Sibos 2020 Resident blogger, Leda Glyptis: I have a confession to make

Fintech visionary Leda Glyptis, a true Sibos Insider, is the resident blogger for Sibos 2020, offering her unique take on this year’s event. Read her first blog, part of a series released daily throughout the week.

I have a confession to make

I remember the day I first heard the word Sibos mentioned.I was early in my banking days and a SWIFT contact (now a dear friend) mentioned Sibos like he expected me to know what it was. What it meant. My blank look confused the hell out of him. How can you not know Sibos?Well, what is it? I asked.And I remember his answer like it was yesterday. Because he struggled to convey that it is a conference and yet not like any you’ve ever been to. That it’s an industry event that has a purpose. That it’s a big deal.I didn’t not believe him.But with nothing to compare it to, I didn’t believe him either.

For a few months.

Because then I was invited to my first Sibos.By the wonderful Innotribe people.And I told my then boss who was super supportive. That’s amazing. He said. What an experience. He said. This will make your mark. He said.Just make sure you listen, don’t say much, go to as many meetings as possible. Learn. This will be an accelerating ramp for you internally like no other.Not saying much will be hard, I said. I am speaking at the event.My boss’s enthusiasm went on overdrive. This will be the beginning of a brand new chapter for you. Internally and externally. I am so proud of you. He said. Call me if you need me. He said. It’s just a conference, I thought.

Boy oh boy was I wrong.

Sibos is not just a conference.

It is the only industry event of its kind that is attended by the Big Boy Big Boys. The biggest banks are there. All of them.Their decision makers within these banks are there. All of them.They are there every day. All day. Ready to listen. Learn. And do business.My boss was right. A young whippersnapper making it onto the roster of their bank’s Sibos delegation will learn so much, see so much and be so visible that, from a career perspective, it’s a fairy godmother on steroids. And from a business perspective it’s the banking equivalent of Market Day times… oh…. I don’t know… 78 million?

I love Sibos.I am gutted we won’t be together in person this year.I feel a little poorer for that, truth be told. And not just for the buzz and the energy I won’t feel. Or the opportunities we won’t know about.For something much bigger than that.

Because for me, over the years, Sibos has become something seminal.It’s where I learn interesting things every day without even trying.It’s where I meet people who challenge me to think harder, do better and aspire to greater things, every year.And, over the years, it has become where the community of people who learn together, work together and strive together come together. To recharge, refocus. To greet old friends and welcome new members to this tribe of restless thinkers who share an insatiable desire to make finance better, banking Braveheart style.A tribe of corporate rebels, Peter Van called us.Who met here.Or meet here, every year.Who are always there. Always there for each other, between events. Having each other’s back. Sharing thoughts and ideas.Always wanting more. Always wanting better. Always pushing themselves on and encouraging each other to keep on keeping on.

That community is bigger than Sibos but Sibos is our jumboree. Where we meet. Raise a glass. Hug.And this year we won’t.And I won’t lie, the sense of loss I feel is real.

But this is a weird year. A year of confusion, reversal and fear. At a personal, business and societal level.So this year, more than ever, we need the community of people who don’t accept what is as all that can be. The people who strive and learn and dream for the industry and beyond.Until we are together again in person, we can continue thinking together. Now, as always. Because it’s needed more than ever.

So here’s to pushing each other to do better and be better. Thinking new thoughts and dreaming bigger dreams.Like we always do.