FinTech Magazine - June 2020

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JUNE 2020

Digital transformation in the cloud

Fintech VC firms

TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES TRANSFORMED

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David M. Brear on leadership, culture and delivering next-generation financial services

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FOREWORD

W

elcome to the June edition

of FinTech magazine.

Digital financial services are only around 1% finished. It is a bold claim.

But then, 11:FS and Group CEO David M. Brear aren’t afraid of being bold.

Brear appears on this month’s cover – the result of a fascinating discussion in which he gave context to his above statement and detailed 11:FS’ dedication to building the next generation digital propositions that challengers and incumbents need to – eventually – reach the 100% mark.

“There are still large parts of the industry that are just fundamentally broken,” he explains on page 30, adding that “for the amount of money and hours of development that is spent, we should be doing a lot better in serving customers.”

For Brear, that ‘better’ is a mixture of building the right culture, strong leadership, solid foundations and

infrastructure on which to build and the right solutions. It’s a combination that has stood 11:FS in good stead in the four years it has been active.

Naturally, innovation runs through this edition. Take PPI Benefits, for example, which is using digital technology to radically evolve the member benefit business model, or any of our other feature companies such as Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Rapid7, or SAVVI Finance.

A glance at any of these gives a great snapshot into the vibrant and fast-moving sector that we inhabit.

Enjoy this issue.

Matt High matthew.high@bizclikmedia.com

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03

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PUBLISHED BY

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Owen Martin DIGITAL VIDEO DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Matt High CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Steve Shipley

Joshua S Peck DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

Kieran Waite Sam Kemp MARKETING DIRECTOR

CREATIVE TEAM

Leigh Manning

Oscar Hathaway Erin Hancox Sophia Forte Sophie-Ann Pinnell

Shirin Sadr

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

Georgia Allen Daniela Kianickovรก

DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

DIGITAL MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Evelyn Howat

Jake Megeary Jack Pascall Nathan Holmes Jordan Hubbard DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Jason Westgate OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Alex Barron CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Stacy Norman PRESIDENT & CEO

Glen White

PROJECT DIRECTORS

Andrew Stubbings www.fintechmagazine.com

CONTENTS

Delivering next-generation financial services

28

10

46

Next generation security for the digital era

60 62 72

Visma Raet: digitally transforming to drive efficiency

Fintech VC firms

86

110 Recreo Financial

122 XXXxxx

148 XXXxxx

126 Achmea Australia

144 Acumentis

100

158 Broadspire, A Crawford Compnay

190 Zambia National Commercial Bank

172 100 HOOPP

10

Empowering clients with new technology and services WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING PRODUCED BY

ARRON RAMPLING

JUNE 2020

11

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PPI BENEFITS INC.

Ed Hofstede, President, and Inthida Ngeth, Vice President of Operations, explain how PPI Benefits is prepared to deliver a modern benefits programme

P

art of Canadian insurance and financial services company PPI, PPI Benefits is an experienced team of consultants

and third-party administrators for group benefits.

With a reputation for outstanding customer service and cutting-edge proprietary solutions, the 12

organisation provides access to plans that cover over 1,000 businesses across Canada, tailored to suit that particular enterprise’s individual needs.

An expert in its field, the company offers technical support, consulting services, comprehensive implementation services, a range of benefits plans and more, all for an affordable, manageable cost.

The success and results of PPI Benefits are driven by its leadership team, who join together in a united effort to promote the best services for clients. Ed Hofstede, President, has been in the insurance sector for over 30 years and calls PPI – “a major player in the Canadian insurance marketing sector” – a natural evolution in his career. Joining the company almost 15 years ago, he started out as a Regional Leader at PPI Financial Group before going on to become the JUNE 2020

13

1995

Year founded

60

Number of employees

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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PPI BENEFITS INC.

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Ed Hofstede Title: President Location: Toronto, Canada

Vice President (VP) of Marketing at PPI Advisory, the VP of PPI Benefits and finally President in 2016. Inthida Ngeth, VP of Operations, on the other hand, came up via a slightly less linear path. “I don’t have much background

16

Ed Hofstede is President of PPI Benefits and its fast-growing administration division, CustomCare, where he has embraced technology to build one of Canada’s leading Third Party Administrators (TPA’s).

As a prolific idea generator, Ed has reshaped companies through focus on a differentiated customer experience, team building, and revenue growth. Ed believes that people perform their best when they enjoy being at work so he tries to keep things light and even serious meetings are rarely concluded without a few rounds of laughter.

His formula for business is: (Innovation + Execution) X Caring = Success Ed is a passionate, vibrant speaker and an active advocate for workplace and youth mental health initiatives. When not working, you will likely find Ed with family, golfing, exercising, or playing guitar.

JUNE 2020

in employee benefits or insurance per se,” she explains. “My background is in technology, consulting and telecoms; I worked in different roles across various industries before focusing on technology transformation.” Ngeth states that PPI’s open attitude towards digital innovation and its desire to

leverage technology to improve its

change should look like. “I’ve tried to

customers’ and advisors’ experience

always view our business as working

is what encouraged her to join in early

through advisors to help their clients

2019. “I wanted to be part of something

create healthy, engaged, loyal and

exciting and evolutionary; the industry

productive employees,” Hofstede says.

is changing right now.”

He identifies this simple strategy as

Change is certainly in the global zeit-

integral to helping PPI’s clients provide

geist – whether socially, economically

necessary services and be success-

or technologically motivated, in the

ful. “ We believe our role goes beyond

digital era, most businesses are finding

simply employee benefits and pension.

that the only way to stay relevant is to

Our mission is to help clients improve

identify trends and adapt to them. In

their work environment and build an

this regard, PPI Benefits has a clearly

exceptional employee experience for

defined view of what good industry

the modern world.”

PPI Business Formula CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:30

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17

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PPI Benefits: The Advisor centric TPA CLICK TO WATCH

|

0:29

19 This ability to see beyond the mere

contrast that with the Actual results

product or service which it provides is

they are currently achieving,” explains

what gives PPI its edge and continues

Hofstede. Focusing on the two ‘Ps’ –

to inform its approach. Having worked

Possibilities and Priorities – PPI helps its

with some of the top advisors in the

clients identify what’s important to them

country, PPI has developed a sophisti-

and how to execute an effective plan.

cated mode of operation which factors

Access to the latest technology and

in high business ethics, technological

an integrated system for deploying it

innovation and a strong, customer-

is crucial to this operating model, and

centric philosophy. “We use what we

that, in turn, requires a well thought

call a ‘G.A.P.P. consulting methodology’:

out digital transformation. “We know

we look at the goals set by the client,

what our member and advisor jour-

understand why they are running a

ney should look like in terms of what

benefits programme and what they

we aspire to and how we want to

are trying to accomplish, and then we

transform in each of the steps,” says w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

PPI BENEFITS INC.

Ngeth. Taking an iterative approach,

problems and allows staff to focus their

PPI Benefits has begun to deploy AI

energy on more critical client-facing

(artificial intelligence) in increments to

activities. “I want to automate the

automate less crucial functions whilst

predictable so we can humanise the

gradually developing larger tech solu-

exceptional,” he adds. “It’s all about

tions. It’s an approach that allows the

making PPI Benefits really effective

company to constantly be achieving a

and efficient on the predictable pro-

string of small victories which will add

cesses so that we’ve got more time

up to a larger goal. After all, Hofstede

to deal with people.”

says, repetitive data-entry tasks are

20

Handling the vast amounts of data

tedious for employees and subject to

relevant to the insurance sector and

manual error. Transferring the respon-

placing it in an integrated environment

sibility of these tasks from humans to

for analytics software led PPI Benefits

machines eliminates this margin for

to start moving to a cloud-based

PPI AI + Machine CLICK TO WATCH

JUNE 2020

|

1:48

platform – the company as a whole is actively transitioning to the cloud.

Gathering, analysing and presenting that data to advisors and clients forms one of the company’s biggest techno-

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Inthida Ngeth Title: Vice President, Operations Location: Toronto, Canada

logical challenges. “We’re looking to evolve how we gather the information in a way that is easier and more consolidated in one location. From there, we can slice and dice it any way we want and structure it accordingly to make it meaningful,” Ngeth states. In the digital era, where data is king, knowing how to extract value from it and use historical

Inthida Ngeth is Vice President of Operations at PPI Benefits. She oversees P&L performance across divisions and leads all facets of operations.

As a value builder and connector, Inthida thrives on bringing vision, ideas, and people together to create new potential. With 15 years of experience across the insurance, tech, consulting and telecom sectors, she has led organisations and teams to exceptional growth, by leveraging her diverse operational, marketing and strategic background to deliver impactful results and create customer-first solutions and services.

Passionate about helping others develop and succeed, Inthida is a coach and mentor, and serves as an advisor for a portfolio of emerging startups. She is also an active champion for diversity and inclusion and the advancement of women in leadership.

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

21

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UNPARALLELED RESOURCES. AT YOUR COMMAND. As a national marketer of insurance and financial services, PPI’s mission is to connect more than 5,000 independent advisors, and their clients, with what they need to achieve leading edge financial solutions. Our deeper role is to challenge people to dream – to plan and create a legacy – for their family, their business and succession planning. And today that’s more important than ever.

www.ppi.ca

patterns to determine decision-making,

we also know that there are a growing

predict and inform risk assessments

number of millennial clients coming

is PPI’s objective. However, far from

through, and sometimes they may also

being purely utilitarian, Hofstede

value interacting with a chatbot, so we

emphasises that a technological

need that capability too.”

approach is crucial to business conti-

Despite a strong tech underpinning

nuity with a new generation of people

to its operations, PPI Benefits ensures

with different expectations. “PPI is

that the human touch is never lost at the

starting to use AI in the customer ser-

customer service level. The company is

vice realm and there’s an opportunity

also careful to ensure that its staff can

to use it for some of our narrower prod-

wield the digital tools they are equipped

uct deliveries. Our wonderful people

with securely. Indeed, cybersecurity

have always been an important part

is a top priority of both clients and the

of PPI Benefits’ value proposition, but

modern, digitalised insurance sector.

PPI Automation & AI CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:10

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23

PPI BENEFITS INC.

24

“ Our role goes beyond simply employee benefits and pension.

Our mission is to help clients improve their work environment and build an exceptional employee experience” — Ed Hofstede, President, PPI Benefits

JUNE 2020

The company’s focus on digitisation couldn’t have come at a more fortuitous time; the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made global businesses question the integrity of their previous ways of operating and seek out more advanced solutions. In this uncertain, new environment, Hofstede says that forging a way forward is “about picking partners that PPI can work with to deliver the digital employee and advisor experience” that it envisions. Critical to helping PPI Benefits on this journey so far have been companies like Oliver, a modern benefits and pension administration software company; and Venngo, a work-perks group discount programme, and IA Financial Group. Although they all collaborate with PPI Benefits on different things, Hofstede explains that there’s one consistent element that these relationships are based on: trust. “One of the first things PPI Benefits does is assess the reasonableness of their promises and commitments.

We deal with partners and suppliers every day, so we have to ensure we’re comfortable dealing with them. If we choose to work with them, it’s because they provide high-quality goods and services, they’re ethical and they work well with our team.” w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

25

PPI BENEFITS INC.

26

“ I think, more than anybody else, we’re poised for success with our foundation of technology. PPI Benefits is optimistic because we know the possibilities and how to reach them” — Inthida Ngeth, Vice President, Operations, PPI Benefits JUNE 2020

Although the rest of 2020 will be a challenge, both Hofstede and Ngeth are confident that PPI Benefits has hit the ground running. The changes being ushered in are all about creating a better experience for the people who need PPI’s services, and the company is not being complacent in trying to find out the best way to secure that goal.

“These days, you’re not just being compared to other advisors, administrators or insurance companies,” Hofstede says. “Now, you’re being compared to the best experience a customer can

27

have anywhere, dealing with anybody.”

to empowering advisors with new

With companies like Amazon revolu-

technology and services to deliver bet-

tionising the convenience of shopping

ter value for corporate clients. “We’re

and same/next day delivery, why

excited about the future and how we’re

shouldn’t PPI Benefits try to do some-

doing it differently,” Ngeth concludes.

thing similar in its field, he asks. “In

“I think, more than anybody else, we’re

addition to just the traditional benefits,

poised for success with our foundation

dental plan and pension, maybe there

of technology. PPI Benefits is optimis-

could be an employee assistance pro-

tic because we know the possibilities

gramme, a mental health programme,

and how to reach them.”

alcohol treatment program, employee discounts, etc.” Clearly, the sky’s the limit for what a modern benefits programme could be, and PPI is dedicated w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

28

Delivering next-generation financial services WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

JUNE 2020

29

e ur o p e . b u s in e s s c hie f. c o m

FINTECH

11:FS Group CEO, David M. Brear, on leadership, culture and why digital financial services are only 1% finished

11

is built on a very definite premise: digital financial services are only around 1% finished. It is, as Group

CEO David M. Brear concedes, not a statement backed by ‘10,000 surveys’, but rather, by a singular belief and dedication to building the next-generation digital propositions that challengers and financial 30

services institutions need to complete that journey.

“There are still large parts of the industry that are just fundamentally broken,” he explains, joining us remotely under COVID-19 lockdown. “You know, when we say digital banking is only 1% finished, what we really mean is that with all of the innovations and technological advancements, plus the requirements of consumers and the increasingly competitive landscape, there is still so much opportunity to get better and grow. For the amount of money and hours of development that is spent, we should be doing a lot better in serving customers.”

The not insignificant 99% that’s left of that journey is where 11:FS comes in. The company was founded just four years ago – in a Starbucks

JUNE 2020

31

David M. Brear, 11:FS Group CEO w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

Listen to the Podcast here

FINTECH

“ There are still large parts of the industry that are just fundamentally broken” — David M. Brear, Group CEO, 11:FS

research, core banking capabilities and industry benchmarking, as well as industry-led content and insight.

34

in London, to be exact – and since,

CULTURE: THE SECRET SAUCE

has grown to encompass almost 200

Of course, in an industry as fast-paced

people based in London and New York,

as financial services, there are many

but delivering a host of cutting-edge

that purport to be driven by a disruptive

services to clients all over the world.

or pioneering approach to the sector.

These include transformation and advi-

11:FS has a differentiator: its people.

sory services, consumer and market

The business is driven by experts in engineering, design and transformation and world-class researchers, product managers and technologists, all of whom work closely with their respective clients. Brear was keen to give his thoughts on that culture,

JUNE 2020

11:YEARS – The Rise of UK Fintech | Full Documentary CLICK TO WATCH

|

58:14

35 and how his approach to leadership

continues. “If we can do that, there’s

reflects the core values embedded

no doubt that we’ll be more successful

in 11:FS. “Culture, if I’m honest,” Brear

in the longer term. As an organisation,

says, “is our secret sauce. For me, I

we’ve really practiced a ‘power to the

think it’s often such a misunderstood

edges’ approach in terms of decision

thing, too. It’s not about copying Google

making, having everyone involved

or Apple, or mirroring what Facebook

where necessary and establishing

does; so many organisations and peo-

an environment where people are

ple spend so little time prioritising the

empowered to do their best.”

tactics, strategies and culture that lets you get the very best out of the people

ON LEADERSHIP

that work for you.

