullen has enjoyed continuous progress, experience has also shown him that ‘a career will have two to three points of inflection, where the opportunity you pick will have long-term impact’.

A key decision in this regard was taking a role in Jersey with Invesco early on in his career. ‘It was a high-profile and sometimes stressful project, and one that stretched me,' he recalls. 'However, ultimately it proved successful and that brought me to the attention of senior management.’

A new role in London reporting to the CEO provided ‘another tremendous learning experience. I worked closely with senior management and benefited from exposure and mentoring at that level.’

Keep learning

If ACCA has been a fundamental building block in Kilcullen's career, it also fits into his belief that lifelong learning is key to unlocking opportunities ahead, particularly as the accountancy profession addresses the challenges of AI and machine learning.

‘There will always be a fear that we could become less relevant,' he says. 'To me, it comes back to the question of how you, as a person, invest in yourself. If you see a challenge as a positive opportunity, that will help you develop personally and in your career. There are difficult days and challenges; what I’ve tried to do is learn from those and build that into my DNA so that when I face the same challenge again, I’ll respond to it differently.’

That sense of optimism and adaptability informs his view of the broader future of the Irish economy. ‘Since I left college in 1996, we have seen the total number of people in employment double, despite some major setbacks along the way.

'As long as we retain that drive to being competitive, I don’t see change negatively impacting on us. Ireland will remain very strong for talent, for its pro-business approach and for its fintech ecosystem.’