Maggie Morrison ─ seasoned senior leader leveraging deep technology expertise to deliver a new asset class for small business and start-ups...
April 28, 2021 • 3 Minute Read
Maggie Morrison
Business Development Director
Hi55 Ventures
Are you looking for a seasoned senior leader with extensive technology experience across the UK and Europe and leveraging this expertise to deliver a new asset class for small business and start-ups? We know the person — Maggie Morrison!
After successful leadership roles in CGI, Cisco, HP, 3Com, Cabletron and NTT DATA, Maggie now leads business development for revolutionary Fintech Hi55 Ventures Ltd. to deliver a brand-new asset class, Pay Asset Finance, to help companies unlock affordable working capital and provide an attractive new employee benefit.
Please meet this IT Wondrous Woman, Maggie Morrison.
Our 10 Questions for this IT Wondrous Woman.
Fun Facts
1. What’s the one thing about you that your business colleagues don’t know about you?
I played the bagpipes in the Glasgow Schools Pipe Band in the 1970’s. In 1990, I completed my PADI diving certification and swam with sharks before it was really a thing.
2. Before the pandemic, how many air miles/KMs did you flying annually?
Probably about 100,000. I used to fly all the time, often visiting three countries in one day. I just had a quick look at BA and on that airline alone I have flown the equivalent of two round trips to the moon and visited 53 cities in 27 countries.
3. What is the most adventurous food you have eaten and what city/location did you eat it?
Salted gannet or ‘guga’ in Scottish Gaelic. It is a local delicacy described as chicken marinated in diesel by some.
Your Career
4. What are the top two experiences, achievements or failures that shaped your journey as a successful leader?
I left home at 17, living and working in France and Germany on my own by the time I was 21. That taught me to be both resilient and self-sufficient.
The toughest time in my career occurred when the dot com bubble burst at the turn of the century, and I suddenly realised many younger colleagues had never experienced an economic downturn. I found I was better able to lead through that, stay calm, and give the team the confidence to focus on what really mattered.
5. Did you have a mentor in the early part of your career and, if so, what is the biggest lesson you learned from your mentor or influencer?
As the brand-new Dutch general manager and hosting clients at a concert, a man walked up to me and said “Why did they give you the job? You are foreign and you are a woman?” I was momentarily speechless. Another man, Eckart Wintzen, stepped into the breach. He taught me so much about business, compassion, fun and caring about the environment. I think of him often, and after his passing, planted 100 trees in his memory.
Walking In Your Shoes
6. What is one piece of business or career advice you would give to your younger self?
Think carefully about the tradeoffs you are prepared to make, there are some things in life you can never recapture. Have fun, always be kind, don’t take yourself too seriously and never lose sight of what really matters in life.
7. As a leader, how do you remain a resource for people early in their careers?
I am on the board of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, have actively participated in their mentorship programme, as well as the First Minister’s programme for young women. I also worked for a couple of years on secondment with Skills Development Scotland and serve on the advisory board of the Scottish Business Network which leverages the global Scottish diaspora. Support for our young people has never been more important than it is now.
Today’s Business Environment
8. What is the most interesting project you have worked on in the last few years?
Undoubtedly, the one I am working on now. After more than three decades in corporate life I left mid-pandemic to join Hi55 Ventures, a social enterprise reinventing pay for the mutual benefit of the employee and the employer. Hi backed by NTT DATA has partnered with Mastercard and Railsbank to launch a market-first salary access card, enabling people to access their pay as soon as they’ve earned it. It is our belief that employees should be able to access their wages as they earn them and should never be charged for that right.
9. What skills are you currently developing or refining (in yourself) that will make you a more successful leader in the digital economy?
I have spent my whole career learning, upskilling and re-learning. Right now, I am learning about Financial Services and Trade Finance.
10. What is your greatest business challenge today?
Equality and diversity issues in the workplace. I worry about the impact on our young people and any reversal of progress made on gender, ethnicity, or the participation of any minority in the workforce.
