Article in What's On & Expat Magazine

by: Agnes M. Abrau

With his ready grin, John Hickey's image seems to be that of a happy-go-lucky guy. But you don't hold a COO position (he's the Chief Operating Officer) of GE Money Bank here for nothing all at the young age of 32.

A quick look at his curriculum vitae, Hickey's work experience spans years in different fields in the General Electric conglomerate. A Bachelor of Arts and Masters degree holder in Management Science and Information Systems at the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, what stands out is Hickey's drive for innovation and technological advancement.

Even closer scrutiny reveals Hickey's dynamic and upbeat attitude toward business and life in general. His machine-like drive and his knowledge of business approaches have made him go places. Prior to his position at GE Money Bank here, Hickey was the Chief Operations Technology Officer in Europe from 2004 to 2006, stationed in Dublin, Ireland. From 2003 to 2004, he was the Head of Operations Re-Engineering based in Prague, Czech Republic. He started his career at GE Capital Corporate in London as Information Management Leadership Program - a Graduate Program.

Fixated on the methodology of Six Sigma, having earned the certification as Six Sigma Master Belt, Hickey adheres to this business-driven methodology like a fish in water. During his stints in Prague, he led a diverse team of Six Sigma black belts, process leaders, technology managers, financial planners and analysts wherein he created a business wide shared vision for wing to wing operations proces enhancement and delivered end-customer driven improvements and base cost reduction.

"Six Sigma is a process that GE adheres to ensuring that all of its processes hit the specifications that were set. I was with this team, we were kicking around this Six Sigma in financial services and we came up with certain ideas like starting to measure processes, and we started getting this incredible results...I was hooked," he relates, showing his passion for this methodology.

According to some research, Six Sigma is a business-driven, multi-faceted approach to process improvement, reduced costs and increased profits. The Six Sigma methodology, consisting of the steps "Define - Measure - Analyze - Improve - Control" is the roadmap to achieving ultimate customer satisfaction. Within this improvement framework, it is the responsibility of the improvement team to identify the process, the definition of defect and the corresponding measurements, for instance. Defects may be related to any aspect of customer satisfaction: high product quality, schedule adherence or cost minimization.

Too technical for the uninitiated? The approach is simply targeted to ultimate customer satisfaction: like virtually defect-free processes or products, thereby achieving profitability.

Banking Industry

Contemplating the situation of the banking industry in the Philippines, Hickey said the industry is very sound, citing the country's highest economic growth in 31 years -- an indicator of a strong economy.

But with the reported recession in the US, the young executive shares his thoughts.

"It will cause the banking industry to change tactics. The name of the game would be capitalization and productivity. GE Money Bank, being a subsidiary of GE which is a triple A rated company, is a very sound company," he elaborates.

Being one of the newest players in the banking industry in the country, Hickey said GE Money Bank is undergoing major developments aimed at getting customer satisfaction and faster service.

"Technology is making the banking industry available 24/7. The major developments are on the Internet. Last year, GE Money Bank put in an application process online on personal loans, a way that a client can transact in the Web without having to speak to an account officer. This year, it is going to become even more technology-convergent. i imagine that the banks whcih are Internet savvy will get ahead faster," he states.

Family Man

Married to Katkat, a Czech national pursuing an interior design course, Hickey appreciates his bonding time with family and narrates their travels to interesting places around the country. he has travelled quite extensively, notable of which are Club Paradise in Palawan with his family and his parents, spending New Year's Eve in Baguio City and trips to Boracay. He and his wife also like to go to markets such as Divisoria. The couple have a son and his wife is expecting another addition to the family anytime soon.

"We like to travel here. Everybody smiles and people are warmer," he says.

But as an expat resident here, Hickey misses his home country's popular pub culture, its famed Irish breakfast and the fresh milk, he recalls with fondness.

Global Approach

Hickey takes charge of the bank's operations, a daunting responsibility for some but Hickey embraces challenges and adapts to changes rather quickly.

"I think I'm a clear thinker, I'd like to be in a situation where there are lots of problems and I get to fix them. I'm pretty results oriented," he said.

With GE Money Bank's 31 branches nationwide, he says, "We have a good reach."

He considers his being certified as a master black belt in Six Sigma --(a pretty intense undertaking, he describes, comparing it to getting an MBA), his acquiring the role of COO of GE Money Bank Philippines and him getting recognized as a recipient of the Asia Tiger Award for Productivity as highlights of his career.

"I think GE Money Bank is in about 55 countries. To be in a role like this in a company that size, I'm proud of that," the unassuming young executive says.

A Techie Revolutionary

Hickey's management style resonates with the sense of the times. He describes GE as a flat-structured firm, and a firm open to ideas. He is a strong believer of people's strengths.

For Hickey, a good bank is something that thinks about the customers first. "A good bank that takes technology seriously proves to be a better bank - wing-to-wing technology enabling the bank to process faster, eliminating any waste," Hickey explains.

He relates that GE Money Bank's perspective is not just gaining profits. "We're not here just to grow in the Philippines but we're here to grow with the Philippines," he says and adds that the firm takes its corporate social responsibility seriously. For one, the bank is involved in supporting women entrepreneurship.

There's a lot of promise in the air at GE Money Bank. And its COO and the rest of the Bank will work to see these through.

About GE Money
With more than $200 billion in assets, GE Money, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE - News), is a leading provider of retail banking and credit services to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in 55 countries around the world. With more than 130 million global customers, GE Money, headquartered in London, UK, offers a range of financial products, including private label credit cards, personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages, corporate travel and purchasing cards, debt consolidation and home equity loans, and credit insurance. More information can be found online at http://global.gemoney.com.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.

For inquiries about GE Money Bank, please contact:

Eric Montelibano
VP, Communications – Philippines
GE Money Bank
Tel: +63 2 777 8675
Email: eric.montelibano@ge.com