Chief Digital Heroes in Banking SettleMint

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes in Banking, Matthew speaks with Christopher Iwanowski, Chief Transformation Officer at Allianz Australia, about the intricacies of driving digital transformation in the insurance industry. Christopher shares insights on balancing global solutions with local market needs, highlighting the importance of regulatory compliance and customer-centric approaches. 

He also dives into fostering an intrapreneurial mindset within large organizations to spur innovation. Additionally, Christopher emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing execution and effective communication to successfully navigate the complexities of transformation. He also offers his strategy for integrating new tools such as AI in a way that allows employees to experiment safely.

Topics discussed:
Balancing global solutions with local market requirements to ensure effective digital transformation across different regions and regulatory landscapes.
The importance of fostering an intrapreneurial mindset within large organizations to drive innovation and agile decision-making.
Prioritizing execution and clear communication to navigate the complexities and challenges of digital transformation.
The role of effective leadership in guiding teams through periods of significant change and transformation within the insurance sector.
Utilizing technology and AI to streamline operations and improve customer service, such as using AI agents to transcribe audio files and meetings.
Strategies for training and upskilling employees to adapt to new technologies and processes during transformation.
The importance of due diligence in gathering and analyzing information before making strategic decisions in a rapidly changing environment.
Ensuring that transformation efforts are customer-centric, focusing on improving customer experiences and meeting their evolving needs.

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes in Banking, Matthew speaks with Jonathan Neubourg, Chief Digital Data & AI Officer at Belfius. Jonathan dives into the transformative role of digital and AI in banking, highlighting the importance of maintaining a customer-centric approach amidst rapid technological advancements. 

He shares insights on how Belfius prioritizes strategic innovation while ensuring top-notch customer experiences by putting themselves in their customers’ shoes. Additionally, Jonathan discusses the challenges of driving internal adoption of new technologies and the significance of aligning the entire organization with the digital transformation agenda.

Topics discussed:
Jonathan Neubourg’s unique path from studying electronics to becoming the Chief Digital Data and AI Officer at Belfius.
How Belfius prioritizes customer needs and experiences in every digital and AI initiative.
The exponential growth of Belfius’ mobile banking app, now used by over 2 million customers daily.
The importance of making strategic choices and prioritizing the right technologies amidst rapid digital innovation.
The blending of digital development, data analytics, and AI to enhance the mobile banking experience.
Techniques for rallying the entire organization around digital transformation and AI integration.
The potential and challenges of integrating generative AI into banking services and internal processes.
Fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation within Belfius to stay ahead in the digital landscape.
Managing limited resources and making tough choices to maximize the impact of digital initiatives.
Emerging technologies and trends that will shape the future of banking, including AI, AR, and VR.

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes, Matthew speaks with Nvalaye Kourouma, Group Chief Digital Officer at Ecobank, about how technology is a tool for digital transformation, but it’s not just copy and paste across different markets in different countries. They also discuss the importance of scaling up and how Ecobank is shaping the ecosystem of banking.

Then, Nvalaye reflects on what it means to be a successful CDO – a capacity to learn, creativity, and flexibility – and offers advice for those seeking a similar role.

Topics discussed:
Why digital transformation is not copy and paste from one country to another.
The three pillars of being a CDO: the digital platform, data analytics, and innovation.
How Ecobank is shaping the ecosystem of banking in Africa by partnering with other banking entities.
How keeping things as simple as possible for the customer will ultimately bring them the most value.
How the ability of the user to apply technology to their problem is more important than the technology itself.
The three key skills of being a successful CDO: capacity to learn, creativity, and flexibility.

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes, Matthew speaks with Jørgen Ouaknine, Group Head of Innovation and Digital Assets at Euroclear. They discuss how a role in innovation has expanded in Jørgen’s time at Euroclear and how it’s shaped their purpose of safety, efficiency, and sustainable economic growth. They also discuss how going digital has allowed FMIs like Euroclear to continue to exist, but that there are still inefficiencies to be solved. 

Topics discussed:

- How financial market infrastructures connect issuers and investors and serve their communities thanks to digitization.
- Why the current market would benefit from moving from a sequential value chain to a circular one.
- How Euroclear balances moving forward with matching the pace of change of the market--all with the help of client feedback.
- The importance of focusing on your priorities without getting caught up in the technologies that are currently en vogue.
- Avoiding ”reinventing the wheel” and developing what you have rather than constantly starting from scratch.
- How having a strategic vision is key to being a successful leader in innovation.

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes, Matthew speaks with Witit Synsatayakul, Deputy Director, Digital Currency Policy and Development at Bank of Thailand. They discuss why digital transformation needs to start with people and processes before systems and tools, and why it should be led by mid-level managers. They also talk about the skills needed for digital transformation success, how tokenization is opening up growth opportunities, and how AI will shape the future.
 
Topics discussed:
Why digital transformation needs to start with the people and processes first, before systems and tools.
How tokenization creates growth and opportunity, especially through atomic settlements and reduced risk.
Why business know-how, technical competency, and project management skills are the key to digital leadership success.
The challenges to being a digital leader, including the dynamic nature of the role and resource constraints.
Why digital transformation should be led by mid-level senior managers instead of leaders at the top.
How AI will shape the financial sector in the future by being "close to daily life." 

In this episode of Chief Digital Heroes, Matthew speaks with Sattar Kazimov, CDO at Unibank. They discuss the digital evolution of Unibank into being named one of the best banks in Azerbaijan, including how they built customer products and backend digital and IT teams. They also talk about the importance of creating products that fit your customers’ needs, why CDOs need to test and adapt to changing times, and how AI will improve operational efficiency and customer service.
 
Topics discussed:
How Sattar created and evolved digital initiatives at Unibank, including rolling out mobile banking and building digital teams.
The importance of knowing your customers and building products that serve them first.
How Unibank has embarked on its digital transformation, including branching out into partnerships to create a neobank that gained one million customers in 24 months.
Why the future will only focus on banking and customer experiences, not banks and products.
How banks can use AI for optimizing processes, improving customer interactions, and enhancing operational efficiency.
The challenges to digital transformation, including testing and adapting to a constantly changing world.
Advice to other CDOs to remember to put people first and tech second.