Excerpt from an article by EMIA
Keith Mahon is certainly the man-on-the-ground in Latin America, and in just over two years he has managed to consolidate the position of Apex Fund Services as a major fund administration player, all the way from their office in Montevideo, Uruguay. All it took was a mix of brawn, unabated expertise – a good dose of local know-how and adaptation.
More than simply taking a Darwinian approach, Mr. Mahon focused on relationship-building to create Apex’s spotless reputation in the multicultural LatAm market. “It’s through this relationship-building that they open up and that’s where you get the introduction to the next guy, because you’re trusted,” he confides. “It’s just about building trust and confidence in a relationship, that’s the culture of LatAm, that’s what it has in common.” Whereas in the fast-paced northern hemisphere million-dollar deals are sealed with a confident handshake after a brief meeting, LatAm customers require a different approach – one that borders on courtship. “It’ s about getting to know the people, and personally, I prefer that,” Mr. Mahon offers. Wining and dining are good tactics to woo potential customers, but chances are the process will require several meetings including a breakfast, a couple of lunches, a few coffees and perhaps even a drink after work. That effort seals the deal for a long-lasting and profitable relationship based on mutual trust: “There’s always a relationship with the client, and I think that’s great. Because you go through the good times together, through the bad times, as a team, it’s much more of a collaborative effort here.”
You can read the entire article in Alternative Emerging Investor