Leadership, of course, can be the

“Our vision is to change the fabric

difference between setting that tone

of financial services, but our mission

correctly or not. Brear not only brings

is purely about unleashing talent,” he

to 11:FS a host of experience at names w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

FINTECH

36

WONDERWOMANTECH ©

such as Gartner, where he was Global

he elaborates. “I’ve always taken the

Director Digital Banking, Lloyds Banking

view that leaders are more important

Group, HBOS and, more recently, busi-

than managers in an organisation,

ness banking fintech, Mettle, but also a

and I think great leaders should be as

positive stance on leadership.

consistent and contextual as they can

“Regardless of how smart or skilled they are, everyone needs leadership,” JUNE 2020

be for everyone. I try and lead each person as an individual, to understand

what motivates them and what makes them perform. Personally, I feel like I learned more playing sports than I ever did in the business world, and I bring almost a sports psychology mentality into 11:FS that has allowed us to build such a strong company and vision.”

That vision sets out that the industry continues to repeat the mistake of digitising analogue products and creating experiences that aren’t fit for the digital age. It is, says 11:FS, shying away from building truly digital native propositions. “Some areas of the industry are just decades out of date,” Brear concedes. “The interesting thing is that many of the big incumbent financial services players are at a pretty significant risk of being left behind in terms of their underlying technology and operational capabilities. For many of those types of organisations, digital has been implemented at a veneer level more than anything.”

Brear is keen to affirm the positive notion of this vision: “It’s not an

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

David M. Brear Title: Group CEO Industry: Financial Services Location: London I’m the Group CEO at 11:FS who are focussed on changing the fabric of financial services.

Before 11:FS I took on a variety of different roles around the financial services industry working client side, product heavy, working with customers and delivering in a corporate environment. I’ve worn my fair share of suits and shiny shoes and witnessed companies spend billions and billions of pounds and not really achieve much. Suffice to say it was super frustrating.

indictment,” he states. “It’s more of an aspiration. Things can be done better, and they should be done better.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a good w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

37

FINTECH

example – we’ve seen, and not just in

urgency; it’s really on the march – you

banking, that when organisations are

have players like Monzo, for example,

forced to do something, regardless

that in three and half years have gen-

of how complex, they will.”

erated five million customers. To put that in perspective, First Direct took

FINTECH: A NARRATIVE OF URGENCY

30 years to get close to one and half

The digital evolution of the sector has

million. So, the speed of change is just

been rapid. Technology is advancing

exponential, and that’s having a huge

faster and being commoditised quicker

impact.”

than ever before, and incumbents face

38

According to Brear, one of the

a market increasingly populated by

biggest challenges facing banks isn’t

innovative startups and fintechs. “The

necessarily the technology itself or

context of the industry is just funda-

‘what your app looks like’, but rather

mentally different today,” Brear says.

the economics of the back office

“Fintech has created a narrative of

functions tasked with building that

11:FS - understanding the consumer CLICK TO WATCH

JUNE 2020

|

1:27

39

“ Culture, if I’m honest, is our secret sauce” — David M. Brear, Group CEO, 11:FS

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

FINTECH

11:FS - trust and control CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:15

40 technological and operational capabil-

needs of modern customers.

ity. “It’s difficult for them to do anything

Personalisation and a more customer-

about,” he expands. “There are chal-

centric approach in particular are

lenger banks entering the market that

driving change. There are, says Brear,

are more operationally efficient, more

two key drivers in this narrative: trust

nimble in making changes and better

and control. The former, has always

suited to rolling out these technologies,

been a concern to financial institutions.

as well as regulatory pressure – it’s a

“People trust their banks not to disap-

bizarre confluence of pressures and

pear with their money,” he states, “but

we’re seeing a real resetting of what

they don’t necessarily trust them to

good looks like in financial services.”

do the right thing by them.

Another contributor to this shifting

“Greater control is shifting the

landscape is the role of the consumer.

dynamic – we want to feel in control

Financial services is not alone in its

of our money and our situation – and

quest to satisfy the digitally-driven

today consumers are more in control

JUNE 2020

“ Our vision is to change the fabric of financial services, but our mission is purely about unleashing talent” — David M. Brear, Group CEO, 11:FS

key areas that contribute to the next generation of digital financial products, Brear is also a firm believer in getting the basics right first. Or, as 11:FS terms it – the infrastructure.

It is here that the strong culture in place within 11:FS pays dividends.

“People often talk about technology debt or legacy technology as the major inhibitor,” he says, “but for me that’s not the case – you get the right culture in any of these organisations and any challenge is surmountable. The newer organisations are those that are able to possess that more entrepreneurial

than ever before with access to credit,

spirit which means they’re not operat-

savings, lending and more 24/7 at

ing in silos, they’re curious, always

our fingertips. And, with fintechs

asking ‘why?’ They don’t treat digital

and mobile banks there’s a plethora

as just another distribution channel,

of organisations that fundamentally

but as everything.”

want to serve customers; fintech is

On this point, says Brear, incum-

rekindling the ‘services’ within finan-

bent institutions too often park their

cial services.”

digital aspirations firmly in one corner, under the guise of an innovation lab

PARTNERSHIP AND SUCCESS

or similar. Rather, he encourages

11:FS helps financial services compa-

collaboration between incumbents

nies navigate these challenges and to

and fintechs as bringing a significant

understand the competitive landscape

advantage. “Partnerships are a major

on their journey to digitisation. And

step forward for those legacy players,”

while its proposition covers a host of

he explains. “Making this kind of digital w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

41

FINTECH

“ Let’s focus on getting to the 2% mark first…”

— David M. Brear, Group CEO, 11:FS

11:FS - leadership 42

CLICK TO WATCH

|

2:03

transformation is really difficult and we

the direction the industry is taking.”

shouldn’t underplay the challenge fac-

Partnerships have proven fruitful for

ing the CEOs of many of those more

11:FS too, specifically with regards to

established banks. The biggest advan-

11:FS Foundry. The project, which has

tage of partnerships is the unlocking

been undertaken in collaboration with

of that new way of doing things that is

DNB, is a modular, ledger-first set of

just so critical to be able to evolve with

components that allows the building of

JUNE 2020

“ Let’s focus on getting to the 2% mark first…”

— David M. Brear, Group CEO, 11:FS

43

digitally native propositions to scale and

“Foundry is really us putting our money

at speed. 11:FS Foundry allows for the

where our mouth is and demonstrating

standing up of an entire proposition, or

that the technology used in banking

the mixing and matching of components

doesn’t just require a rethink, it needs to

to build a product for specific customers’

be started from scratch,” Brear notes.

needs. It is truly digital banking infra-

“DNB has been a phenomenal partner

structure fit for the 21st century

that has a very similar view of the future w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

FINTECH

WONDERWOMANTECH ©

44

JUNE 2020

as us in terms of consolidating a lot of the back office capability to ensure cost efficiencies can be passed to consumers.”

There is, as Brear concedes, a long way to go in terms of the industry’s digital journey. In terms of what that journey looks like for 11:FS, he predicts a maturing of the markets that the company currently operates in and a development of the company’s consultancy arm in line with the wider evolution of the sector.

“Foundry could eclipse everything, though,” he adds. “When it comes to the technology side of things it’s the real fabric that’s holding banks back, and there aren’t many players in the market that are approaching this as aggressively or boldly as we are. More broadly, I see this journey to the next generation of digital financial products as a problem that isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Let’s focus on getting to the 2% mark first…”

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

45

46

JUNE 2020

47

Next generation security for the digital era WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

CYBERSECURITY

Rapid7 Director of Research, Tod Beardsley, on the cybersecurity landscape for digital enterprises, and the company’s latest Threat Report

“M

arch 2020 will be the point we look back and see a fundamental change in how the internet functions, as well as how

people and enterprises interact with the internet,” says Rapid7’s Tod Beardsley, referring to the seismic shift in the digital and IT landscape that 48

has occurred as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. For Beardsley, and indeed Rapid7, this change will be analysed and understood in the broader context of cybersecurity, threat and risk.

The business, based in the US, offers a host of solutions that simplify the complex, and which advance security for enterprise customers with visibility, analytics and automation delivered through its insight cloud. Beardsley has been with Rapid7 for 10 years – a period that he concedes is “a lifetime in a tech job” – and today is responsible for software vulnerability research efforts, vulnerability disclosures, and contributing to the company’s data science-driven research projects.

Prior to this, as he explains, he was a technical engineering manager for the open source Metasploit project. “Kids these days have it so JUNE 2020

Listen to the interview on the FinTech Podcast

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CYBERSECURITY

“ March 2020 will be the point we look back and see a fundamental change in how the internet functions, as well as how people and enterprises interact with the internet” 50

— Tod Beardsley, Director of Research, Rapid7 easy,” he jokes, dissecting his career path to the present day. “My route to Rapid7 came when the company acquired Metasploit, which is an open source project that’s pretty much seen as the de facto standard for penetration testers – so exploits, proof of

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concept codes, evasion techniques; it’s essentially everything a penetration tester would need, and I helped work on that.

“Rapid7, prior to the acquisition, used Metasploit routinely, and after that acquisition I’ve continued to work here – it’s super fun and always exciting,” he continues. “That background at Metasploit, though, as well as previous work that included bug hunting, patch management, auditing, and

Rapid 7: Project Recog CLICK TO WATCH

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51 stints at companies such as Dell and

insight into the rapidly evolving threat

Westinghouse, has really informed a

landscape for businesses, provides a

kind of ‘security common sense’ that

clearer picture of the key threats fac-

continues to drive my work today.”

ing industries and defines how those threats will evolve over the course

UNDERSTANDING THE THREAT LANDSCAPE

of 2020.

Most recently, that work is reflected

business or leader embarking on, or

in Rapid7’s 2020 Threat Report, the

entrenched in, a digital journey of any

latest iteration of a quarterly report

scale. For Beardsley and Rapid7, it is

that leverages intelligence from the

a moment in time in the continuing evo-

company’s extensive network. This

lution of the threat landscape which

includes Rapid7 Insight Cloud, Rapid7

can be very different for organisations,

Managed Services and Rapid7

depending on the industry sector they

Incident Response. The report gives

work in. Indeed, during his time at the

As a snapshot, it’s invaluable to any

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CYBERSECURITY

52

organisation, Beardsley has seen much

everyone now concerned about a host

change. “The most significant,” he says,

of technologies and risk factors that

“certainly over the last five or 10 years,

didn’t even exist 10 years ago.”

is the moving of significant amounts of

Aside from this key change, Beardsley

information into the cloud and having

relates that phishing is still the number

a really good infrastructure provided

one cyber risk for enterprises, explain-

by Microsoft or Google, for example.

ing that “if you can solve phishing,

“For most, it’s just so much better

you solve 90% of your problems – it’s

than running your own racks of serv-

that simple. Network segmentation

ers; everyone is awful at that and, if it’s

is one way of combating it,” he con-

not your business, you’re doubly bad,”

tinues, “and you do get some notion

he continues. “But at the same time,

of that with the shift to the cloud

that change also alters the potential

because, on the most basic level, it’s

threats for your organisation, and has

not on your premises – it’s Google’s

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problem, unless they get lucky and hit one of your developers. The problem with the enterprise is that everything is a big flat network, and it’s still very hard to get people to change that.

The concern is that with the sudden shift to remote working as a result of COVID-19, you’ve gone from a home workforce of 5-10% to 100% and a whole new bunch of VPN traffic that lets anyone have a straight shot to an internal network. It’s a recipe for security failure.”

2020 THREAT REPORT Rapid7’s latest Threat Report was published in February, before the major implications of the coronavirus pandemic had become well known –

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Tod Beardsley Title: Director of Research Company: Rapid7 Industry: IT & Network Security Location: Austin, Texas I’m an individual contributor on software engineering projects, a technical security researcher, a no good dirty hacker, an open source maintainer and advocate, a conference organizer, a podcaster, blogger, and all-around new media gadfly, and an often-quoted primary spokesperson — often several to all of these roles at the same time!

the business is set to publish a report on this topic later in the year. The Threat Report analysed the Rapid7 data with the view to answer three core questions: what does this mean for you, how can you use it, and how can it improve your security programme? These are answered across the four key areas of threat telemetry, detection telemetry, recommendations and security programmes. w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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Rapid7: Security Framework CLICK TO WATCH

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On the former, it was revealed that organisations continue to host vulnerable, internet-exposed systems.

remain the preferred method for breaching an environment.

“A lot of what we found, we predicted,”

Rapid7 also found the levelling off of

he explains. “For example, that com-

EternalBlue exploit attempts in its

panies continue to build and deploy

project Heisenberg honeynet, and

straight up, vulnerable systems and

revealed that the overall population

then put them on the internet. So,

of vulnerable services holds steady,

things like Windows machines with

therefore holding the attention of

SMBs – Windows’ ‘everything’ protocol

attackers. In detection telemetry – and

for file sharing, administration, authori-

as Beardsley already has mentioned –

sation, printing… everything – just

attackers continue to favour phishing

exposed to the internet. That’s pretty

attacks, as well as malware and mali-

shocking, it was probably the most

cious documents; valid user accounts

visceral reaction I had to the data.”

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“ The most significant change over the last five or 10 years, is the moving of significant amounts of information into the cloud” — Tod Beardsley, Director of Research, Rapid7

framework and, I don’t think this report should be about us patting ourselves on the back, but those figures are really good and impressive. I would say that, for a mature security organisation, 50% would be a good baseline, so the fact we’re hitting 90% is kind of shocking – in a good way.”

Conclusions from the Threat Report covered several areas. Based on the above, it should be little surprise

For the first time in a Threat Report,

that Rapid7 encourages all organisa-

Rapid7 has addressed the recommen-

tions to adopt the MITRE ATT&CK

dations that its Managed Detection

Enterprise Framework to guide threat

and Response (MDR) team identifies.

prevention and response programmes.

This team currently identifies and

Other key recommendations included

stops 85% of threats within one hour

a greater focus on external footprint,

of initiation and more than 90% within

the use of multiple threat detection

one day. “At first I thought the data

methodologies and the augmentation

was wrong on that,” says Beardsley.

“We’re huge fans of the MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Framework at Rapid7 because it really lets you lay out all the preconditions for an event, showing what attackers do to move from compromise, privilege, escalation and lateral movement, through payload, execution and exfiltration of data. We’ve moved all of our detection and response to fit into the attack w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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R A P I D 7: WHAT I S A T HRE AT ?

When there is an adversary with the intent, capability, and opportunity, a threat exists. When two or more of these elements are present (e.g., intent and capability, but no opportunity), we call it an impending threat, because there is just one missing piece before it becomes a true threat. When there is just one element present (e.g., an opportunity in the form of a software vulnerability), we call it a potential threat. There is the potential for it to turn into a true threat, although there are additional components that need to come to fruition before it has a real impact on most organisations.

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“ I would say that, for a mature security organisation, 50% would be a good baseline, so the fact we’re hitting 90% is kind of shocking – in a good way” — Tod Beardsley, Director of Research, Rapid7

of technology with skilled individuals, and countering attacks on valid user accounts by patching, network segmentation and UBA. Organisations should also proactively deploy mitigating controls based on trends in the threat landscape.

“If you have more than one person in your organisation you need to be adopting attack framework right now,” Beardsley states. “It just makes everything so much easier and is in the absolute best interest of your enterprise. Having some kind of endpoint

Rapid7: Vunerability Disclosure CLICK TO WATCH

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CYBERSECURITY

E X T R A FACT S 2020 Threat Report: key takeaways and recommendations • There is a need for focusing on external footprint.

