365 days on: Shamus Hodgson shines a light on Lumon’s achievements

In this reflective article, a year after the birth of Lumon, our CEO thanks our customers and colleagues for their support over the last year, sharing our most memorable moments since launch. With our customers’ goals in mind, he looks to the future. Here’s what Shamus said:

We continue to combine people and technology

For me, Lumon is a brand anchored in serving customers in the way they choose. Many businesses deliver their product or service through a single channel – over the telephone or exclusively digitally, for instance. We offer a different approach, combining the expertise of our people and cutting-edge platforms with digital services. This gives our customers a real choice in how they are served – from working with one of our hugely experienced Relationship Managers to self-serving using our best-in-class portals.

In the past year, we’ve delivered a huge upgrade in our technology, taking the business from operating with legacy systems to bespoke platforms specifically designed to meet our customers’ needs, allowing our experts to serve them more efficiently.

The last year has also seen us introduce new talent, investing heavily in colleagues both in the UK and abroad. It might be a slightly overused phrase, but our people really are our biggest asset. They are one of our biggest differentiators in what is a hugely competitive space.

Putting customers’ goals first

We are proud to operate within the FX sector. It’s a critical industry for our customers, whether they’re individuals or businesses. Lumon’s services and products help them achieve their goals.

We continuously discuss our customers’ needs and how we can better support them, whether that’s strategic decisions made at board-level or within day-to-day operational conversations. Whilst financial metrics are crucial for any business, we believe that a continued, relentless focus on customer needs and positive outcomes is the most effective way to deliver those financial results, improving our offering for our colleagues, partners, and customers.

A moment to gather and connect

In June, we held our quarterly Town Hall at Vue Cinemas in Piccadilly, London. We heard our guest speaker, Gavin Oattes, talk about “planting trees, you’ll never see”, a message which resonated with us. Our mission to become more sustainable and to have the biggest positive effect on our customers, colleagues, local communities, and planet mean our trees won’t always be visible or measurable in the short term. However, they are crucial to our long-term goals.

As a business with colleagues located across many geographies, our Town Hall events are important to us. We saw Lumoneers interact who maybe haven’t seen each other or even met face-to-face since COVID-19. It was a moment to step back and look across the whole business, watching it unite with a shared purpose.

Breaking milestones, celebrating successes or gathering simply to connect is an incredible feeling, giving meaning to what we do. Seeing Lumoneers who have developed in their roles is one of the greatest highlights of the year, keeping us inspired.

A distinctive brand in our sector

When we rebranded, we spent a lot of time thinking about our new identity. We believe that our Lumon identity allows us to stand out and be recognised in a way that potentially we weren’t before. It enables us to engage with stakeholders in a different way, and positively; they know our brand and what we stand for. Now that the brand has been live for over a year, we are excited about shining a light on our work with an even wider audience.

Whenever a company launches a new brand into a legacy business, it’s always a challenge for the people who have been in the business for some time. Whilst it’s often difficult to introduce a new identity and brand concept to an organisation with decades of experience, it’s a mission we fully embraced over the past 365 days. The pace of transformation often pushes us outside our comfort zone, but it’s one of the reasons why Lumon is such a great company.

The next 365 days and beyond

A year after the rebrand, our energy and passion for growing Lumon, rapidly and sustainably, remains undimmed. We strongly believe that companies that invest in the intelligent mix of people and technology with laser-focus on customers’ changing needs, will be the ones that stand out from the rest, and that’s what drives Lumon.

Culture and people will underpin that growth. Our ambition to become an “employer of choice” that people flock to is a core part of our strategy. We look forward to continuing to welcome new talent into the business, contributing to an uplifting, diverse and inclusive culture. With an upcoming office move, our new premise will be game-changing, allowing us to gather under one roof.

I am proud of everything we achieved in the last 12 months and proud of all our colleagues, who helped deliver these achievements. We are a business that is forward-looking. I am genuinely excited about the future. The Lumon journey has only just begun. This is about building a brand and a business that has integrity and strength at its core, ensuring we will be here, leading the market in 10, 25 years, and beyond.

Have your say on our next 365 days

We’re looking forward to the next 365 days and continuing to shine a light on overseas payments to support our customers’ goals.

We’d love to hear from our customers on what we should work on next and any other feedback. Please email [email protected] or call us on +44 (0)203 384 7280.