A day in the life of… FX Partnership Executive Charlie Fitzgerald

Some people are naturals when it comes to sales. And Charlie Fitzgerald — our smooth-talking, enthusiastic new FX partnership executive — is most definitely one of them.

Fresh out of sixth form, he talked his way into a job selling cutting-edge anti-burglary technology, and soon rose through the ranks to represent the company at international trade shows. 

A sales role in a €77 million stock fund soon followed. And, here again, he consistently smashed his sales targets despite only working two days a week while he studied at university. 

With a 2:1 bachelor’s degree in banking and finance — a topic he’s had a lifelong interest in — under his belt, he compiled a list of companies he’d be excited to work for and put his cold outreach skills to the test. 

Given that you’re reading this, we probably don’t need to tell you how that went. We were so impressed we snapped him up on the spot. 

In his brief time at Assure Hedge, Charlie has made short work of his sales targets, signing up five new partners in under two months. 

So what made Charlie want to work with us? How is he finding life at Assure Hedge? And what are his hopes and dreams for the future?

We’ve sat down with him to find out.

‘It was really refreshing,’ Charlie says of stumbling across Assure Hedge’s website while researching companies he thought would make great places for him to work. 

‘Obviously, any business is in it to make money,’ he continues. ‘But, with Assure Hedge, there was also another perspective. They were genuinely trying to educate people.‘

To this day, hedging is often shrouded in secrecy. Something many people dismiss as being only relevant to Wall Street types, when, in actual fact, many products we take for granted — fixed-rate mortgages and cars just to name two — wouldn’t be commercially viable without it. 

This is why Assure Hedge’s mission to make hedging easily accessible for everyone greatly appealed to Charlie. 

For one, it spoke to something he cares about deeply: helping others and making their lives better. Charlie even regularly volunteers with local charities at weekends and on days off.

More to the point, he appreciated the company’s status as an outlier in an industry that isn’t exactly known for its transparency. 

‘I was struck by Assure Hedge’s openness and how mission-driven they were,’ he says. ‘It was abnormal… in a very good way, and that made me want to be a part of what they were doing.’

As an FX partnership executive, Charlie’s role is instrumental to helping us fulfil our mission. 

‘I speak with a whole host of different people — everyone from freight forwarders to hedge fund CEOs‘ he says. ‘All with the goal of helping them reduce significant business risks through hedging.‘

But his job doesn’t stop when new partners sign on the dotted line. He also manages the relationships with these partners, setting the right expectations and monitoring their trading positions to make sure they’re in line with their requirements and within the right limits. 

It’s a role he takes very seriously. 

His days start early, researching the FX markets, getting up to speed with current events, and broadening his knowledge of anything that might have an impact on the businesses of both current and would-be customers. 

‘Sales,’ he stresses, ‘is all about trust… it’s about making people feel comfortable… You can’t succeed if you don’t have anything of value to say. People answer my calls because they know I’m going to tell them something they don’t know or will find useful in some way.‘

Being constantly on the ball is hard work. But all the effort is well worth it when he sees the proverbial scales falling from people’s eyes. 

‘There’s a journey that people take, from “I’m not sure this is for me” to “Oh, I see”,‘ he says. ‘I really do love it… We’re helping these businesses become that little bit more sustainable, especially in the current climate.‘

Despite working at Assure Hedge for a very short time, Charlie has already proven his worth many times over. 

But, ever the hard-working, driven individual, he’s not about to rest on his laurels. 

‘Aside from how welcoming everyone on the team has been, one of the things I like best about working at Assure Hedge is how many opportunities for learning and development there are,‘ he says. 

‘I’m going to be studying for my CISI qualifications [CISI is the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment] next year… and I also plan to keep working on my communication skills.‘

Further ahead, he has dreams of putting his skills to the ultimate test by helping the company grow internationally.

‘I’d love to represent Assure Hedge overseas one day,’ he concludes. ‘Hedging should be available to the masses… to anyone who might benefit from it. And I’d relish the opportunity to help the company get one step closer to reaching this goal by building our book of business abroad.‘

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