• Attackers most commonly exploit a public-facing application or valid accounts.

This can be countered by patching, network segmentation and UBA.

58

• Organisations should use multiple threat detection methodologies and augment detections and technology with skilled individuals.

• Close to 80% of breaches detected by Rapid7’s MDR service are malware-related, phishing-related or malicious documents • Earlier focus on detecting threats in the initial access and execution tactics of the attack lifecycle can reduce the cost and impact of breaches • Investing in collecting and reusing threat indicators improves security programme efficiency • Proactively deploying mitigating controls based on trends in the threat landscape can reduce the risk of a breach

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“ Companies continue to build and deploy straight up, vulnerable systems and then put them on the internet” — Tod Beardsley, Director of Research, Rapid7

2000

Year founded

1,200+

59

Number of employees

protection that does instrumenting,

threats facing enterprises as part of our

lets you get into detecting at a very

series of conversations with Beardsley.

early stage of compromise right before anything bad happens, and finally,

Read the latest Rapid7 Threat

scanning your enterprise network is

Report here.

essential – and we do that very easily for anyone that needs it. You look at those three things, you’re 80% of the way there.”

In the next edition of the publication we will look more closely at several of the w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

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JUNE 2020

Visma Raet: digitally transforming to drive efficiency WRITTEN BY

GEORGIA WILSON PRODUCED BY

JAMES PEPPER

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

Tom van Dael, Finance and IT Director at Visma | Raet discusses digital transformation and change management

T

om van Dael, Finance and IT Director at Visma | Raet, began his career at the company in March 2019. Prior to his role

as Finance and IT Director, van Dael worked for 62

Tele2 (Netherlands), M7 Group and KPN. “I’ve always worked in telecoms and finance,” he says, “So moving to Visma | Raet was interesting for me.

I moved from telecoms, to a Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud computing company that combines HR with other business critical software. Currently the company is going through a digital transition, which is a big challenge and one that is very interesting. I still work within finance at Visma Raet, but in a different market with big transformation and integration plans.”

In July 2018, Visma Group acquired 100% of Raet, forming Visma | Raet in the Netherlands. “Being acquired by Visma there was a culture change.

Before, we were solely focused on HR and payroll software for businesses. With Visma, the company can now provide a wider range of business JUNE 2020

63

1965

Year founded

€150mn Revenue in euros

1,100 Number of employees

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

“ Becoming a part of a bigger company has given a lot of new energy” — Tom van Dael, Finance and IT Director, Visma | Raet 64

software to companies,” says van Dael.

“In the Netherlands our vision at Visma | Raet is to be the leading HR company in the Netherlands. But on top of that, we want Visma to be the leading critical business software provider that offers the best business solutions.”

Since joining the company, van Dael has seen it drastically evolve in the wake of Visma’s acquisition of Raet.

“Becoming a part of a bigger company has given a lot of new energy due to new investments and the new competencies available. The acquisition has had a very positive impact on Visma | Raet, not only from a business growth point of view, but in terms of personnel and culture as well.”

When it comes to digital transformation at Visma | Raet, van Dael highlights that one of the biggest challenges he has faced is the continued use of legacy systems. However, he says“the acquisition has given us access to a multitude of software from Visma that we can internally use. The use of this gives us the ability to optimise our software internally and provide our customers the best experience with our improved products.”

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Visma | Raet: talent management CLICK TO WATCH

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65 Currently, van Dael is working to

business software industry. “If you are

drive efficiency and a better experi-

selling software, you need to make sure

ence via digital transformation. “We

that your own company is using it too,

are working to make sure our backend

to become your own advocate for the

has a clear setup of systems that are

software you are selling,” he adds.

fully integrated, cloud based and eas-

While the company provides cloud-

ily accessible for the business,” says

based technology to its customers,

van Dael, who believes that “finance is

van Dael is working towards becom-

one of the drivers of change within the

ing a fully cloud-based organisation

business. In order to be more efficient

internally: “Cloud technology currently

in the market we need to foster larger

provides our users with a lot of flex-

quantities of more efficient insights.”

ibility and accessibility, something the

Van Dael also sees digital trans-

company can benefit from internally.”

formation providing multiple benefits

When asked about other innovative

for remaining competitive within the

technology, van Dael highlights the w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

66 company’s use of big data, analytics

van Dael believes Visma | Raet is begin-

and robotics. “When it comes to big

ning to build a solid foundation for its

data, we are on the edge of a huge

software in order to not only incorpo-

opportunity to harness this technol-

rate innovative technologies such as

ogy efficiently. Building good data

artificial intelligence and machine

governance as we continue our digital

learning within the business in the

transformation and company restruc-

future, but to drive efficient use of

ture will undoubtedly benefit Visma |

these technologies.

Raet.” At the moment, the company is

During its digital transformation

laying the foundations for collecting

journey, Visma | Raet has partnered

higher quality data to drive its analytics

with multiple companies to comple-

to the next level, as well as to improve

ment the Visma best of breed business

and extend the use of robots currently

software set up. Macaw has been

already used within its business process

the company’s integration partner

outsource department. Ultimately,

from the beginning, implementing

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the foundations for a flexible Azure integration platform within Visma | Raet. This stable platform has helped the company to transform its internal IT towards a business enabler and take on the challenge to move away from legacy systems. The integrated cloud business software consists of Visma Severa, capturing all projects of Professional Services, Visma. net Financials, as well as supporting accounting, invoicing and Visma 67 E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Tom van Dael Title: Finance and IT Director

Company: Visma | Raet

Industry: Business software

Location: Netherlands

Tom leads the business systems transformation to a fully cloud-based, integrated, predominantly Visma stack. Finding the right balance between finance, IT, customers, processes, employees, skills and culture in this continuous transformation is a great challenge which gives a lot of energy. Being surrounded by so many different highly skilled professionals stimulates continuous learning and development. Another great reward is knowing that the company’s customers benefit from its internal optimisation of the Visma business software. Tom believes the internal internal set up of integrated cloud-based best of breed Visma business software, complemented with efficient use of data analytics and robotics, needs to evolve to the ultimate showcase. w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

Visma | Raet Managing Director Debby de Gelder

69 ProActive running the procurement process. To complement its business software, Visma | Raet uses Zuora to optimise its Software Subscription billing, which is also integrated within its Salesforce CRM. In addition to Macaw, Zuora and Salesforce, Visma | Raet has also partnered with Netive to support the management of its external layers of personnel and Kryon to optimise its processes by automating the mundane and repetitive activities. “The data set up of the new integrated business systems combined with the robotics capabilities opens a whole new window

“ If you are selling software, you need to make sure that your own company is using it too, to become your own advocate for the software you are selling” — Tom van Dael, Finance and IT Director, Visma | Raet

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D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

for the next step of data analytics to support our business,” says van Dael.

Discussing the topic of change management, van Dael highlights the importance of continuously upskilling your workforce. “If a company is looking to change its way of operating or implementing new systems and technology, it’s not just processes that need to change. People need to change too – they need to be upskilled.

Becoming part of a bigger company makes you look more closely at the 70

things that you do and the resources you use to ensure efficiency and optimisation.” As a result of becoming Visma | Raet, van Dael speaks proudly of its increased access to talent. “We are no longer limited to the Netherlands,” he says, “now we have multiple markets in which Visma is active, which provides access to different talents and competencies to develop our workforce.”

When it comes to the impact of digital transformation on the company’s workforce, van Dael details the impact it is having specifically on his department.

“Moving to a new system is a big change,” says van Dael. “Replacing legacy JUNE 2020

software with new software enables us to provide more high value services in the future. However, this does mean our workforce needs to develop as a result, by learning new skills and potentially changing their way of working.” van Dael adds that, although change requires a lot of work, he believes people find it interesting, and that ultimately it helps employees and businesses to move to the next level. With this belief in mind, Visma | Raet looks to its people – alongside support from external organisations – to improve the operations of the business. “People themselves know the areas they want to improve and where the opportunities are to make processes work better.

By involving people, whether from IT, finance or the business at large, everyone sees the personal benefits in transforming and as a result develop themselves in a natural way alongside the business.”

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Delivering customer-centric financial services WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

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TECHNOLOGY

SAVVI Financial’s Gina Mourtzinou and Liz Murphy discuss why customer-centrism is critical to the successful delivery of financial services

W

Customer-centricity in the financial services sector is nothing new, but what has changed are the expectations that

follow. As technological innovations continue to augment the customer experience across many sectors, such as the fast-paced convenience of 74

ecommerce, finance is no different; it must cater for clients who are more confident, more informed and better connected than ever before. Having the digital tools available to meet these expectations is one piece of the puzzle, but, in many ways, the easiest. True disruption of the financial services market depends on combining technology with a first-rate leadership philosophy that puts true customer-centricity at the heart of everything a company does.

SAVVI Financial (SAVVI) is a tech-enabled finance platform that is just seven years old, but has a seasoned leadership team that each has 20+ years of industry-leading expertise. Based in Massachusetts, US, the company’s leadership team comprises an all-star cast of data scientists, mathematicians, engineers and more.

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TECHNOLOGY

“ True disruption of the financial services market depends on combining technology with a first-rate leadership philosophy that puts true customercentricity at the heart of everything a company does” All MIT-trained PhDs, SAVVI’s executives synthesise their academic rigour, asset management skills and computational programming abilities into a distinct brand of financial planning 76

which places the well-being of its clients as its supreme concern.

Gina Mourtzinou, Ph.D, Co-Founder and CEO, began her career as an engineer in Greece before moving to the US in the late ‘90s. In 2010, after rising to Senior Portfolio Manager at Ameriprise Financial Solutions, Mourtzinou, along with long-term associate Dimitris Bertsimas, decided to regroup and independently tackle the subject of affordable and effective finance advice. “By the time I left, I was managing USD$12bn,” Mourtzinou explains. “When we were considering what to do next, we decided it had to be something that made an

impact, that made people’s lives bet-

depends on mutual understanding,

ter. That’s how SAVVI was founded

thorough investigation and the ability

and our mission remains the same: to

to analyse a problem critically and crea-

give high-quality financial advice to as

tively. “I think the most important part

many people as we can.”

of my background is actually my engi-

Perhaps the most striking thing about

neering training,” says Mourtzinou.

SAVVI is the intellectual bearing to which

“My approach is to treat financial

it approaches problem-solving. It is a

advice like a problem which needs a

reminder that solid customer-centricity

solution; that’s what you need to do.”

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Gina Mourtzinou Title: Co-Founder and CEO

77

Company: SAVVI Financial

Industry: Financial Services Location: Massachusetts, USA Gina Mourtzinou is the CEO of SAVVI Financial, which she co-founded with Dimitris Bertsimas in 2013. Holding a BSc in Communications Systems from the National Technical University of Athens and earning a PhD in Operations Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she has a wealth of academic and career experience in the financial sector.

Mourtzinou co-founded portfolio optimisation software company Dynamic Ideas, also with Bertsimas, in 1999, which was acquired by American Express after three years. Following eight years of working at Ameriprise Financial Services, Mourtzinou became Senior Portfolio Manager at the newly launched Alpha Dynamics in 2011, before co-developing SAVVI two years later. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

TECHNOLOGY

78

Liz Murphy, Marketing Consultant

building a company with genuinely car-

at SAVVI, adds that this attitude, in

ing and interested people cannot be

combination with a personable dis-

overvalued. In a market where finance

position towards clients, is what can

is among the most competitive sectors

make the difference between suc-

to enter, a company which can dem-

cess and failure in the financial field.

onstrate a real capacity for empathy

“The difference between SAVVI and

and innovation will have a distinct edge

other companies is that they’re some

over its rivals.

of the nicest, smartest people in the

With the correct attitude clearly

market,” she states. “Gina approaches

established, the second-most impor-

everything with an engineer’s mind

tant aspect of modern financial

and focuses on the problem or on the

services comes into focus: technology.

customer in order to draw out a bet-

As a digital company driven by experts

ter solution.” The lesson, then, is that

in the field, SAVVI is a superlative

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example of great minds achieving

doing financial planning, you basically

great things. “SAVVI is based upon

have to solve how to create a plan

beautiful equations that can describe

for an entire lifetime,” she continues.

a customer’s entire financial life. We

“You have to offset short-term goals

then use advanced causation tech-

with long-term ones, which is hard in

niques to solve them,” says Mourtzinou.

mathematics. Optimisation usually

The company’s process involves the

works much faster when everything

utilisation of computation processing

is continuous, but life decisions are

and applied analytics to help clients

not continuous: you decide to buy

determine their best course of action

a house or not to buy a house; you

for a sounder financial future. This

decide to retire or not retire. It’s very

is achieved through sophisticated

complicated.” SAVVI overcomes this

optimisation and scaled with cloud. A

complexity by adopting a ‘robust opti-

highly complex process, the company

misation’ approach; one which is not

is nonetheless capable of condens-

perfect under every circumstance, but

ing a customer’s financial life into

provides the most optimal path given

a simple, actionable plan. “If you’re

the available data.

“ We truly believe in what we’re doing and our actions always refer back to our mission: trying to help people.

It’s important to have a mission, stick to it and do your best” — Gina Mourtzinou, CEO, SAVVI

It can be easy, in an increasingly technological world, for customers to miss out on bespoke ‘human touch’ which is often crucial for reassurance when dealing with financial matters.

The versatility of SAVVI’s solution is a reminder that digital platforms can be as good, or sometimes even better, than a financial advisor. “That’s the nice part of this platform: somebody can have all their specific goals tailored into a personalised pathway,” adds Murphy. The reason for SAVVI’s w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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TECHNOLOGY

SAVVI Financial COVID Relief Planning Assistant CLICK TO WATCH

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“ I had to find a way to explain to clients why our advice is best for them because we felt that, if you don’t explain, then you don’t gain their trust” — Liz Murphy, Marketing Consultant, SAVVI

system’s superiority, she posits, is that customers receive the best of both worlds: a custom plan which addresses their individuality devised by the data-driven logic of a computer and then elucidated by a person.

“Sometimes you can work out the solution, but it’s hard to explain why it’s the best solution for them specifically. I had to find a way to explain to clients why our advice is best for them because we felt that, if you don’t explain, then you don’t gain their trust,” adds Mourtzinou.

JUNE 2020

SAVVI: building a digital assistant Described in a press release on SAVVI’s website, the myHealthMoney platform combines technology and innovation to provide employees with a clear understanding of their finances, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding their Voya HSA. The process involves answering simple questions about the individual (salary, savings, medical cost, etc) which are then used to generate optimised, personalised suggestions on how they can contribute to their HSA. The digital assistant also evaluates an employee’s projected healthcare spending, determines what percentage should be paid

‘out of pocket’, factors in stated retirement goals and is adjustable for major lifestyle changes – i.e. marriage, children or changing job.

“Health care decisions are among the most challenging for employees. Not only are these decisions dependent on today’s complex financial situation, but they will also have a long-term impact on other important financial goals, especially retirement,” said Mourtzinou.

“Through our collaboration with Voya, we created the myHealthMoney digital assistant so employees can finally gain clarity and confidence in their short and long-term health care finance decisions.”

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TECHNOLOGY

“ When we were considering what to do next, we decided it had to be something that made an impact, that made people’s lives better” 82

— Gina Mourtzinou, CEO, SAVVI

JUNE 2020

Using this combination, SAVVI is able to give clear, unbiased advice on why a customer should pick a certain insurance product, for example.

