From constructing buildings to building relationships with customers
About Mantvydas Lukauskas
- Title Client Service Manager, Cash Management Client Services
- Organisation SEB Global Services
- Education Master’s degree in Construction Management, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH)
- Personal interests A son and four black belts in martial arts
After the global financial crisis of 2008 Mantvydas left the construction company he worked for and sought a different industry where he could restart his career. He chose SEB, and during the past 10 years Mantvydas has changed four positions, each time jumping in an unknown area, challenging himself and learning new things. “From day one I realized that knowledge, experience and understanding of business are the main muscles which should be grown,” says Mantvydas.
- Title: Client Service Manager, Cash Management Client Services
- Education: Master’s degree in Construction Management, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH)
- Personal interests: A son and four black belts in martial arts
After the global financial crisis of 2008 Mantvydas left the construction company he worked for and sought a different industry where he could restart his career. He chose SEB, and during the past 10 years Mantvydas has changed four positions, each time jumping in an unknown area, challenging himself and learning new things. “From day one I realized that knowledge, experience and understanding of business are the main muscles which should be grown,” says Mantvydas.
Tell us about your journey in SEB
I started working in SEB in 2011. I started in Accounts Operations, and my task was to collect account statements from systems and send them to clients. It was a lot of manual work, and, by the way, nowadays this process is automated and robots are handling most of the work. Anyway, after six months my manager offered me an opportunity to join Payments Booking team and work with execution of payments. I accepted this challenge, spent three years in this team and I learned everything about payment systems. Then this function was moved from Vilnius to Riga where the rest of payment teams are located, and I was one of the mentors who had to train the new team in Riga.
My next adventure was joining the Fund Administration and Operation unit, which was a completely new area for me. I was there for three years, and when my son was born, I went on a paternity leave for 1.5 years. During this time I understood that I need something new, and I want to learn more about business. There was an opening in Cash management Client services, I took the shot, sent in my CV and got this position.
What did you do before joining SEB?
I am a construction engineer by education, and my background is not related to banking. After the global financial crisis of 2008 I had to look for a job somewhere else, and I got into banking. I would say this was the sharpest turn in my career. After that I wasn’t afraid to take the challenges in SEB.
Tell us about your current responsibilities
I have my portfolio of 15 large companies. I am in contact with external customers, I am working together with the bank’s business units, and my responsibilities also involve collaborating with support units within SEB. So I am between three stakeholders – clients, client executives and their teams, and back-office operations teams within the bank. I need to know a lot of things to be able to advise and support all three sides. First eight months were very hard for me because there’s a lot of responsibility involved and I had to learn a lot in a short period of time. My role involves a lot of individual work, I need to be self-motivated, but I have experienced and supportive colleagues around me who are helping with guidance and advice.
What motivates you and gives you energy?
Things are always changing. I don’t have a routine. Each customer is different and I need to find my own way of building relationships with each of them. Constant learning is very important for me, and in SEB I am learning every day.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I still have a lot to learn in my current position, so I would like to stay where I am for a few more years. I want to know more how the business works, and I right now my focus is on improving in my role and getting better in supporting customers. If I look further ahead, I would like to have my own team.
What do you enjoy doing after work?
Spending time with my family and with my four-year-old son is the most important thing to me right now. My work is quite intense in communicating with a lot of people, so after work I enjoy the peace and quiet at home and that’s where I can restore my energy. I also like martial arts. I trained for 14 years, I have four black belts and for a while I was a martial arts instructor.
