Friday, June 21, 2024
Madeline Familia of Creative Voices PR contacted us to introduce the payments community to Terance Takyi, managing director at UBS Financial Services Inc. and Black Enterprise 40 under 40 recipient. He joined JP Morgan in 2006, where he progressed from analyst to associate, and later held significant roles at ING (now Voya Financial) and Goldman Sachs. In 2021, he made history as the first Black Managing Director in private wealth at First Republic Bank before joining UBS. Familia noted that Takyi is also deeply committed to empowering disadvantaged groups by teaching financial literacy and wealth growth beyond the traditional 9-to-5 job. "He believes in the importance of representation and mentorship, using his own experiences to uplift and guide young professionals and communities towards financial independence and success," she said.
The Electronic Transactions Association invites payments professionals who want to "be part of the inner circle and drive the future of your business" to its Strategic Leadership Forum taking place Sept. 16 through 18, 2024, at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla. The forum delivers three days of insights, strategic conversations and unparalleled networking opportunities—all set against the stunning coastal views of Naples, the ETA stated, adding that the event offers a rare convergence of decision-makers and a year's worth of strategic meetings condensed into three days. Registration is open here. If you have questions, contact ETA Director of Events Jennifer Desjardins at jdesjardins@electran.org.
Reuters and other news outlets reported on June 21, 2024, that American Express agreed to buy the restaurant booking platform Tock from Squarespace for $400 million. The all-cash transaction is expected to enhance the credit card company's previous purchase of the online restaurant reservation service Resy, acquired in 2019. Resy offers AmEx cardholders unique benefits such as priority reservations, early alerts, and cash back on selected bookings made via the platform. Squarespace is an all-in-one website building and hosting platform with templates, drag-and-drop tools, and integrated features for blogging, ecommerce and analytics.
Vyopta, a digital collaboration and experience optimization specialist, released new research on return-to-office trends and space utilization. Published in Harvard Business Review, the study, "Hybrid Work Has Changed Meetings Forever," analyzed over 40 million meetings from 450,000 employees, focusing on data from the first quarter of 2022 and the same period in 2023. Despite increased return-to-office policies, virtual meeting volumes remained constant while in-office meetings doubled.
Key findings include a rise in "no-participation" rates in small meetings, growing from 4.8 percent in 2022 to 7.2 percent in 2023, costing organizations significantly. Additionally, camera usage in meetings declined for the first time since early 2020, correlating strongly with employee retention. Employees who left within a year enabled their cameras in only 18.4 percent of small group meetings, compared to 32.5 percent for those who stayed.
Vyopta's CEO, Alfredo Ramirez, emphasized the importance of leveraging collaboration data to enhance meeting efficiency, engagement and retention. Vyopta identified methods to improve meeting culture, such as treating meetings as part of company culture, offering training and using data for continuous improvement. A data-driven approach is crucial for success, providing a competitive edge in the evolving hybrid work environment, Vyopta stated. 
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