Making it clear that the company is not compensated by any particular party for its advice, Murphy underscores that customers should always feel their best interests are being taken into account. Instead of pursuing selling insurance packages one-on-one, as in a retail transaction, SAVVI partners with different companies in the industry which work with employers, who then offer packages to their employees. “By entering through the employer, we are able to integrate with the employer’s benefits and pull that data immediately into the system,” she explains.

“This way, SAVVI is able to look at an employee’s company’s benefits to help optimise their available choices.”

The company’s fusion of next-gen technology with a truly customer-centric approach is an exemplary model for the best that financial services can offer. “What financial service companies should do with technology like AI is basically create a client-centric approach,” states Mourtzinou. “I think w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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TECHNOLOGY

84

the way to go is to create a neutral

optimisation algorithms, the platform

recommendation system that looks at

empowers employees to make lucid

the needs of every individual and sug-

sense of their financial situation and

gests products that they really need. It

plan for their healthcare accordingly.

shouldn’t be the product providers that

With healthcare ranking amongst the

drive benefits; it should be the employ-

most challenging topics for employ-

ees themselves.” A recent partnership

ees to deal with, SAVVI and Voya

with Voya Financial to develop a digital

show that careful knowledge of the

assistant (myHealthMoney) for a new

sector and an advanced understand-

kind of health savings account (HSA)

ing of the end-user can be invaluable

for the US demonstrates this ethos

to solving the problems affecting

in-action. Using SAVVI’s analytics and

clients the most.

JUNE 2020

technology and a collaborative attitude to bind these elements firmly together.

“Working closely with our partners and listening to their feedback is what really gives us an advantage,” says Murphy.

“A lot of companies are experiencing a difficult period, but we’re working hard to develop more solutions instead of just eliminating benefits.”

SAVVI’s actions are an example to the sector: rather than a setback, difficult circumstances are opportunities to prove a company’s mettle and deliver customer-centric solutions at a time when they’re most needed.

“Strong brands show care for their customers, clients and employees at all times,” Mourtzinou concludes.

In today’s market, a holistically

“We truly believe in what we’re doing

customer-centric approach to finance

and our actions always refer back to

has, arguably, never been more impor-

our mission: trying to help people. It’s

tant. As the COVID-19 pandemic

important to have a mission, stick to

continues to create uncertainty

it and do your best.”

globally, clients need to be reassured that the organisations they turn to for advice are informed, resourceful and working in their best interest.

Attaining this functionality will depend on a strong mission statement, a well integrated team of experts, the latest w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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T O P 10

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JUNE 2020

FinTech VC firms Venture capital firms are the engine that powers transformation.

Here, we examine 10 leading companies more closely

WRITTEN BY

LEIGH MANNING

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87

T O P 10

VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS – THE ENGINE OF TRANSFORMATION Although developing a revolutionary idea, business or technology is the first step on an exciting journey, it can also be, in some ways, the easiest.

Taking that idea and projecting it onto the world stage takes industry expertise, a network of established contacts and enough finance to develop the idea from seed funding to long-term growth. Helping visionary founders and CEOs 88

achieve this complicated journey are venture capital firms: pools of talented experts with a passion for innovation and a talent for generating success stories.

With many taking an interest in cutting-edge fintech, tech and infrastructure software enterprises, these investment firms have their sights set squarely on the future and are passionate about bringing transformative ideas to the global market.

ABOUT FINTECH MAGAZINE’S TOP 10 PICKS… For this list, FinTech has chosen 10 leading venture capital firms to examine in more detail.

All of the featured companies embody bestpractice in the venture capital sphere: knowledgeable, supportive, forward-thinking and innovative.

JUNE 2020

89

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T O P 10

Demonstrating that investment can

ject brand confidence at the highest

be as creative and diverse as any other

level, which will, in turn, build trust

sector, each entry has its own pre-

among clients.

ferred clients, sectors and approaches for investment.

EXECUTIVE ON...

“I think that a lot of people have in their mind this outdated stereotype of the board member who sort of jets in, goes to dinner, maybe makes a few pithy comments at the meeting

90

EFFECTIVE BOARDROOM CULTURE

the next day, and then you don’t hear

An easy to overlook aspect of business

from them again for another quarter.

yet highly essential, particularly for

I should say, that is definitely not the

a venture capital firm, solid working

model at TCV. Our boards are really

relationships between board members

engaged.” From TCV; Beth Knuppel,

can reap significant benefits and pro-

Principal of Portfolio Operations.

INVESTING IN THE POST-COVID-19 MARKET There is hardly a business, market or global economy that will be left unaffected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies are coming to the realisation that old ways of

JUNE 2020

The decision process of a venture capitalist CLICK TO WATCH

|

10:52

91 operating are over and that embrac-

exist to provide real-time visibility into

ing the ‘new normal’ of work, life and

bank accounts, brokerage accounts,

play is the best course of action. As

401ks, loan balances, and anything

the economy begins to recover, it

else that touches currency.

could be the technology and fintech sectors which end up the big winners.

“Since the Global Financial Crisis of

“A very complex problem is reduced to several hundred lines of code, aided by tools that nearly every small

2008, fintech – financial technology –

merchant in the United States uses.

has turned into a massive industry

None of this would have been possi-

and is changing all areas of payments,

ble in 2008, but the technology is

banking, and finance. Virtually every

there in 2020. We need to act quickly

small business, even a farmer at a

to make sure our small businesses

farmer’s market, accepts credit cards

make it to 2021.” From Andreessen

thanks to companies like Square. APIs

Horowitz; Alex Rampell, General

(application programming interfaces)

Partner. w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

T O P 10

92

JUNE 2020

THE EMERGENCE OF OSS INVESTMENT Now that cloud computing has revolutionised the concept of integrated data and the methods available for unlocking its value, some investors might be wondering what the next area for growth could be. Opensource software (OSS), with its increasing renown for being smarter, better, faster and cheaper than its closed-source equivalent, may give some indication of what venture capital firms should investigate.

“Often, it isn’t very easy for legacy technology companies to compete with open source projects because of their powerful communities, strong grass root adoptions, and a bottomup approach to sales and marketing.

OSS companies effectively leverage these strategies. Similar to the way Elastic leveraged OSS to go after Splunk, I believe we will see many more traditional software companies challenged by open source projects.”

From Bessemer Venture Partners; Amit Karp, Partner.

See our top 10 fintech VC firms overleaf

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T O P 10

10 RRE Ventures Since its founding in 1994, RRE Ventures has been dedicated to helping talented management teams build industry-leading companies. It has raised in excess of US$1.5bn in assets dedicated to investing in private information technology companies with the focus on rapidly growing markets in the software, internet, communications, financial services and other industries. RRE Ventures actively backs entrepreneurs and management teams that possess the industry knowledge, vision, and discipline to create market-dominating companies. Its team brings a unique combination 94

of management, operations, and investment expertise, to help entrepreneurs drive growth.

1994 Founded

Key employees: Jim Robinson – Founder & General Partner Stuart Ellman – Co-founder & General Partner William Porteous – General Partner & COO James Robinson – Founder & General Partner Industries: Big data, cloud computing, e-commerce, financial services, hardware, information technology, internet, mobile, venture capital

JUNE 2020

HQ

New York, USA

Invested in Venmo, Bolt

09 Balderton Capital Balderton Capital is Europe’s leading venture firm focused exclusively on technology companies founded in Europe. It primarily invests at Series A and is the most active Series A investor in Europe. In parallel, it runs a liquidity fund for later stage secondary investments in fast-growth, European founded technology startups. It has been investing in Europe for 20 years from its headquarters in London, and raised eight funds totalling over US$3bn. Balderton Capital has over 90 companies in its active portfolio, founded in 15 countries across Europe, today employing over 18,000 employees in more than 50 countries worldwide.

95

2000 Founded

Key employees: Suranga Chandratillake – Partner Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen – Partner James Wise – Partner Tim Bunting – Partner Rob Moffat – Partner Jerome Misso – Operating Partner Industries: Finance, financial services,venture capital

HQ

London, United Kingdom

Invested in Revolut, Cleo

w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

Establish trust remotely.

Jumio uses informed AI to deliver identity verification as it should be.

Streamline eKYC Catch more fraud Convert customers faster

jumio.com

08 TCV TCV provides capital to growth-stage private and public companies in the technology industry. TCV has invested over US$11bn in leading technology companies and has helped guide CEOs through more than 120 IPOs and strategic acquisitions. TCV investments in the financial technology sector include Automated Trading Desk, Avalara, AxiomSL, CCC Information Services, Envestnet, FX Alliance, Green Dot, iPipeline, Lynk Systems, MarketAxess, Payoneer, Retail Merchant Services (RMS), Solarc, Riskmetrics Group, Tastyworks, thinkorswim, and WorldRemit.

Key employees: Rick Kimball – Co-Founder & General Partner Jay Hoag – Founder & General Partner Tim McAdam – General Partner Woody Marshall – General Partner Dave Yuan – General Partner Industries: Digital media, e-commerce, enterprise software, financial services, information services, information technology, internet, software, travel

1995 Founded

HQ

Silicon Valley, USA

Invested in NuBank, Revolut

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T O P 10

07

eneral G Catalyst

General Catalyst has managed eight venture capital funds totalling approximately US$3.75bn in capital commitments. Yet the best measure of its success is how many of its entrepreneurs and founders come founders work with the company again. That bond of trust and friendship is born in their earliest interactions. General Catalyst works with entrepreneurs it believes in, whose passion it shares, whose ambition matches its own, and whose values it respects. It is not just writing checks; it is spending its working lives closely aligned with people who make a difference – and who have fun doing it.

98

2000 Founded

Key employees: David Orfao – Co-founder & Managing Director Bill Fitzgerald – COO Mark Allen – CFO Chris McCain – CLO Industries: Consumer, enterprise, mobile, venture

JUNE 2020

HQ

New England, USA

Invested in Stripe, Lemonade

06 Anthemis Anthemis is a venture investment platform that is committed to cultivating change in financial services by investing in, growing and sustaining businesses committed to improving the world.

It was founded on three guiding principles — authentic collaboration, virtuous cycle outcomes, and diversity and inclusivity — and a deep understanding of markets and models. A passion for emerging technology and values inspires everything it does.

99

2010 Anthemis Hacking Finance Retreat CLICK TO WATCH | 1:26

Founded

HQ

London, United Kingdom Key employees: Amy Nauiokas – Co-Founder & CEO Sean Park – Co-founder & CIO Industries: Finance, financial services, venture capital

Invested in Atom Bank, Tide

w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

Better Business Decisions FICO powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

LEARN MORE

Š 2019 Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

CONTACT US

05 Canaan Partners Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs with visionary ideas. With US$5bn under management, a diversified fund and over 190 exits to date, Canaan has invested in some of the world’s leading technology and healthcare companies over the past 30 years. Canaan’s focus areas include fintech, enterprise/cloud, marketplaces, frontier tech, biopharma, digital health, and Medtech.

Key employees: Eric Young – Partner and Co-founder Guy Russo – General Partner Brent Ahrens – General Partner Stephen Block – General Partner Maha Ibrahim – General Partner Wende Hutton – General Partner Richard Boyle – General Partner Industries: Biopharma, enterprise applications, fintech, health care, marketplace, medical device, venture capital

1987 Founded

HQ

Silicon Valley, USA

Invested in Kickpay, CircleUp

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04

Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz LLC was founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz (known as “a16z”) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology. A16z invests in seed to latestage technology companies across the consumer, enterprise, bio/ healthcare, crypto, and fintech spaces. a16z has over US$11bn in assets under management across multiple funds.

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Why You Should Be Optimistic About the Future CLICK TO WATCH | 44:29

Key employees: Ben Horowitz – Co-founder and General Partner Marc Andreessen – Co-founder and General Partner Scott Kuper – Managing Partner and CEO Industries: Angel investment, finance, venture capital

JUNE 2020

2009 Founded

HQ

Silicon Valley, USA

Invested in Stripe, Libra

03

Bain Capital Venture

Bain Capital Ventures invests in seed to growth-stage startups that are using tech to disrupt existing markets or create entirely new ones. The firm invests from seed to growth in enterprise software, infrastructure software, and industries being transformed by data. Bain Capital Ventures has helped launch and commercialise 200-plus companies since 2000, including investments in DocuSign, Jet.com, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, Rapid7, SurveyMonkey, Taleo, and TellApart. Bain Capital Ventures has approximately US$3.6bn of assets under management with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Boston.

103

1984 Founded

HQ

New England, USA Key employees: Andrew Cleverdon – CFO Paul Zurlo – COO Industries: Finance, financial services, venture capital

Invested in Rapid7, daVinci Payments

w w w.f i nte c hma ga z i n e. com

E M E A | A P A C | | APAC N O R T H | A EMEA MERICA AMERICAS FIND OUT MORE

FIND OUT MORE

T O P 10

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02

Greycroft Greycroft is a leading venture capital firm focused on investments in the internet and mobile markets. It has offices in two of the most important business hubs in the world – New York and Los Angeles. Greycroft manages in excess of US$1bn and has made over 200 investments since inception in leading companies including Acorns, App Annie, Bird, Botkeeper, Bright Health, Boxed, Braintree, Buddy Media, Everything But The House, Extreme Reach, Huffington Post, Icertis, JW Player, Maker Studios, Plated, Scopely, Shipt, TheRealReal, Thrive Market, Trunk Club, Venmo, WideOrbit, and Yeahka.

JUNE 2020

2006 Founded

HQ

New York, USA

Invested in

Key employees: Ian Sigalow – Co-Founder and Partner Dana Settle – Co-Founder and Partner Alan Patricof – Chairman Matt Parker – CFO Industries: Banking, finance, venture capital

Acorns, Venmo

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VC Primer on Getting Funded [Greycroft] CLICK TO WATCH

|

27:34

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T O P 10

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Bessmer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is a US$4bn venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise and healthcare startups around the world, from seed stage to growth. BVP funded the early stages of Pinterest, Blue Apron, Skype, Skybox Imaging, Twitch and Periscope and helped build 117 IPOs including Twilio, Yelp, LinkedIn, Shopify and Wix.

JUNE 2020

Why consumer startups should obsess over their Resting Growth Rate (RGR) with Kent Bennett – Ep 5 CLICK TO WATCH

|

3:46

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1911 Founded

HQ

Silicon Valley, USA

Invested in Mambu, Toast

Key employees: Ed Colloton – Founder COO Rob Soni – Managing Partner/LP Sandy Grippo – CFO Andy Geisse – Operating Partner Chini Krishnan – Operating Partner Industries: Consumer, e-commerce, enterprise software, fintech, health care, marketplace, mobile, saas, security

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Disrupting superannuation administration with the cloud WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

ANDREW STUBBINGS

JUNE 2020

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RECREO FINANCIAL

Petros Gionis, CTO, and Dan Renoux, Head of Product, of Recreo Financial discuss disruptive, cloudbased superannuation administration platform, OneTrust

O

ver the last decade, the advent of new technologies and business practices has seen a pervasive digital transformation

sweep across the globe. Companies in global and domestic markets, across every industry, are feeling the pressure to adapt and adopt new solutions.

112

Those that don’t take steps to become the disruptors are at risk of being disrupted themselves.

