Abhishek Vats (MBA 2011) How my MBA in Hong Kong prepared me for an international career

Since graduating with his MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Abhishek Vats has worked at some of the most successful companies in fintech and ecommerce in the Asia-Pacific markets. He is currently working at Visa in Singapore, as the Head of Acceptance, Merchant Sales and Acquiring for Asia-Pacific.

In his current role, Abhishek leads the expansion strategy of Visa’s digital payment acceptance, enables innovative solutions and increases Visa’s volume and share at merchants across 16 Asia-Pacific countries. He has also led and represented Visa in projects related to Smart Nation, an initiative created by Singapore’s government to use technology and data to create tech-led solutions.

Abhishek talked to TopUniversities about how his MBA from CUHK has helped him to build a successful and diverse international career.

Please could you give us a brief overview of your career so far, both before and after completing your MBA?

In 2011, I gained my MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During the programme I completed a six-month exchange programme with NUS Business School. After relocating to Singapore from Hong Kong in 2011, I worked in various leadership positions at Adyen and Zalora, before taking my current role at Visa.

After graduating, I joined a start-up that has now become one of the biggest e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia – Zalora – where I headed the payments and data analytics departments for all eight markets. At Zalora, I was responsible for launching new payment methods, increasing conversion rates, and protecting against fraud for the different payment channels.

Then, before joining Visa, I worked as vice president of partnerships for Adyen, one of the biggest fintech players and most advanced payment acquirers in the world. Here, I built strategic products and partnerships with various payment providers which helped the expansion of Adyen’s global customers such as Netflix, Google, LinkedIn and Expedia into Asia-Pacific markets.

The fast-paced and constantly changing environment at Adyen and Zalora allowed me to hone my problem-solving and adaptability skills and allowed me to learn about and gain experience in various departments, such as sales, finance, marketing and operations, which have been invaluable in my career as it has given me a holistic understanding of the inner workings of a business.

Please could you tell us about your current role as Head of Acceptance at Visa and what this involves?

I lead the strategy for growing Visa’s acceptance, enabling innovative payment solutions and enhancing cybersecurity across the Asia-Pacific region. This includes developing strategies to increase merchant acceptance, collaborating with sales and account management teams, and working with acquirers and merchant partners to implement Visa across all Asia-Pacific markets.

Most notably, I enabled contactless payments by Visa cards, smartphones and smart watches in public trains and buses in Singapore.

At Visa, I have completed a project that used Artificial Intelligence (AI) and facial recognition across unmanned retail stores to allow customers to pick up products and go without having to queue up and pay at the counter. I believe this project has helped pave a path for the future of retail.

How did your MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong help you to advance your career?

CUHK’s MBA has a strong focus on leadership and entrepreneurship training. The MBA curriculum has prepared me to successfully lead teams across different countries and backgrounds in this digital era which has helped me to succeed in all my roles post MBA.

Aside from the relevant courses during the MBA program, I was also able to gain industry knowledge through a project with Bank of China International (BOCI) and a summer internship with ING Hong Kong, which gave me first hand experience of working in an international company.

You have had quite an international career, working in India, Singapore and Hong Kong. How did an MBA from CUHK prepare you for an international career?

Before my MBA, I worked in India in the technology industry with Infosys, where I wrote several lines of codes for a payments company. However I was quite keen on understanding the decision making process and believe having business knowledge and a multi-cultural perspective are important for making sound decisions. I also wanted to work in the Asia-Pacific region for the foreseeable future as I could see it was a growing market with great future prospects.

The CUHK MBA offered a good balance between the eastern and western world. It is a programme that blends Asian insight and expands global perspectives with field trips, study tours and exchange programmes in renowned partnering schools. I was impressed by the combination of global outlook of the MBA programme and the multicultural student mix.

CUHK’s Career Management and Alumni Engagement team helped me to prepare for my first job after graduating. However, even after securing the job, the university’s career centre still follows up with me and offers help and advice.

Could you please share your future career goals?

My career goals are to drive innovation in the payments and fintech industry and bring new and exciting products and services to the market.

I am passionate about finding creative solutions to challenges in the industry. I believe that by staying at the forefront of technological developments and continuously seeking out new opportunities, we can make a meaningful impact on the way people pay and are paid.

In the coming years, I hope to leverage the skills and experience that I have gained by working at Visa, Adyen and Zalora to help shape the direction of the payments and fintech industry, and to work with other industry leaders to drive innovation and develop new ideas.

This original article was published by the QS Top MBA.