Mint Team Spotlight – Anton Commissaris

Name:: Anton Commissaris
Title:: VP Business Development
Experience:: Anton is responsible for Mint’s business strategy, partner development and distribution for customer acquisition. Anton brings to Mint over 15 years of experience in the software and Internet sectors, spanning legal, operations, marketing and business development roles.

Why are you working at Mint?

Because I think Mint will be a highly valuable service for the consumer and something that is not available in today’s market place. Money is, at the end of the day, important to all of us. And I think Mint has the makings of a great company, and a household brand name.

What do you do at Mint?

I’m primarily responsible for revenue generation. That means I’m focused on recruiting Mint merchants in financial services, communications and other areas that affect consumer finances. These merchants present compelling offers to our users that will save them money relative to their current spending. I also work on customer acquisition through distribution relationships. And I’m responsible for overseeing Mint’s privacy and security policies.

How do you think Mint will help the average consumer?

By allowing them to simply understand their money flow — by that I mean, where their money is coming from, and where it’s going each month. From there, I think we can help consumers do more with their money by presenting them with saving opportunities that are tailored for them.

Mint will also be a forum for general education on money matters by way of our upcoming content network, and the feedback we collect from the community of Mint users.

What do you think will be the security and privacy concern of an average consumer?

Without getting into technical matters, I think most people will want to keep their income and spending information private and they will want to avoid being exposed to any fraudulent activity such as identity theft.

The average consumer will think, my money matters are private, and my money is mine.

In what ways are you addressing security and privacy for Mint?

First of all, our users can choose to be anonymous on the service — that’s to say, we won’t know who they are. We only ask for an email address, which can be anonymous, and a password to use the service. We don’t collect names, addresses, age, gender and all the rest that is typically required of most Web sites these days.

Beyond that, the site itself has been built from the ground up with bank-level security to ensure that there is no unauthorized access to personal financial data. And finally, we don’t and won’t ever sell or rent our users’ personal financial information. Take a look at our Privacy and Security Policy for more information when you sign up. We’ve put a lot of work into that. We think it’s so important.

We’ve also formed a privacy and security executive committee at Mint that sets the policy in this regard and constantly monitors new developments to ensure that as we grow our service, we earn the trust of the Mint community and safeguard the integrity of their data.

Tell us something interesting about yourself.

I never foresaw this growing up in New Zealand, but strangely enough, I’m a member of the Paris bar (law), — a French Avocat. I took a year off early in my career where I was working in London, to go and relax in the south of France. I somehow ended up with a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Montpellier — without having been able to speak a word of French two years earlier. Then I went north and got a job as a lawyer in Paris. Why not?

And now I work at a Startup in the United States — in Silicon Valley, where I’m rarely called on to speak any French or give any legal advice.

Best financial tip?

Start saving as early as you can. And check your credit score at least once a year to make sure that you have a clean bill of health, because it impacts all of your money matters.

Worst financial move?

Traveling extensively and aggressively whenever I could — very early in my post college life. In other words, I could have been working and saving but I was committed to seeing the world. It was the best life move though.

How did you handle your finances before Mint?

I was an on again, off again Quicken user. I guess you could say it was a love-hate relationship with the software. I really worked at that relationship but it wasn’t meant to be.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I’d like to be a musician (singer and songwriter) and a wine maker.

What profession would you absolutely not like to participate in?

The legal profession. I guess I’d also not like to be an undertaker.

What do you do after work?

I like to hang with my kids and play soccer and other sports. I play the guitar for relaxation and to keep a certain part of my brain tuned. I read a lot of books. I also like to cook and sample different wines from around the world. I still dream of travel. I wish I had time for more things, but I don’t.

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