However, digital disruption has been more pervasive in some industries than others. In the Australian superannuation sector, for example, rigorous compliance and regulatory structures, as well as significant operational complexities, have created high barriers to market entry.

“Superannuation platforms in Australia are ageing, with the most commonly used platforms dating back over 20 years. There has been limited innovation.”

So explains Dan Renoux, Head of Product at superannuation technology firm Recreo. “These ageing platforms are difficult to maintain and now lack the features required to administer a fund in the modern day,” he adds. “Historically, trustees and administrators developed bespoke versions of platforms in JUNE 2020

113

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RECREO FINANCIAL

“ What Recreo offers is a clean slate. It’s an attempt to build something to modern standards that comes in one whole package” — Dan Renoux, Head of Product, Recreo

order to support manual administration practices but nowadays it’s about automation and admin by exception only, which is harder to achieve with older technology” says Renoux, who would know as he’s been working in the superannuation business since leaving university in the late 90s.

Petros Gionis, who took over as CTO of Recreo in September 2019, notes that, not only is the technology the superannuation industry is built on a complicated beast, but the

114

industry itself is no picnic. “It’s a complex ecosystem. There are multiple superannuation providers in Australia, ranging from industry super providers - who manage funds for a specific sector like mining, health services, retail, etc. - and then you have the big retail funds offered by the banks - which are typically run-for-profit funds,” he explains, noting that, “more or less every one of those providers over the last 30 or so years has built its own bespoke superannuation system or, if not, has purchased one from a legacy vendor.” He adds that these systems are still, by and large, based on old technologies that companies today JUNE 2020

115 end up spending tens of millions of

and fund administrators need to meet

dollars on to keep functioning.

future challenges,” says Renoux.

Recreo has spent the past few years

We spoke with Gionis and Renoux

developing the world’s first cloud-

to find out more about Recreo’s ambi-

native, SaaS-based superannuation

tious, disruptive project, the challenges

administration platform: OneTrust.

they faced along the way, and what’s

Built on a unified Microsoft technol-

next for the company poised to change

ogy stack and hosted by Amazon Web

the face of superannuation forever.

Services (AWS), OneTrust is the first truly modern, digital solution to enter the

WHAT IS SUPERANNUATION?

superannuation industry. “What Recreo

Created in 1992, superannuation is a

is offering is a clean slate. We’ve built a

compulsory employer and employee

platform that’s free of historical com-

contribution scheme designed to

plexity, that meets modern standards

provide income streams and lump

and provides the functionality trustees

sum payments to retirees. It’s similar w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

RECREO FINANCIAL

116

to national insurance and pensions in

buoyant than it otherwise might have

the UK and social security in the US.

been, there are tons of benefits.”

The money collected (which started

Collecting, managing, investing

out as a legislated 3% of salary con-

and redistributing these vast pools

tribution by employers and is slated

of capital is a complex financial and

to reach 12% by 2025) is reinvested in

regulatory task. Recreo believes that

the economy, something Renoux says

its new OneTrust system can not only

has been a real saving grace. “We’ve

improve on existing platforms, but also

got these massive pools of cash

help create efficiencies for its users.

that create buffers throughout the economy. It’s a fantastic safety net in

A CLEAN SLATE

lots of ways,” he explains. “It’s funded

“Recreo is the first company to do

infrastructure throughout the country,

superannuation administration in the

it’s kept the stock market a lot more

cloud,” says Renoux. You look at some

JUNE 2020

of these companies that are dragging

there was often a six week lag to pro-

the ball and chain of legacy solutions,

vision that and the project went into

and they’re spending tens of millions a

the region of hundreds of thousands

year upkeeping all these old systems

of dollars just to spin up a temporary

that can’t do what they need them to

environment to run a superannuation

do.” Gionis adds that these legacy sys-

system in test mode.”

tems are frequently deployed in house,

With Recreo’s cloud native solu-

which incurs a capital hit - as compa-

tion, high up-front costs and lengthy

nies need to invest heavily in server

setup windows are eliminated. “We

infrastructure, databases and software

can spin up an environment in a mat-

licenses to ensure systems are sup-

ter of days,” says Gionis. “I think those

ported and compliant. He recalls that,

advantages are too good to ignore,

“in previous roles when all we needed

which is where a lot of the legacy play-

was an environment to do some testing,

ers can’t compete or keep up.” Not

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Dan Renoux Title: Head of Product

Company: Recreo

Industry: Superannuation

Location: Australia

A superannuation veteran with experience at Barclays, Prudential and Colonial First State. Dan is a solution and product designer and consultant whose role now sees him be responsible for defining, prioritising and planning the delivery of product development for Recreo’s fully featured administration platform.

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RECREO FINANCIAL

Enhance your

Cyber Security Resilience Security Assurance & Consulting Managed Security Services Security Testing & Red Teaming

@TSSCyber

tsscyber.com.au

“ Recreo is the first company to do superannuation administration in the cloud” — Dan Renoux, Head of Product, Recreo

“Being able to quickly spin up and down environments and scale the specifications of servers with customer’s requirements have allowed pay-as-yougo pricing structures. Ultimately, the less a customer consumes the less they pay,” Renoux states. content to rest on its laurels, Recreo’s

When needs change, environ-

teams are setting even more ambi-

ments can simply be switched off or

tious goals for themselves: being able

scaled down and the costs go away.

to spin up complex superannuation

No servers to repurpose or sell, no

environments in the cloud in a matter

long-term licenses sitting unused;

of minutes. “The fact that Recreo’s

the age of superannuation as a ser-

timeframes for releases are measured

vice has arrived.

in days rather than months - that was a real eye-opener for me,” recalls Gionis.

SAFETY IN THE CLOUD

“It’s great that we have the agility to

Australian superannuation fund assets

deliver for our customers faster than

totaled approximately $3trn at the

our competitors made possible by our

close of 2019. Recreo’s first customer,

talented team and our leading-edge

Mine Super - which represents mining

cloud infrastructure. It’s a real com-

and related assets across Australia -

petitive advantage,” he adds.

accounts for $11bn in superannuation w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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RECREO FINANCIAL

funds. With such vast amounts of

this sector, but we come at it from

capital being moved, invested and

multiple angles,” Gionis explains.

distributed to fund members, security

“First, we utilise all the Amazon

and threat prevention in the industry

security protection features that are

is a top priority. Offering superannua-

available to us, and operate our envi-

tion administration services through

ronments in line with best practices

the cloud means that the onus for

as espoused by AWS. Over and above

protection is shifted from on-premises

that, we also have our own coding and

security to Recreo itself. Both Renoux

security guidelines that we adhere

and Gionis are confident that the com-

to. We are ISO27001-compliant and

pany’s offering provides a step up in

have been through checks by the

security over other competitors.

Australian Prudential Regulation

“We obviously take cybersecurity very seriously, as does everyone in

Authority (APRA) to make sure we’re compliant there as well. Obviously, our

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Petros Gionis Title: CTO

Company: Recreo

Industry: Superannuation

Location: Australia

Petros Gionis has over 25 years of experience in software development and systems engineering.

He’s helped build weapons systems for submarines, worked in stock exchanges, and excels at designing mission critical systems to solve complex, high-priority problems.

JUNE 2020

“ The ability to spin up an environment in a matter of days is a massive advantage” — Petros Gionis, CTO, Recreo

than the industry has seen before. “what we’re trying to do,” Renoux adds, “is build a simple, scalable and most importantly secure platform that will outperform anything currently operating in the market.”

STRONGER TOGETHER Cybersecurity isn’t the only area

customers also risk assess and audit

where Recreo is turning to its part-

us as well, and the other thing we do

ner network to ensure its offering

is engage suppliers like TSS Cyber,

is best-of-breed. In today’s digitally

which offers threat detection and

transformed world, the companies

event monitoring.”

engaging with specialist vendors

Based in Canberra, Australia, TSS

and partners throughout their eco-

Cyber is one of Recreo’s most valu-

systems are providing better, more

able strategic partners. “They’re a

comprehensive services at lower

massive help to us,” adds Renoux.

costs. “One of the strategic deci-

“They look at the traffic through the

sions we made last year was that we

system to make sure nothing looks

weren’t going to try to be everything

wrong - so apart from all the systems

to everyone,” explains Renoux. “You

we have in place ourselves, we also

can get quite confused quite quickly

have teams of people monitoring the

trying to fulfil every role in the super-

data all day, every day, to make sure

annuation ecosystem - it’s a very big,

that anything abnormal is identified,

very diverse space.”

digested and flagged for action imme-

By engaging partners like Tata

diately.” By harnessing the power of

Consultancy Services - which pro-

the cloud and Recreo’s partner eco-

vides the resources that allow Recreo

system, OneTrust can boast a more

to flexibly scale up and down in an

watertight cybersecurity proposition

agile way - and MongoDB - which has w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

121

RECREO FINANCIAL

122

C O M PA N Y FACT S

• Global superannuation funds are worth $3trn in total • Recreo’s first customer, Mine Super, oversees a fund worth $11bn

JUNE 2020

lent its powerful database solutions to the OneTrust project - Recreo’s team has been able to focus on the important things that set their offering apart.

“What we wanted to do was to be the best superannuation platform,” says Renoux. “But we’re not necessarily focusing on trying to be the best at everything by going it alone.”

Gionis agrees: “Our strategy is to bank on our strengths and leverage them but, where we have a gap, absolutely look to our partners to fill that gap. All in all, that makes Recreo a stronger platform than it would be without its partners.”

Cooperation and collaboration is also a vital part of Recreo’s internal structure.

Gionis acknowledges that successfully managing his teams is a critical piece of the puzzle. “I’ve got a lot of talented, really bright engineers, architects, and business analysts. A lot of our IP resides in their heads,” he explains.

“A big part of my job is keeping them motivated. I want them to come to work because they love it, love the technology that they’re working on and love solving the problems that they’re having thrown at them every day.” w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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RECREO FINANCIAL

MAKING IT BULLETPROOF Recreo plans to continue making use of its partner ecosystem and the expertise of its teams as it goes forward. Renoux explains that he and Gionis have a two-pronged approach to the coming year. After the mad dash towards launching OneTrust in September 2019, now is a good time to take stock and start putting effort into ensuring the platform lives up to their high standards. “It’s a new platform. We’ve been in production for about seven months now and we need 124

the system as a whole to be working optimally,” explains Renoux. “We’re bedding down this already-strong

“ What we’re doing is far more bulletproof that anything you could do on an on-prem system” — Dan Renoux, Head of Product, Recreo

platform and making sure that it’s as bulletproof as it can be.” As a systems architect of over 25 years, Gionis notes that he’s never worked with a system where things haven’t gone wrong.

“When things do go wrong, we want to make sure that everything is traceable and recoverable.”

The other aspect of Recreo’s plan is to embrace the power of integrated digital offerings to ensure that OneTrust is the best complete offering that it can be. While Recreo

JUNE 2020

2009

Year founded

70

Number of employees

125

makes sure its core offering is bul-

“It’s honestly a bit mind-boggling to

letproof, Renoux notes that this is the

comprehend when you consider that

year where the team is going to start

many have tried to achieve what we

adding “wow-factor” features. “We’re

have accomplished and failed,” he says.

talking about digital communications,

Before signing off, Gionis adds: I can’t

segmentation, an improved front-end

understate how complex this under-

portal, cross-platform interactions,

taking has been. The folks at Recreo

notifications - all that flashy stuff in a

have done an incredible job to get the

unified, seamless experience.”

platform where it is today.”

Looking back over the incredible journey that has resulted in OneTrust - the first cloud-native superannuation platform - Renoux shakes his head. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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JUNE 2020

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA EMBRACES DIGITAL TO KEEP FARMERS FARMING WRITTEN BY

SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY

ANDREW STUBBINGS 127

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

Emma Thomas, CEO of Achmea Australia, discusses the importance of meeting the changing needs of Australian agribusiness through a digital transformation

A

chmea Australia is committed to helping agribusinesses protect their livelihoods and business continuity. It understands

the power of embracing digital innovation to reach new heights, without compromising on the value of face-to-face service to deliver on its purpose of keeping farmers farming.

128

The insurer is part of the wider Achmea Group, which began 200 years ago in the Netherlands with 39 farmers cooperating together to collect money in a glass jar, to compensate each other in the event of a haystack fire. From there, the Achmea Group became a global insurance brand.

With 14,500 employees in the Netherlands and 2,500 internationally, the Achmea Group supports the lives of 13 million people in six countries.

Through its brands, the Achmea Group has supported the Netherlands in becoming the world’s second largest agricultural exporter Emma Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Achmea Australia. Passionate about accelerating its sustainable business growth, Emma says through cherishing Achmea’s cooperative heritage, Achmea Australia has ensured JUNE 2020

129

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

“ WE DISTINGUISH OURSELVES IN THE MARKET THROUGH OUR HISTORY; OUR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS PARAMOUNT” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia 130

that helping agribusinesses and supporting their communities continues to be at the heart of its strategy. “We distinguish ourselves in the market through our history; our social responsibility is paramount,” she explains.

“We are a direct insurer, which means agribusinesses can partner directly with us, the insurer for their farm insurance, as opposed to purchasing insurance products through a broker or another third party. Through this direct relationship, we offer Australian agribusinesses an insurance product that is built on 200 years’ expertise, whilst providing local on-farm service.

Our purpose is to keep farmers farming; we exist to protect the continuity of farming businesses and the livelihood of farmers – as we have been since 1811.”

Achmea Australia has made a long-term investment in its digital transformation, with its digital initiatives translating into increased agility and speed for the entire organisation. As the world confronts the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Achmea Australia’s digital strategy enabled the company to move quickly

JUNE 2020

Lending farmers a hand for over 200 years CLICK TO WATCH

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0:30

131 to transition employees from its office

Having grown up on her family’s farm

buildings and to work from their homes.

in the Otago region of New Zealand,

“Through the integration of technology

Emma has built a comprehensive

into all areas of the business, we have

understanding and passion for agricul-

built capacity for crisis resiliency. This

ture that she combines with more than

meant that we were in good shape to

20 years’ experience in the financial

accommodate this shift to remote work-

services industry. “As a child, when I

ing, whilst continuing to manage service

wasn’t at school, I was on my grandpar-

delivery without service disruptions to

ents’ merino sheep farm. Later I moved

our clients. COVID-19 has changed the

with my husband to a small farm on the

way we work, and it has underscored

Kapiti Coast, where we brought up our

the business continuity mandate. With

children,” she says. “We lived on our

secure and flexible cloud solutions, we

farm while I held several senior roles

can continue to service our clients from

spanning from finance to sales at a

anywhere – and at any time.”

large rural insurer in New Zealand.” w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

132 In 2017, Emma moved to Sydney

of seeing the results of hard work and

to begin her role as CEO of Achmea

appropriately balancing opportunity

Australia, and instantly felt her personal

and sustainable risk management,”

purpose aligned with the company’s

she affirms.

values. “I am passionate about continu-

Achmea Australia has experienced

ing Achmea’s co-operative principles,”

rapid growth over the past few

she says. “I come to work each day

years. Having begun in Australia in

and proudly support a sector and

2013 with just two executives and a

country that helps feed not only the

couple of laptops, it is now achieving

nation but the world.” Emma believes

double-digit year-on-year growth.

that her personal family history is a

“Over the last three years, we have

major driving factor in how she lives

embarked on a journey of digital

her life today. “I have a love for the land.

transformation, our startup culture

This is where my personal values were

has evolved into a disrupter in the

shaped to appreciate the satisfaction

agricultural insurance industry,”

JUNE 2020

says Emma. “Since joining Achmea

With digital transformation playing

Australia, I have led the team to dou-

an increasingly prominent role across

ble the size of the business based

all industries, Emma says technology

on employee numbers and turnover.

is a core part of Achmea Australia’s

Achmea Australia has been a final-

growth strategy. “We have planned

ist in the Australian Direct Insurer

ahead to ensure a strong technol-

of the Year for 2018 and 2019 (by

ogy foundation for our future. It was

the Australian and New Zealand

important for us to differentiate

Institute of Insurance and Finance),

ourselves in the competitive insur-

and last year we were rated five

ance industry and speed-to-market

stars for our claims service by LMI

and enhancing service delivery were

ClaimsComparison.”

critical business drivers for us.

