Partnerships & Institutional Sales: Passionate Relationship Builder, Kevin Copping

One of the many benefits of having a passionate, experienced team at Shift Connect is that we’re able to draw upon such a wide breadth of industry experience as we grow as a company and as industry professionals ourselves. Exploring our team’s backgrounds is a fascinating peek into the world of global finance and all of the many roles that exist within it. 

Kevin Copping works in Partnerships and Institutional Sales at Shift. He was educated in London, UK and spent over 30 years in the financial industry, gaining multi-faceted experience while working for major banks and boutique FX firms in the UK, US, and Canada. 

As for his personal story, he grew up in North London, playing lots of football and supporting the Arsenal. 

“Home was a short tube ride to London's financial district where I began work at 18 booking trades over the phone, we did not even have fax then.” He worked in New York for a while before moving to while before moving to Vancouver, Canada in his early 30s. In Vancouver, Kevin worked for a well-known boutique FX company that was eventually sold to a Fortune 500 company. He then moved to Calgary to work for Calforex. In 2017, Calforex merged with Shift Connect, where Kevin works now.

“I am now heading up expansion into the UK and U.S from my home town London, having gone full circle, I now live two 2 blocks from my parents home. I have two children who I am very proud of who go to university in BC and Alabama,” he explained.

Kevin finds the relationship aspect of the world of finance and fintech to be one of the most exciting pieces. “Having witnessed first hand the digitization of the FX and payments industry I am constantly reminded of how people still deal with people.” Regardless of how fast, secure, and user-friendly platforms and apps are, “people want to deal with people they trust when it comes to sizable financial transactions.” While the technology may work in terms of execution, he believes that relationship building is still, and will always be, a key part of any transaction. 

In addition to fostering and nurturing relationships, Kevin finds closing deals to be endlessly rewarding as he gets the benefit of “watching both parties benefit” and forming long-term partnerships. He loves meeting with people, making new connections, and supporting others as they enter the global payments and FX industry, no matter what level of experience they are at. 

If Kevin were to offer advice to a junior in his position, he would tell them to “listen and understand your clients’ business, be knowledgeable and fair, and harbour your integrity.” Again, it all comes down to building authentic relationships. Deep listening and information retention is of the utmost importance when you’re working to show someone they are supported and that you genuinely care about them and their endeavours. 

For Kevin, his family has been a significant support system in his life and career. “Going through moves globally I found it grounding to always have family available. Even as I crossed time zones, they were always there,” he said. 

While he deeply enjoys what he does, he is also a passionate traveller who has visited every continent. When he’s not working or travelling, you can find him playing football (or soccer, depending on where you live), doing his daily yoga practice, or reading up on game theory or philosophy. 

No matter what arm of the industry you’re in, no matter what role you play, it all comes down to people. Even in an increasingly digital world, Kevin works to nurture the human aspect of financial technology.