Rudolph Johnson from Meta Scrum Shares What It’s Like Moving to CEC

As an Innovation and Agile Transformation Coach and Managing Director at Meta Scrum, Rudolph Johnson works with Fortune 1000 financial institutions to help them respond quickly to the needs of their clientele. Meta Scrum was established in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Cayman over 4 years ago, and we managed to catch up with Rudolph to find out how his experience has been.

CEC: Thank you for speaking to us Rudolph! Can you tell us a bit more about Meta Scrum, and what you’ve been focusing on recently?
RJ: Sure. At Meta Scrum we focus on training and coaching companies on how to respond quickly to marketplace changes with services that their customers will find valuable. This could include new products, the latest app services, or developing cloud services.
The key to agile transformation is that you need to be able to do new things quickly, which means you don't have a plan, you don't have a diagram, you have to just be able to do it without anyone else giving you instructions. So agile transformation coaches do that for different clients and create new things for a changing marketplace.

CEC: Do you have an example of what this looks like in practice with a previous project you’ve worked on?
RJ: In the past, I’ve worked with Barclays and Barclaycard with the credit card division. We helped them with how they can respond as quickly as possible to their direct clients or clients that they were doing credit and card services for. That included me leading a team to build cloud services for them so they can spin out IT services at the snap of a finger. Originally it took them a week to do this, and since we’ve been done with the project, they can now do it in an hour or so.

CEC: And what are you working on right now?
RJ: Currently, I'm working with another Fortune 1000 financial institution in New York City, and they are currently trying to abide by Federal Reserve mandates. I’m helping them restructure what they are doing and that’s a difficult process because it’s different from what they were doing before. So, as an agile transformation coach, I’m helping them do things quickly because you know the Federal Reserve is not very patient.

CEC: That sounds like a challenging and busy role!
RJ: Yes, it can get pretty intense because you’re dealing with people. And the key is the people are used to working one way, and now you actually work a different new way, under pressure, doing a new thing. That combination is not easy and it takes a skilled coach to implement it technically and deal with people at the same time.

CEC: Looking at the bigger picture, what changes do see in your industry for the next year? What can we expect to see?
RJ: Well in our industry, because of everything happening in the world, it’s changing from moment to moment. The need for coaches who can actually get results just keeps increasing. I get feelers 2-3 times a day from people asking if we want to work for them. So, I think in my field, the need for these types of people will just grow exponentially.

I see my industry as an opportunity for the right person, and for the right company, to produce the type of quality coaches that get the results that are needed because right now that’s what there is a lack of. I’m trying to position Meta Scrum in that area to meet this need.

CEC: Thinking back a few years ago, why did you choose to come to Cayman in the first place?
RJ: I was researching other areas that offer economic opportunity and I actually came across Cayman when I was doing research on Dubai. I saw the Special Economic Zones and I was impressed and thought Cayman was the best of both worlds for me.

The SEZ was looking for entrepreneurial-minded individuals and it’s the same hemisphere as New York which is where I lived originally. Plus, it’s noteworthy for its tax-neutrality and it’s a beautiful place to live, so I immediately contacted someone and got the ball rolling.

CEC: And how did you find your onboarding process?
RJ: It was great actually. It was extremely easy onboarding versus how difficult it it would be to enter the country and set something up by yourself in the local economy. The representative that helped me out made the process fantastic, so it was great.

CEC: What’s been the best part about CEC for you?
RJ: For me, anything that is an opportunity to interact and network is probably the best thing. My favourites are the social events and Tech Talks because you get to interact with individuals with similar interests so you can talk and interact with people who like what you do.
Then there are the socials because they are a little more relaxed and fun, so I would say they are neck and neck.

CEC: And what about Cayman? What’s the best part about living here?
RJ: Definitely the people. You have a lot of different people, different mindsets, and it’s more open here. I’m originally from New York which is a much tougher environment and not easy to get into situations where you can interact unless you specifically work with people or run in their social circles. But in Cayman, you have people from all over the world you can get to know, and I really like that. And of course, the weather and lifestyle which is perfect year-round. It’s never cold, and not overly hot, so that’s perfect for me.

A big thank you to Rudolph Johnson at Meta Scrum for sharing his experience moving and establishing with CEC in the Cayman Islands. If you’re interested in setting up a physical presence and growing your international business in Cayman, learn more by visiting our business set-up page.