133

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Emma Thomas Title: Chief Executive Officer Company: Achmea Australia Industry: Insurance

Location: Australia

As Chief Executive Officer, Emma leads Achmea Australia’s rapid growth as a direct and specialist farm insurer. Having recently delivered a significant modernisation of its insurance technology platform, Emma is proud to continue Achmea’s co-operative principles which are underpinned by continued innovation, excellence in customer service and working together with industry partners to build a ‘better tomorrow’. Her credentials include: Chartered Accountant, CA ANZ, ANZIIF Senior Associate, Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Diploma for Graduates in Management (University of Otago, NZ). Passionate about continued personal development, Emma recently became a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

134

JUNE 2020

135

“ PARTNERSHIPS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER AND INTEGRATED OFFERINGS ARE GAINING IN POPULARITY THROUGH THE EFFECTIVE USE OF DATA” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

We help Achmea know and serve farmers better. guidewire.com

“ I COME TO WORK EACH DAY AND PROUDLY SUPPORT A SECTOR AND COUNTRY THAT HELPS FEED NOT ONLY THE NATION BUT THE WORLD” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia “What we look for in a strategic

Guidewire Software, Inc. has not only given us a competitive edge, it has also enabled us to differentiate ourselves and grow by adapting to the changing needs of our clients. This, in turn, has enabled us to employ more people in regional Australia, focus on mutually beneficial partnerships with agricultural associations and help to realise our vision of protecting and enhancing agricultural communities.”

Despite the considerable growth

partnership is an alignment of cultural

and focus on digital transformation,

values, in which each partner has a

Emma affirms that its people remain

clear role to play. As an insurer with

the lifeblood of the organisation.

co-operative values, we take a long-

“Along with a cloud-based telephony

term approach, choosing to partner

system, the successful deployment of

with Guidewire Software, Inc based

our cloud-based policy administration

on a shared understanding of strate-

and underwriting solution has allowed

gic needs and priorities for innovation.

us to focus on developing our people,

They have provided us with a state-of-

so that they in turn can concentrate on

the art, intuitive, cloud-based policy

delivering the best service possible

administration and underwriting sys-

to our clients.”

tem. Achmea Australia and Guidewire

“In a time of accelerating change,

Software, Inc both share a passion for

I am inspired by the positive mindset

enabling the growth of their clients,

of our people and how we are working

meaning we seek to understand their

together with our partners to actively

needs and determine how to best serve

think outside the box, present innova-

them. Partnering with first-class tech-

tive ideas and business adaptation,”

nology service providers, including

she continues. “We are working together w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

137

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

“ I AM INSPIRED BY THE POSITIVE MINDSET OF OUR PEOPLE AND HOW WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS TO ACTIVELY THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX TO DELIVER ON OUR PURPOSE” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia

138

JUNE 2020

in challenging times, and by adapting and embracing digital opportunities, I am confident we will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever.”

Emma believes that Achmea Australia is not just an insurer, but also a disrupter that delivers a farm insurance product to meet the evolving needs of Australian agribusinesses. “Instead of only providing an insurance solution, our focus on both digital optimisation and on-farm service has enabled us to service our clients, both now and into the future. Through our direct approach, we discuss with our clients how they can proactively prevent the types of losses we have seen in our 200 years of international experience and local rural knowledge, and what impacts to consider should they need to rebuild after a loss,” she says. “We talk to our clients about what risks they can prevent without insurance, and then for the remaining risks, our clients have the ability to tailor our cover so they can insure what they want and how they want it. Through our direct distribution model, we can meet faceto-face with our clients to discuss the w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

139

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

140

needs and requirements unique to

help our clients to limit climate-related

their farm.”

damage on the one hand (adaptation)

Emma believes Achmea Australia’s

and on the other support them in

proactive and innovative approach

reducing their carbon footprint (miti-

gives the insurer an edge over com-

gation). We must work together on

petitors in the industry. “We are

a healthier, safer and more future-

continually looking for ways we can

proof society. At Achmea Australia,

stay ahead of the market. We research

we do this in a committed, customer-

methodologies and invest in tools and

driven and results-oriented way and

expertise so we can help our clients

it doesn’t get much more important

by providing insight and solutions,”

than our core company values. One

explains Emma. “As an insurer, we

of these is “we aim for solutions” which

are looking at offering services that

is all about innovation and looking

JUNE 2020

141

“ OUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION HAS MEANT GREATER EFFICIENCY FOR OUR PEOPLE AND BETTER SERVICE OUTCOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia

outside the box for a solution that is a win-win for both our clients and the Achmea Group.”

Sharing information and ideas, particularly during these difficult economic times, can help to transform businesses, elevate performance and deliver value according to Emma. Achmea Australia values its partnerships and affirms that in collaboration with its partners, the insurer is continuously seeking innovative solutions that strengthen its business proposition as much as w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACHMEA AUSTRALIA

142

possible. “To meet today’s global chal-

From August 2019 to January 2020,

lenges, partnerships are more important

Australia experienced an unprec-

than ever. Integrated offerings are

edented bushfire emergency which

gaining in popularity through the effec-

burned more than 18 million hectares

tive use of data,” she explains. “How

of land and destroyed thousands of

we remain relevant as a partner to our

homes and businesses. Tragically,

clients, true to our purpose whilst agile

34 people lost their lives and up to

in solving the new problems that our cli-

one billion native animals were lost.

ents face, will ensure Achmea Australia

Achmea Australia’s people witnessed

continues to strive as a business.

first-hand the devastation caused

We cherish our cooperative principles

in communities across the coun-

that we can achieve more by working

try. “The destruction caused by the

together for a sustainable future.”

catastrophic bushfires has served to

JUNE 2020

“ WE UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS, WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON THE VALUE OF FACE-TO-FACE SERVICE TO KEEP FARMERS FARMING” — Emma Thomas, CEO, Achmea Australia

With the future in mind, Emma has a clear idea of how her organisation can continue to grow over the next few years and help agribusinesses do what

remind us of the essential nature of

they do best. “The digitalisation of

food security, reinforcing the value of

agriculture is seen as the next (fourth)

the agriculture sector and the impor-

agricultural revolution, it is trust, trans-

tance of insurance for continuity of

parency and relevance that will keep

supply,” explains Emma. “Our insur-

farmers farming,” she says. “Through

ance platform enables our people to

this revolution, we will continue to

focus on what we do best: stand shoul-

walk side-by-side with our clients and

der-to-shoulder with our clients to

communities, using our international

rebuild livelihoods and get farms back

expertise and local knowledge to aim

up and running again when something

for solutions to emerging problems.

unexpected happens.

I am passionate about accelerating

“It is being recognised that Achmea Australia’s focus on both digital opti-

our sustainable business growth as a direct insurer.”

misation and on-farm service is truly something special. We understand the power of technology to reach new heights, which has allowed us to respond to the challenges arising from COVID-19, without compromising on the value of face-to-face service to keep farmers farming.” w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

143

Acumentis: Combining digital culture and brand 144

WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

JUNE 2020

PRODUCED BY

ANDREW STUBBINGS

145

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACUMENTIS

Craig Ulrick, Acumentis’ Chief Information Officer, discusses the company’s rapid expansion, digital rebirth and the brand culture which made it all possible

146

F

ounded in 1982 as LMW, Acumentis’ presence in the Australian real estate industry has been long and distinguished.

Representing the only property valuation and advisory services firm on the ASX, the company currently employs over 300 people across 40 offices spread around the country, including Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Capable of providing a range of services, such as residential property valuations, strategic portfolio advice, data analysis and agribusiness, Acumentis’ breadth of knowledge is matched by its desire for expansion. Having acquired several other valuers over the course of its existence, most recently in mergers with MVS in 2017 and Taylor Byrne in 2018, the company finally decided to rebrand itself in 2019 to reflect its new commitment to digital transformation.

Having joined the company two years ago, as the excitement of its expansion was fully underway, JUNE 2020

147

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACUMENTIS

“ Our transformation has been a combination of digital, culture and branding: we have a new brand that has been informed and shaped by our team and it reflects the culture of this business�

Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis 148

JUNE 2020

Welcome to Acumentis CLICK TO WATCH

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1:24

149

Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer

real insights about our customers and

(CIO), wanted to capture the energy

make informed decisions,” he explains.

and sense of urgency permeating

“We had to build smart-tech solu-

the atmosphere of Acumentis in

tions to replace slow and sometimes

his approach to digital transforma-

ancient business processes.” For

tion. Placing an immediate focus on

Acumentis, the mission to undergo

increasing efficiencies and driving

digital transformation can be summed

the revitalisation of legacy systems,

up in two words: Project One.

Ulrick was determined to bring the

In order to adequately serve its

company fully into the digital era.

customers, the company had to find

“Acumentis is one core platform; one

a way to analyse quality data in real-

core brand with multiple combined

time - fast enough to help them make

services, which share the same data

crucial real-estate-related decisions

across the group and allow us to gain

in an informed manner. “It was nice w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

ACUMENTIS

150

getting stuck into a nice, big, juicy project like that,” says Ulrick. “Project One was part of our rebrand development to transform the company into a cutting-edge platform. The business made a decision to transform because it wasn’t sustainable to maintain the many systems we had under different contracts and arrangements previously.” Gathering information about properties from myriad sources, including government bodies, local authorities, councils and geographic surveys, the voluminous sum of this JUNE 2020

1982

Year founded

$42mn+ Revenue in AUS dollars

300+ Number of employees

research can be overwhelming, particularly as it must be interpreted and used to a customer’s advantage.

The role of AI and algorithm-

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Craig Ulrick Title: Chief Information Officer

powered analytic systems has been

Company: Acumentis

pivotal in making sure that quality,

Industry: Property Valuation

data-driven decisions can be made.

Location: Sydney, New South Wales

“Acumentis uses something called an ‘automatic valuation machine’ (AVM). It’s not quite AI; it’s more like machine learning,” clarifies Ulrick.

“So you type in an address and it processes some associated data. It then informs you what that property might be worth right now. It’s not perfect, but it gets a lot of the things spot on.” Ulrick opines that the further automation of these labour-intensive tasks will form the core focus of the real estate industry moving forward, particularly regarding valuation

Craig possesses a wealth of IT experience and has held CIO roles in a range of industries including health care (medical devices) and financial services, giving him extensive knowledge in driving innovation for large organisations. Following major acquisitions in 2017 and 2018, there was a need to digitally transform the operations of the business. Craig was tasked with this alongside streamlining core platforms.

services. Software similar to facial recognition technology is being trialled on photographs of properties in order to determine if the quality, condition and value of a property can be estimated by a machine programmed to notice key features.

However, whilst maintaining a visionary approach is important when w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

151

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“Acumentis is one core platform; one core brand” Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis

considering the application of new

largely spreadsheet driven process

technology, it is equally important to

of commissions. It’s allowed us to

leverage the services of key suppliers

streamline our data and just focus on

and partners. However, more than

making informed decisions with it.”

simply delivering a great service or

Equally vital is the digital marketing

project, Ulrick emphasises that the

agency Orange Digital, Ulrick says.

company’s ideal partner would want

“Orange partnered with us to align our

to actively understand the real estate

people and our brand, assisting us to

sector and want to join in the mis-

shape our ongoing culture program

sion to improve it. Software solutions

and allowing us to bring a combination

developer CALUMO is a powerful intel-

of minds into our strategy and people

ligence platform which Acumentis uses

engagement.” With a passion for cul-

to run its budgeting and forecasting.

ture and brand, the Brisbane-based

Enabling the company to collate infor-

company is also an expert in web

mation across multiple platforms, Ulrick

design, development, apps, videos and

enthuses that CALUMO provides a

search engine optimisation. Its ser-

fantastic tool for business automa-

vices during Acumentis’ rebrand have

tion. “We used it recently to replace a

been significant and transformative. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

153

ACUMENTIS

“ We are the custodians of our customers’ data” Craig Ulrick, Chief Information Officer, Acumentis

154

JUNE 2020

Acumentis’ digital transformation has gone hand-in-hand with its increased focus on security. Following a data disclosure incident in early 2019, the way the company handled data had to be overhauled and bolstered accordingly. Rather than choosing not to comment on the issue or acknowledge areas that required improvement, Ulrick states that the company took the occurrence in its stride and remained open and frank with the public. “We are the custodians of our customers’ data,” he says, and Acumentis wasted no time in finetuning its approach. Achieving ISO 270001 certification in late 2019, covering the technology and infrastructure supporting its valuation services in the residential, government, commercial, insurance and property advice sectors, Ulrick believes the company has reaped a positive result from initially unfortunate circumstances. “We can segregate our customers’ data and encrypt it, along with any attachments.

We consider how long information is needed for and only store it for the absolute minimum of time.” It is also a vigorous approach to client protection w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

155

ACUMENTIS

4 out of 5 team members can’t remember their company values Orange Digital can help you use powerful branding to drive incredible cultural alignment Book your FREE Culture Consultation

157 which he considers a distinguishing

Australia’s best-in-class valuation and

feature for Acumentis among other

advisory agency. “We will continue to

companies in the sector.

expand and invest in our people and

When asked what the future might

clients, in order to understand what

hold for Acumentis in 2020, Ulrick is

problems they’re having and how we

quick to intimate that further expansion

can solve them,” Ulrick concludes. “Our

within Australia remains a high priority,

transformation has been a combination

particularly with regards to overcoming

of digital, culture and branding: we have

the geographical challenge of serving

a new brand that has been informed

such a large country effectively. Further

and shaped by our team and it reflects

automation and value-added services,

the culture of this business.”

such as illicit substance screening capabilities for properties and quantity surveying services, will help shape the company’s ongoing quest to become w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

158

JUNE 2020

159

Digital transformation grounded in client objectives WRITTEN BY

WILL GIRLING

PRODUCED BY

MIKE SADR

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

B R O A D S P I R E , A C R A W F O R D C O M PA N Y

Joel Raedeke, Senior Vice President at Broadspire, expands on the company’s digital transformation via technology and culture shift

A

s part of Crawford & Company, the world’s largest independent claims management company with over 700 offices spread

around 70 countries, Broadspire provides customised, integrated claims solutions to clients across the globe. Broadspire has garnered an outstanding 160

reputation for its handling of worker compensation, auto and general liability claims admin, medical management, and absence and care management through Crawford’s mission to enhance lives, businesses and communities while helping to increase productivity and reduce costs for clients. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, but with an interconnected reach which extends to 85 locations throughout the US and Europe, the company employs best-in-class leadership techniques and technology to deliver consistently high-quality results and white-glove service to its clients.

