ON THE GROUND - DOWNTOWN TORONTO & MONTREAL
March/April 2019 update > Last week, Manager Paul Samuels and Caspian One Senior Principal Consultant Ryan Hughes, returned to our UK offices following their latest trip to the great white north. In this update we catch up with the team, exploring what they got up-to in Toronto and Montreal!
Q. First off, can you tell us the purpose behind this months visit?
[Paul]
“For me it was a client catch up; gaining an understanding of where we’re at, where we’re going, and what the banks expectations are for the calendar year. I met with a number of VP’s and Directors… just to get an overview of what I mentioned above. We also held another contractor event in Toronto to catch-up with new and existing candidates - so that was the basis of the trip.”
[Ryan]
“Like Paul, I wanted to catch up with Managers at their office, rather than on the phone. There’s a few clients that have moved office, or some new clients I haven’t visited onsite before. It really helps when you can describe a new company to candidates, and can actually say this is where you’ll be working, you’ll be sat in that corner, the front end developer team sit in back-left corner with a view over the west side of the city - you know, that level of specifics to paint a clear picture”
For the Canadian division at Caspian One, it’s vitally important we regularly maintain face to face interactions, as we can all be guilty of just picking up the phone or sending an email. Business trips allow us to nurture established and new relationships (especially within our FinTech community) - both in terms of the people whose careers we assist, and the clients our capabilities benefit.
Q. Where did you spend time with while in Montreal and Toronto?
[Ryan]
“In Montreal it was visiting lots of the tech houses, tech companies, software houses etc. Most of them are not financial, but they have cool, open office spaces with stand up desks where you can walk in and meet the Founder - quite a bit different to the banks.”
[Paul]
“Yeah, there’s quite a nice mix - tech houses, start-ups, some of the more IT focused companies. I think in Montreal it’s typically more sexier technology, AI focused, machine learning, and so-on… whereas in Toronto, the big five banks, pension plans, and large FinTech companies are still working out how to integrate, and use these technologies effectively.
This feedback aligns with our plans for 2019 as we aim to further develop new client interactions in Montreal; expanding into new, innovative technological fields, all whilst strengthening relationships established through 2018 and prior years. This is also the case in Toronto, a location in which we hold a strong presence and reputation for supporting the FinTech community.
