The 10 Most Influenal Leaders In Technology, 2023 Dhesen Ramsamy

A Strategic Leader Transitioning Insurance with Technology

As a business owner, it is crucial to understand the importance of having a solid financial foundation. From managing risk to investing wisely, financial services play a critical role in the success of any organization. That's why it's crucial to partner with a company that has a proven track record of expertise and innovation in this field. A trusted advisor who can guide you through the complexities of today's financial landscape and help you achieve business goals. That's where a CTDO comes in - an iconic figure in the finance industry who has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share.

Dhesen Ramsamy is a seasoned expert with over two decades of experience in the financial services industry, presently positioned as the Chief Digital and Technology Officer (CTDO) of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited, a leading financial services group in South Africa, offering a range of insurance, asset management, and employee benefits solutions. Dhesen Ramsamy brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role as CTDO, driving innovation and shaping the strategic direction of the company

We at CIOLook, interviewed Dhesen on his role in redefining finance services.

Let's delve into the intercepts of the interview!

Tell us about yourself, highlighting your professional tenure and your significant achievements so far in the niche.

I've been fortunate to have had a career that has to date offered me challenging assignments to learn and develop across a variety of organizations. I initially began my career in a research and development role at Unilever, followed by roles in banking and retail financial services with a focus on strategy and, particularly, customer experience and insights.

These have been fantastic growth opportunities where the integration of digital technologies and data capabilities has meant leveraging customer insights at best and combining them with capabilities such as human-centered design and agile delivery breaking new ground in delivering customer experiences and value.

For the last five years, I have been working at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, initially in Commercialization and Client Engagement subsequently leading Design, Digital Channels and Business Transformation; appointed as CDTO in 2022.

Enlighten our readers about your source of inspiration to venture into the industry.

I want to work in roles and organizations where I can both have a positive impact on others through my efforts while acquiring opportunities to develop and grow, both professionally and personally. Financial Services, Insurance and Investments, preciously, have certainly offered me this, distinctly in terms of the impact on our customers and their families.

It is certainly inspiring to come to work daily and be opportune to work with individuals who constantly consider leveraging new technologies to improve service for existing customers while initiating new avenues.

How does your company thrive towards enabling advancements in the dynamic business area?

Purpose:

The company's existence is to help businesses and people from all walks of life to achieve their financial goals and life aspirations.

This is achieved through individually identified client and retail-facing brands Metropolitan, Momentum and our other specialist brands.

Enlighten us on how you have been impacting the niche through your expertise in the market.

I would like to think that I make an impact by bringing together a variety of experiences and capabilities across both technology delivery and customer insights. But I strive to ensure the right people are around the table for the key discussions and decisions.

Very few material gains are made by individuals, but one of the benefits of working in an organization with the size and reputation of Momentum Metropolitan is access to significant talent. It is an exciting challenge to emphasize that we have the right capabilities in the organization and are employed to the most important challenges and opportunities.

What are the fundamentals that you implement to drive betterment within the work culture of your organization?

Almost everyone employed in fields is impacted by fastevolving technologies and will quickly recognize that not only don't they know everything there is to know, but that they can't know everything there is to know. I am always open to learning where I don't have the indepth knowledge to instantly and confidently make the right call and thus need the input of members of our teams. I believe that this sets the right tone of ensuring people around me know one of the first questions we need to ask is, "Whom we need to help us make the right call in this situation" and then reach out to them.

Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.

Our purpose as an organization is to enable businesses and people from all walks of life to achieve their financial goals and life aspirations. This is significantly important and challenging, given that we operate in environments and communities with significant economic disparities and where having the right financial solution or product can make a tremendous difference to the lives of individuals who trust in us.

We are in the business of paying claims, which instills an ongoing responsibility focusing on ensuring that we are operating efficiently and the most stable possible whilst also keeping an eye on the future, the need to achieve through innovation and delivery to meet future needs.

So, I would say that one of the biggest cultural drivers is combining taking advantage of today's opportunities whilst creating the right options for tomorrow through understanding trends and new technologies and then appropriately leveraging them.

Undeniably, technology is playing significant roles in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?

That's a great question, as it focuses on the challenge encompassing the bulk of my days. When we think of technological advancements, we think in terms of both how they will have positive impacts on our current business as well as how they will enable our future customer solutions and revenue streams. Although, one area that we are focused on is appropriate understanding and corresponding new capabilities with current value chains to allow disruptions internally.

A good example of this is in the area of data and biometrics. As an organization, we recognized the inevitability of these capabilities would have some impact on our industry and pursued to understand them. This has enabled us, recently, to incorporate biometrics through the mobile phone camera into our Life Insurance application process enabling customers' vital signs to be read in real-time, within the right parameters, for the customer to be offered immediate insurance at a preferential rate. This is an example of a better and slicker customer experience and more efficient processes from a cost perspective resulting from integrating new technologies into wellunderstood processes, enhancing innovation's shared value.

What, according to you, could be the next significant change in your sector? How is your company preparing to be part of that change?

As an industry that services people and companies from across the economic spectrum, a lot of the changes are observed and likely will be observed, resulting from the macro-trends around us.

The proliferation of smart devices is quite amazing. I recall first using the internet on dial-up connections. Today, connectivity through our phones and the apps on them is taken for granted and the things we can do are pointing to a world where customers seek instant, real-time gratification for their every want. This will have a significant impact on the delivery of financial services with the same behaviors and expectations applied to all aspects of a person's life.

Appropriately leveraging new technologies and data to meet the expectations of financial and insurance products for our customers will be key focusing on both how we modernize and extend our current offerings and how we build the new offerings to serve a very different world of tomorrow.

What would you like to advise budding aspirants who are willing to venture into the modern business arena?

I think that the advice would be similar regardless of whether someone wanted to enter the industry or not. Technology will shift the ways things are done, impacting the lives of everyone in the future. As it evolves, however, even the technological advancements around us are starting to evoke both optimism and pessimism.

I quite enjoy the views of a Swedish futurologist, Magnus Lindkvist, who warned that whilst pessimism and optimism are lenses through which we see future opportunities, they can blind us from expanding beyond simplistic "good" and "bad." In his perspective, what we rather need and should be practicing is "possibilism," the ability to think beyond the present and be openminded for the fantastic and unpredictable outcomes that will inevitably represent the future. Better yet, when you think as a "possibilist," you put yourself in a better position to actually drive those outcomes, which I think should be the ultimate goal for those budding aspirants.