Joel Raedeke, Senior Vice President of Analytics and Technology, entered the industry in 2001 and joined Broadspire as a manager in 2004. He quickly immersed himself in the technology which makes the claims sector tick. Choosing to report JUNE 2020

1941

Year founded

$1.07bn Revenue in US dollars

9,000 Number of employees

*Facts relate to Crawford & Company (Broadspire's parent company)

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

161

B R O A D S P I R E , A C R A W F O R D C O M PA N Y

“ One of the strategies that I’ve used is to (imaginatively) step outside of the company to look at a problem from another perspective.

I think ‘what would a fintech company do?’ ‘What would a tech-first company do to solve this problem?’”

162

— Joel Raedeke, SVP, Broadspire

JUNE 2020

up through the Chief Client Officer rather than the head of IT has been a formative aspect of Raedeke’s career.

This has shaped his conviction that technology has to be focused on the clients’ objectives, rather than being siloed within the organisation. After a five-year period (2007-2012) as VP for Strategic Outcomes with ESIS, Raedeke returned to Broadspire as SVP of Analytics before rising to his current position in early 2019.

Raedeke’s client-focused background is foundational to his approach

COVID-19: Don’t get lost in the data CLICK TO WATCH

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1:06

163 for shaping technology’s evolution.

the myriad decision nodes that occur

He captures the essence of his strategy

throughout the workflows.

in three principles: 1) all engineering

Critical to the engineering of tech-

is grounded in client objectives; 2) a

nology centered around the needs of

primary goal of the executive should be

the client, Raedeke states, is providing

to create an environment that empow-

a unified ecosystem for each client.

ers line-level employees to identify

“A company like Crawford has a wealth

and solve problems in order to achieve

of capabilities around the globe, so

high-level client objectives; and

establishing a unified experience for

3) In order to effectively integrate

our clients is critical. Our clients’ objec-

technology such as AI or straight-

tives can be expressed in a number of

through processing, in domains such

ways: take care of my people, reduce

as claims handling it is critical to

my total cost of risk, execute the

first model the claim process with its

process my way, and so on. Our eco-

macro and micro workflows, as well as

system gives our clients a unified way w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

B R O A D S P I R E , A C R A W F O R D C O M PA N Y

164

to experience the evolution of our tech-

things,” Raedeke explains. While the

nology to achieve continual success

engineering teams were previously

in meeting their objectives,” he says.

project-based, most engineering is

While successful technology

now squad-based and far more ver-

transformation starts with the client

satile. “Each of those squads is made

objectives, fostering an engineering

up of developers, user experience

culture that can pursue those objec-

designers, subject matter experts and

tives is equally important. Establishing

business analysts.” Empowering its

the best culture possible has taken a

workers to be highly agile and inde-

complex, multi-dimensional execution,

pendent means that the company’s

but one which has ultimately enabled

squads can utilise their first-hand

a diverse spread of knowledge to

knowledge to target better perfor-

make Broadspire highly effective.

mance through self-selected KPIs

“There’s been a shift in how we do

(key performance indicators).

JUNE 2020

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Joel Raedeke Title: SVP Analytics and Technology Location: Chicago, Illinois USA Joel Raedeke is responsible for overseeing the strategy and execution of consultative analytics, data science and technology for Broadspire US. Joel has nearly two decades of industry experience related to RMIS, data science, IT and business consulting all in support of establishing and strengthening client partnerships. He began his career in the insurance industry in 2001 as a RMIS Analyst at RSKCo CNA. When RSKCo was sold to Broadspire, Joel became a manager of custom reporting, analytic technology and data conversions. In 2008 he took a VP of Analytics position with a major US-based third party administrator. In 2012, Joel rejoined Broadspire and became a Senior Vice President charged with building teams and technology to support Broadspire’s objective to drive continual programme improvement for each of its clients. In 2016, Joel was put in charge of all client facing technology for Broadspire. In 2019, in addition to Broadspire’s consultative analytic practice, data science and client facing technology, Joel was asked to oversee all technology for Broadspire US. Joel holds a Bachelor’s of Science from the Wheaton College.

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

165

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167

“I communicate to them what our

predictive models and AI by attempting

strategic objectives are,” Raedeke con-

to change the nature of the work of

tinues, “but then I allow them to select

the end-user, but an adjuster shouldn’t

opportunities within that and then align

need to become a data analyst in

the KPIs they’ve selected with client

order to engage with benefits of data

objectives.” This front-line ownership

science. In my view, AI should be hap-

allows for the discovery and evolution

pening somewhat behind the scenes,

of features that are immediately

or at least in a way that’s curated. Our

relevant to the client and end-user.

teams have discovered how to optimise

An example of insight uncovered by

the decisions in the claim process with-

the squad-based approach relates to

out requiring the end-user to become

the incorporation of predictive scores

a data analyst him or herself.”

within the claim process. Raedeke says, “Some organisations incorporate

It’s an approach which truly highlights the emphasis that Broadspire w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

B R O A D S P I R E , A C R A W F O R D C O M PA N Y

168

“ In my view, AI should be happening somewhat behind the scenes, or at least in a way that’s curated” — Joel Raedeke, SVP, Broadspire

JUNE 2020

places on innovation and its importance. The company’s rapid R&D (research and development) capabilities are essential to driving stakeholder value. The flexibility and innovative mindset that this requires are reminiscent of a startup’s approach and Raedeke states that this is intentional.

“One of the strategies that I’ve used is to (imaginatively) step outside of the company to look at a problem from another perspective. I think ‘what would a fintech company do?’ ‘What would a tech-first company do to solve this problem?’.”

While establishing the right objectives for technology and the right culture for innovation is critical, it is also foundational to have a unified map of the domains for the core business. “If we are trying to optimise a process — let’s take the Workers Comp claim process, for example — it can be helpful to understand it as a macro workflow,” Raedeke says.

“Obviously it starts when the claim is filed, ends when the claim is closed and has many steps in between those points. The process gets really interesting when you discover and map w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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170

the micro workflows within the larger

this kind of mapping has been done, at

claim process, each of which have their

least in part, we can understand where

own beginning, middle and end, some

to integrate automation such as AI, ML

of which are controlled by the adjustor,

and predictive modeling.�

some by the nurse, team leads, client

This complex network can make

and so on. Going deeper, it is critical

mapping out and measuring improve-

to map out the various decision nodes

ment very difficult, but Raedeke

within and at the edges of workflows,

highlights that the scalability benefit of

some of which involve a single owner

developing a solution from the ground

and others which require collabora-

up will pay dividends in the long run.

tion between multiple parties. Once

“If you start by doing foundational work

JUNE 2020

“ If you can create an atmosphere where innovation is occurring naturally, my main job then is to cultivate a healthy, well-resourced environment where it can flourish” — Joel Raedeke, SVP, Broadspire

171

first, such as entity modelling and really

innovation is occurring naturally, my

mapping out a domain, this is where

main job then is to cultivate a healthy,

concepts such as micro workflows and

well-resourced environment where it

decision nodes become very helpful.”

can flourish. This is how technology

This leads back to Broadspire’s

can contribute to client success.”

teams being able to set their own KPIs centred on client objectives and allow their organic capacity for innovation to shine through. It is this, Raedeke says, which forms his core focus. “If you can create an atmosphere where w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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173

HOOPP: delivering a world-class digital IT strategy WRITTEN BY

MATT HIGH PRODUCED BY

JAKE MEGEARY w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

H E A LT H C A R E O F O N TA R I O P E N S I O N P L A N ( H O O P P )

HOOPP’s Reno Bugiardini discusses how an innovative IT digital transformation strategy has seen the business thrive against COVID-19 disruption

W

hen Reno Bugiardini and his colleagues reached the culmination of a sweeping, innovative three-year IT strategy at the

end of 2019, the disruption and impact to countless industries worldwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic was still a way off. That plan, which 174

aligned with the broader five-year strategic plan at Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), has driven vast change within the organisation.

It was, says Bugiardini, based around three fundamental areas of focus: a cloud-first approach, adopting Agile working methods, and ‘flattening’, through the creation of teams aligned to business groups, a previously hierarchical structure. “Our goal has always been to ensure that we are the single point of contact for the business, and that all departments feel they can come to us with any of their priorities. This is helped by the fact that I report directly to the CEO and am part of the senior executive team, which is not always the case for IT heads in organisations. By giving IT a seat at the executive table, HOOPP ensures that our digital strategy is aligned to the organisation’s strategy.”

JUNE 2020

175

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H E A LT H C A R E O F O N TA R I O P E N S I O N P L A N ( H O O P P )

“ From an IT perspective, it’s a new adventure” — Reno Bugiardini, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services, HOOPP

Bugiardini is a driven and highly experienced innovator and leader.

He holds the position of Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services at HOOPP, a role that sees him responsible for providing strategic vision and direction for IT and facilities services at the organisation.

HOOPP is a defined benefit pension

That the strategy was a success,

176

plan that is tailored to the healthcare

and positioned the organisation well

sector and provides financial security

for years to come, is something of

for industry workers in retirement.

which Bugiardini, who has been with

The organisation’s purpose, says

the business since 2002, is rightly

Bugiardini, is to “deliver on the

proud. That it also placed HOOPP in

pension promise”. To facilitate this,

an enviably strong position to seam-

the IT division has to serve the entire

lessly navigate any potential disruption

organisation and, most significantly

from COVID-19 is remarkable.

two core functions: investment management and pension administration.

The latter two are directly responsible for the investing and pension admin respectively, with IT empowering them to do so in the most effective

JUNE 2020

Thank you from all of us CLICK TO WATCH

|

1:27

177 way. “We’re a world-class IT organisa-

innovative IT organisation that’s

tion that exists to provide and enable

impossible,” he continues. “Each of

innovative solutions and strategies

those three areas – cloud-first, Agile

to the entire business,” he explains,

and the restructuring – gives us the

expanding on the core aspects of the

ability to innovate, to be a flexible

three-year strategy he was tasked

strategic partner and to develop quick

with leading. “The way in which we

proof of concepts for the business

deliver those IT services over the last

when it’s exploring new opportuni-

three years has absolutely evolved –

ties. Take being cloud-first as an

it has to, so as to ensure we maintain

example. Moving over 95% of our

the competitive advantage that differ-

compute infrastructure to the cloud

entiates us in the sector.

gives us a scalability and flexibility

“We exist to deliver the very best

that just wouldn’t be feasible with a

solutions to our business partners,

self-managed data centre, and it means

but if we don’t have a progressive,

we can explore and scale at minimal w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

Diane Dale, Senior ObjectSharp Consultant @HOOPP

Product Ideation & UX Design

Cloud-Native Architecture

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At ObjectSharp, we have one very speciďŹ c mission: to help you deliver innovative business solutions faster, and with higher quality. True Agile experts, we partner with leading organizations like the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) to imagine, design, build and deploy scalable software solutions that improve their competitive edge.

objectsharp.com

1-877-767-4277

@ObjectSharp

Driving Digital Transformation With True Agile Delivery at HOOPP HOOPP works every day to build the foundation for a financially secure retirement for Ontario’s healthcare workers. The mission of its IT team is to deliver highvalue, right-sized and timely solutions that enable the plan to deliver its pension promise to its more than 350,000 members.

Since 2014, ObjectSharp’s team of senior consultants have worked embedded with HOOPP’s IT teams, helping them navigate change and foster innovation with the right combination of people, processes and products.

HOOPP chose ObjectSharp for its unique embedded partnership approach. A true partner, ObjectSharp is not just another consultancy that advises and walks away. ObjectSharp is different. Our culture is one of results-driven partnership; we work embedded with you to identify and provide value where you need it most, coaching your teams in the Agile delivery model as we go.

Initially embedded with HOOPP’s Investment Services Group, and then later its Corporate Services and Pension Services groups, ObjectSharp’s team of senior consultants have leveraged their deep knowledge of Agile and expertise in DevOps and the Microsoft Azure Cloud to drive digital transformation by: implementing CI/CD and establishing a true DevOps culture that drives rapid development and faster release cycles; increasing software delivery velocity and quality with sophisticated automated regression testing and reporting solutions; building HOOPP’s first reusable React UI component library, used by HOOPP’s in-house team of investment professionals in their daily management of the plan; using infrastructure as code to reduce help desk ticket response times by 80%; improving data governance and risk management by operationalizing security and privacy policies as code and configuration in the Cloud; and coaching executive leadership and management to lead and succeed with Agile.

“ObjectSharp has been a key partner in our digital transformation over the last 6 years, working embedded within HOOPP to identify and unlock value, solve complex problems, and coach our teams in the Agile delivery model.”

- Reno Bugiardini Senior Vice President, Information Technology

End-to-End Capabilities, Full Stack Results As HOOPP’s needs and priorities have changed on its digital transformation journey, ObjectSharp has met them at every step of the way.

A full service consultancy, ObjectSharp provides expertise across the entire spectrum of the software development lifecycle. Our capabilities include: embedded Agile and CI/CD automation cloud-native development and architecture DevOps & automated testing AI strategy and machine learning data security and governance

Embedded Expertise, Where It Matters Most Whether it’s building a product, improving a user experience, adopting Agile delivery backed by automation, or transforming your business to realize the promise of the Cloud, ObjectSharp works embedded with you to navigate change and foster innovation.

Whether you’re just beginning your digital transformation journey, or face new questions along the path, ObjectSharp’s team of embedded experts are ready to help you lead and succeed with digital and the Cloud. objectsharp.com 1-877-767-4277 @ObjectSharp

H E A LT H C A R E O F O N TA R I O P E N S I O N P L A N ( H O O P P )

180

cost and meet business needs when

sprints whereas, previously, that just

required. Similarly, now that we’re an

wouldn’t have been attainable for us.”

Agile development shop, we’re much

Naturally, achieving such a tech-

closer to our business partners –

nological transformation relies on

aligned in teams so we can deliver

close collaboration with best-in-

solutions significantly faster and

class partners. Bugiardini is keen to

more accurately. The result is that

highlight two in particular: Thinkwise

our business is leveraging solutions

has been instrumental in our migration

sooner to meet their business needs

to the cloud and the decommission-

and demands. We can leverage

ing of our self-managed data centre,”

the advantages and opportunities

he explains. “They provided consul-

of cloud to very quickly procure-

tation, leadership, and programme

compute and explore new ideas

planning, which made for an overall

and complete tasks in two-week

far more seamless transition. Similarly,

JUNE 2020

ObjectSharp has been a key partner in

concerns and allow HOOPP to

our digital transformation over the last

continue to deliver on its pension

six years, working embedded within

promise. This ability to continue pro-

HOOPP to identify and unlock value,

viding the highest levels of service

solve complex problems, and coach

was greatly helped by the tireless

our teams in the Agile delivery model.�

work of Bugiardini and his team

Of course, global events this year have created a landscape in which

to deliver that digital strategy.

From the challenging transition

traditional approaches to business

to a significant remote working

count for little. As an organisation

programme, through to continuing

HOOPP has responded rapidly, rec-

to serve the needs of the organisa-

ognising the unprecedented change

tion, the scalable, flexible and newly

facing its members and launching

restructured HOOPP business has

a series of measures that address

allowed COVID-19 disruption to be

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

Reno Bugiardini Title: SVP, Information Technology & Facilities Services Industry: Financial Services Location: Toronto, Canada Reno brings with him more than 25 years of IT leadership experience from various industries. He is an innovative leader focusing on providing his business clients with agile technical solutions that are driven by business requirements, challenges and opportunities. Having a great passion for IT and its dyanmic nature drives Reno, accompanied with his strong client service attitude. This ensures that his team delivers technical solutions aligned with HOOPP’s strategy that are enablers and differentiators to our business. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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CONGRATULATIONS HOOPP ON YOUR TRANSFORMATIONAL SUCCESS!!

