“Nick has a pulse on our employees and our culture as we grow and change with economic changes and changes in how people work. We are proud, but not surprised, that he was chosen as a next generation leader.” — Chris Enbom, CLFP, CEO, Tokyo Century USA, AP Equipment Financing and FMI Equipment
Throughout his 14-year career in the equipment finance industry, Nick Fong has consistently demonstrated tenacity, creativity and drive in meeting client needs.
Like many others, Fong didn’t graduate college intending to work in the equipment finance industry. In 2010 — at the height of the great recession — few companies were hiring marketing personnel. However, a friend helped him secure an internship at a small brokerage that had recently been acquired by AP Equipment Financing, First Star Capital.
Fong began his First Star Capital journey with data entry, which granted him a thorough understanding of the company’s customer relationship management software. Soon, he was actively exposed to various facets of the business: front-end operations, credit applications, lead intake, email communications and much more. Fong grew with the company as it went through several evolutions, eventually becoming AP Equipment Financing as it is today.
Fong collaborates with the executive team to develop innovative marketing strategies tailored to the company’s target markets, revamps and enhances AP’s systems and implements new technologies and platforms to stay ahead.
“Nick’s intellect and common-sense approach to business have propelled him into the top leadership team at AP,” Chris Enbom, CEO of Tokyo Century, AP Equipment Finance and FMI Equipment, says. “Nick understands how technology works, how it best integrates with our businesses, how data flows and how to normalize that data and share it. He is an expert at marketing and customer behavior.”
SHIFTING THE GOALPOST
Though Fong straddles the two evolving worlds of marketing and technology, the dynamic landscape does not intimidate him. With a keen focus on learning and improving, Fong builds out strategies and works holistically with a laser focus on consumer behavior. He constantly sets goals for himself to address internal challenges with practical solutions and to meet the expanding demands of AP’s brand and technology usage.
Rather than viewing his accomplishments as landmarks, Fong sees them as a reiteration of constant improvement. Making an effort to understand how the business works and actively developing the tools necessary to solve the problems facing the industry are very important to Fong’s role and his definition of success.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Understanding how consumers react to marketing and use technology is essential to Fong. This knowledge guides his approach to researching and implementing technology for AP. “At the end of the day, effective use of technology is all about consumer behavior,” Fong says. “If people aren’t ready for that technology, there won’t be adoption, there won’t be usability and there won’t be feedback.”
From Fong’s perspective, understanding the industry and the business starts with understanding the consumer’s perspective. This focus is what first sparked and continues to sustain Fong’s interest in marketing.
Consumer behavior is a primary concern Fong has regarding the future of equipment finance. As a wave of retirements sweep across many industries, standard consumer technology use and effective marketing strategies are shifting, with the target audience becoming younger.
The evolution of technology and consumers’ rapid adaptation has impacted the rate at which information is accessed, allowing consumers to easily “block out the noise,” Fong says. This ultimately makes marketing more challenging, as marketers must find creative ways to cut through that noise and capture consumers’ attention.
IT TAKES A TEAM
Fong recognizes that he could not do it all alone. He acknowledges his team and the organization of his managers, especially in aligning the company. He describes his responsibility within the AP team as building the pathways for new hires to accomplish their goals and fostering a productive work environment where great ideas can travel and be met with support across the organization.
Equally important to Fong’s work culture is genuine curiosity, as there is always something new to learn or experience. “I hire people who are going to provide fresh insights and great advice,” Fong says. “We collaborate in a creative space to find comprehensive ways to move forward.”
LASTING RELATIONSHIPS
Fong encourages industry practitioners, especially NextGen, to attend events and communicate with more experienced industry members. “There’s a wealth of information and wisdom that exists in this industry from both new entries and veteran personnel,” Fong says.
He hopes to see a significant shift toward recruiting young talent. “I want equipment finance to be at an elevated level of industry prominence,” Fong says. “I want the industry to reach the point where college students are actively thinking about and considering equipment finance as a premier career choice.” •
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