Jon Stona is the VP of Global Marketing at Airwallex, the fast-growing global fintech that helps businesses manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance.

Before Airwallex, Jon led Stripe’s Marketing efforts across Asia-Pacific and held a number of senior Marketing roles at Google. He's originally from Jamaica, but has lived in Singapore since 2008.

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👋🏼  How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

It’s time for your next vacation...you’re going to Paris…are you excited? ‘Platform A’ will charge you one thousand dollars for your flight, the journey will take up to five days, and there’s a chance you might not make it there. ‘Platform B’ will charge only two hundred dollars, get you there within the same day, and guarantee your arrival. Any rational traveler would choose platform B.

However, when it comes to transporting and managing money, millions of businesses still choose the equivalent of platform A (legacy banking systems), largely because that’s what they’ve been used to. Many don’t even realize they have a faster and more cost-effective choice. My team’s job is to help entrepreneurs wake up and discover the benefits of modern fintechs like Airwallex!

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🧐  What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Unlike many other global fintechs, most of our Global Marketing function is based here in Asia.

We’re incredibly proud of our Asia-Pacific heritage and we’re intent to keep investing in the broader region, even as we rapidly expand across Western markets.

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🏆  What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

Working on crisis response at Google during tropical storm Ondoy in 2009.

We had to act within hours, partnering with other groups around the globe to surface important information and help at-risk people in the Philippines get rescued. It allowed me to see first-hand how modern technology and human effort can be used to literally save people’s lives.

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🔍  What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?

I'm not going to say AI. The ‘Embedded Finance’ space continues to heat up as more and more platforms and marketplaces look for additional revenue streams and ways to boost customer loyalty.

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💼  What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

Never forget first principles.

It’s easy to get distracted by shiny objects or the latest technology, but all great Marketing follows the same formula: obsess about user insights, build a compelling story around those insights, figure out the most effective format and media for distribution, measure, and learn.

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🗣  What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

These days, it's F1. Prior to Airwallex’s partnership with McLaren Racing, I wasn’t really a fan. Now, I’ve become engrossed in what’s shaping up to be a hyper-competitive and engaging season.

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🎥  What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Growing up, I was always big on mysteries and also classic TV. I love Agatha Christie’s ‘Hercule Poirot’.

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🍨  What's your go-to ice cream flavor?

Mint chocolate chip…in a peanut-infused chocolate-coated waffle cone. Time to renew my gym membership.