Thought provoking leadership with sensible governance

Unleash the potential of cloud for your organization!

dealt with in a remarkably seamless

successfully with few challenges in a

fashion, he recounts. “We’d been

72-hour period borders on the heroic.

closely monitoring the crisis through

The team did a great job that weekend

our Business Continuity Management

and really demonstrated the impor-

programme since early January,

tance of the work we have done.”

considering the impact on our organi-

Indeed, the most noticeable chal-

sation, and modifying operations

lenge – a VPN performance issue

accordingly. It was on 12 March that

– was rapidly dealt with. “We were

we took the biggest step yet – to move

able to procure additional hardware,

to work-from-home for the whole

we spun up another VPN, mobilised

organisation. With more than 700 peo-

our IT team to test it and ensure func-

ple, that’s not a small transition. The

tionality with minimal disruption to the

IT team had practiced before and,

business,” Bugiardini says. “In a tradi-

of course, we had contingency plans,

tional data centre or workspace that

but that they managed to do it

capability simply wouldn’t be possible.

JUNE 2020

“ We’re a world-class IT organisation that exists to provide the very best services to the entire business” — Reno Bugiardini, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services, HOOPP

noted that the transition to the cloud in particular was fortuitous, affording Bugiardini and HOOPP a level of security that, instead of disruption, saw the company effectively in a ‘situation normal’ mode.

Technology aside, Bugiardini is a keen proponent of the benefit of flattening the structure within an IT team, a process he describes as critical to the way in which the organisation

Similarly, if we didn’t have that Agile

operates. “You don’t have red tape,”

way of working and our teams organ-

he says, “and that makes everything

ised the way we do, I don’t think we’d

more simple. People and teams are

have been able to achieve what we

empowered to make their own deci-

did to accommodate the business

sions and to take ownership of the

in 72 hours.”

results.” He refers back to the per-

That success is testament to the

formance challenges experienced

effectiveness of Bugiardini’s digital

during that hectic first 72-hour period

vision for HOOPP. Indeed, so water-

as a good example of this. “We had

tight were the deliverables of the

speed and the agility to do whatever

strategy that he somewhat casually

we needed to. There were several

describes the process as “really just moving folks from the physical office to their homes. Because of the infrastructure in place many of the concerns being discussed about such a transition – cybersecurity, for example – just haven’t really been a concern for us”. On that point, it should be w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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184

1960

Year founded

$94.1bn Assets in Cdn dollars

725

Number of employees

JUNE 2020

“ We can leverage the advantage of cloud to very quickly procure compute and explore new ideas and complete tasks in two-week sprints” — Reno Bugiardini, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services, HOOPP 185 automation and process tasks in that initial period that just happened; no one needed approval to carry out a task, or to ensure they were in sync with the broader thinking of the business. If we weren’t built that way we’d probably still be here debating whether we should deploy another VPN in the cloud or not.”

Of course, it would be foolish to state there has been no challenges.

However, rather than being technology-related, these have been based around the sheer change management and shifting of workplace culture that every organisation has undoubtedly w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

H E A LT H C A R E O F O N TA R I O P E N S I O N P L A N ( H O O P P )

186

experienced. “Collaboration has

capabilities of certain technologies

always been a big part of how we work

like video conferencing tools, for

at HOOPP, particularly as a result of

example, but there’s positives to that

the teams we have created and the

shift too. It’s refreshing to ‘open up’

technologies that we can now lever-

your personal life to your colleagues –

age. Sure, moving to a working from

whether that’s kids in the background

home environment has meant a ramp

or your dog barking during a meeting

up in terms of understanding the full

– and it’s refocused our perspective

JUNE 2020

on working from home when we consider future IT and business strategies, for example.”

Having reached the culmination of the three-year plan at the end of last year, Bugiardini is naturally already focused on the next step of his digital vision. The changes brought about by COVID-19 have, he says, reorganised the prioritisation of some of the digital initiatives being considered, particularly around the greater automation

refinement rather than anything dras-

of some processes, for example. But,

tic. “Our ability to do business hasn’t

it would seem the success afforded

really changed, we’re just not doing it

by the existing strategy calls for

in the office. There are so many businesses that have had to rethink their

“ If we didn’t have that agile way of working and our teams organised the way we do, I don’t think we’d have been able to achieve what we did to accommodate the business in 72 hours” — Reno Bugiardini, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services, HOOPP

entire processes because they’ve previously failed to leverage technology to its fullest.

“On the contrary, we’ve been able to scale and to meet demand while delivering services to our members and pensioners – productivity hasn’t dropped at all,” he continues. “The market has been impacted by the volatility, but on our plan operations side, our service delivery levels to members actually improved. And, on that investment management aspect of the business, we were able to give w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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“ We’ve been able to scale and to meet demand while delivering services to our members and pensioners – productivity hasn’t dropped at all” — Reno Bugiardini, Senior Vice President, Information Technology & Facilities Services, HOOPP

our investment management staff full

stand still. Accordingly, Bugiardini is

computing capability at home right

in the process of forming the next IT

away, and scalability when they need it

blueprint for HOOPP, which will be

through the cloud, to ensure they were

developed in collaboration with busi-

able to adapt to the volatile markets

ness partners. It will, he says, align with

and not miss out on any opportunities.”

the organisation’s broader strategy

Any digital transformation, even

and be built around delivering the high

when it is facing unprecedented

performance culture that is instilled

disruption and uncertainty, doesn’t

in every part of HOOPP.

JUNE 2020

189

“This has certainly changed everything,” he explains. “It’s opened up the

strategy in place to continue to absolutely succeed at that.”

opportunity to hire the very best talent from around the world – there are fewer barriers to business now. From an IT perspective, it’s a new adventure that is now about us serving and supporting 700 internal clients remotely and we have the infrastructure and w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

190

JUNE 2020

Creating financial inclusivity WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY

JUSTIN BRAND

191

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Z A M B I A N AT I O N A L C O M M E R C I A L B A N K ( Z A N A C O )

Last time we spoke with Zambia National Bank, it was on the cusp of an accelerated digital transformation set for completion in 2020. Fresh into the new decade, CDO Wane Ng’ambi, details the bank’s journey

T

he symbiosis between the telecommunications and finance industry is stronger than ever in Africa, and as technology

evolves, many banks are being left behind as a 192

result. One bank in the region that is staying ahead of the curve is Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco), which in 2018, was on the cusp of an accelerated digital transformation set for completion in 2020. Sharing the bank’s success since then is a Chief Digital Officer who understands the relationship between finance and telecommunications better than most, Wane Ng’ambi.

“I love a challenge!” exclaims Ng’ambi when asked what drew him to his current role. “I’m not a traditional banker. To me, one of the slowestchanging industries has been banking and financial services. With Zanaco, the whole agenda of taking a very mature, traditional industry and moulding it into a very tech-savvy future-focused one is a fantastic opportunity.” When Ng’ambi joined Zanaco in 2018, he brought 15 years of experience in the JUNE 2020

193

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Z A M B I A N AT I O N A L C O M M E R C I A L B A N K ( Z A N A C O )

“ We’re at almost 110% growth year-on-year, effectively doubling our traffic through our digital channels” — Wane Ng’ambi, CDO, Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco)

telecommunications industry with him.

Specialising in creating telecommunications and digital solutions from an IT engineering perspective, he previously looked after mobile financial services for MTN in Zambia. “There’s a big drive across Africa that is pivoting mobile telecommunication companies from predominantly providing voice and data services to providing financial services by using the existing technology infrastructure,” he says.

“Mobile money is a big phenomena

194

in regions like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Zambia is the latest country to embark on this journey.” After a few years with MTN, Ng’ambi moved to Millicom International Cellular’s subsidiary, Tigo, in order to care for the company’s mobile financial services and customer distribution technology.

After a year he returned to Zambia to work with Zanaco in order to serve its existing customers through new channels. “The heart of Zanaco’s strategy focuses around the use of technology in order to enable customer fulfillment for different products and services,” he summarises. Over the years, banking has evolved considerably, JUNE 2020

Bank Here TVC CLICK TO WATCH

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1:03

195 but Ng’ambi reflects that telecom-

Zambia National Bank has met

munications engineering has always

the challenges of this ever-shifting

remained embedded in the lives of

landscape head-on and has achieved

customers. “This is the move banks

an astonishing 115% growth across

need to make. They need to ask

digital channels in the last 18 months,

themselves: How do we migrate from

with defining weight placed on mobile

the traditional branch servicing of

channels. Other streams that have

customers and into the digital age?”

contributed to this exponential growth

He is cognizant that Africa com-

include QR Code, which has acted as

prises a largely young population that

a replacement channel to the original

will pilot a remarkable technological

postal one and cost inhibitive POS

shift in the continent in the next five

channel, and the express “Agent

to 20 years, and it is essential that

Banking” channel. “We’re at almost

banks like Zanaco keep the pace in

110% growth year-on-year, effectively

order to remain relevant.

doubling our traffic through our digital w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

Z A M B I A N AT I O N A L C O M M E R C I A L B A N K ( Z A N A C O )

196

channels.” This is the result of what

collectively. This forms up to 20% of

Ng’ambi would describe as a very

the total financial inclusion and often

“aggressive” campaign: “Africa has a

goes missed by banks. “Now, this is

very interesting dynamic; the financial

not regulated formally in Zambia, so

inclusion rate is relatively low, with the

it’s unregulated financial inclusion,

exception of some successful markets

which is pretty much a conventional-

like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

type financial inclusion,” he explains.

Zambia sits at around 59% of the

“But when you look at formal financial

total financial inclusion. This inclusion

inclusion, through regulated entities

includes regulated and non-regulated

such as Zanaco, we’re somewhere

channels.” By non-regulated channels,

around 38-39%. That’s relatively low if

Ng’ambi refers to the phenomena of

you look at the population.” This totals

‘Chilimbas’ – village banking – where

to around 6-9mn individuals who are

groups in rural communities invest

currently excluded from regulated

JUNE 2020

financial services. This makes

branches on a day-to-day basis, with

Zanaco’s growth all the more impres-

a shift of customers moving from

sive, but it also creates a number of

branch to digital marking a negative

challenges to overcome.

trajectory. However, we are close to

“The challenges can be split in two,”

gaining 40,000 customers every month

explains Ng’ambi: “Technology and

who did not have access to financial

culture. Naturally these factors both

services previously. We’re somewhere

intertwine. While automation drives

in the space of maybe 200-300% new-

efficiency, which achieves our digital

to-bank acquisition growth between

strategy, digital transformation impacts

2018 and 2019. That’s a very, very

the lives of stakeholders within the

strong growth for a traditional bank.” To

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :

197

Wane Ng’ambi Title: Chief Digital Banking Officer

Company: Zanaco

Wane Ng’ambi is a seasoned telecommunications and financial services executive with extensive skill sets in sales and distribution, financial services, project management, IT and telecommunications and FMCG experience spanning several African markets. Ng’ambi has held several senior management and executive roles in the Telecommunications and Financial Services industry across Africa including his most recent role at Millicom Group (T/A TIGO) as Regional Director – Sales Distribution and Customer Operations – Africa Market. Prior to joining Millicom, Wane served five years with MTN Zambia as Executive Head, Mobile Financial Service (MFS).

He holds a Graduate Diploma in Information Systems Management, BSc (Hons) Computer Science. w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

powered by

ensure that the implementation of these new technologies is smooth, Ng’ambi explains that the bank has traveled around the country to a number of town halls in order to engage with staff as to identify any pain-points in relation to the changes occurring, as well as how to mitigate them within new strategies. “We are very conscious that digitisation can lead to redundancy and so we take a very active role in the reskilling of our staff and honing new skills as the company transforms,� he says.

The benefits of this digitisation greatly outweigh the challenges and JUNE 2020

“ Banks almost solely examine assets, liabilities and the revenue aspect, but behavior is what results in assets and liabilities and revenue”

in addition to the increase in financial inclusion across the nation, there have been other benefits. “We’re now able to proposition customers more effectively; I can look into a customer’s habits over the course of six months and track his experiences to identify individual or economic changes,” he says. In terms of UX, Zambia’s online banking platform was originally very

— Wane Ng’ambi, CDO, Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco)

traditional in terms of UX, but it has since been upgraded to provide a more seamless and accessible experience for customers. “We created the new platform from a number of focus groups around customer behavior and now it is intuitive, fresh. But this will not be enough,” asserts Ng’ambi. “The platform will continuously develop to ensure that it meets the changing demands of the customer.”

As the bank progresses with its digital transformation, Ng’ambi enthuses that the bank’s focus is now on datacentricity. “I am predominantly a telco player and telcos have also shifted focus on to data. When you cross-pollinate the experiences from different industries, you begin to understand the depth and the wealth of what data can w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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Z A M B I A N AT I O N A L C O M M E R C I A L B A N K ( Z A N A C O )

DIGITAL INCLUSIVITY FOR ALL Mobicom Africa is a BTL marketing and field force agency specialised in mobile and agency banking info@mobicomafrica.com

www.mobicomafrica.com

Mukuba Pension House, Off Dedan Kimathi street, Lusaka, Zambia

actually mean. One of the things that I have understood from my time in both the telecommunications and banking industry is that the tracking of the behavioral patterns of customers is not a strong suit of the latter.” He goes on, “banks almost solely examine assets, liabilities and the revenue aspect, but behavior is what results in assets and liabilities and revenue.”

Moving forward, the goal of Zambia Bank is the culmination of effective data in order to drive assets and liabilities in a more effective way while using AI to better understand this data.

“Things are looking very, very exciting

N G ’A M B I O N T HE BAN K ’S PART N ERS

“I have a number of fintechs, aggregators and multiple traditional core banking solution providers that all assist with different aspects of our operations in a cost effective manner that meets the needs of our end customers efficiently. One company that covers a very notable amount of our requirements is Devshack International, which allows us to pivot quickly to respond to the consumer’s demands as the market starts to shift and change.”

w w w.f in t e c hm a g a z in e . c o m

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for us in the future. We are continuing to drive toward mobile interoperability.”

Ng’ambi shares that they are also looking to move towards the creation of an open digital product marketplace via Open API integrations to their digital platforms. “We’re looking to build a whole ecosystem by adding everyone into one interoperable environment where everyone can play and trade with everyone. From a traditional banking perspective, I think this is relatively strong because all banks are already 202

playing with everybody, but from a mobile perspective, mobile acquirers, mobile issuers, are not doing very

“ Things are looking very, very exciting for us in the future. We are continuing to drive toward mobile interoperability” — Wane Ng’ambi, CDO, Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco)

JUNE 2020

1996

Year founded

$15.mn+ Revenue in US dollars

1,228 Number of employees

well, so this is an area where we’re trying to create an environment that allows everyone to play with everyone.

Mobile is continuing its strong growth and we’re trying to now bridge that gap with banking, so that for us is one key area that we’re going to keep focusing on.” As technology evolves, one thing is for certain: customercentricity will remain at the epicentre of all of Zanaco’s operations.

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