Our cover star Shadman Zafar, Founder & CEO of Vibrant Capital, is building a CIO-led model for enterprise transformation. Vibrant Capital is an operator-led investment and company-building platform focused on scaling AI in the real economy. “We don’t spray investments across hundreds of AI startups. We curate a portfolio with purpose – selecting companies that solve the real mission-critical problems CIOs face in scaling AI adoption.”
FNB: Redefining Data Science in Commercial Banking
We also hear from Yudhvir Seetharam, Chief Analytics Officer at South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) on a data science journey characterised by curiosity, culture and the drive for a competitive edge. “Ours is a holistic approach focusing on the customer,” he explains. “Understanding the context of each customer journey and then using that context so that when we interact with you, we’re able to drive the right conversation with the right customer, at the right time, through the right channel and for the right reason. These ‘five rights’ make our interactions with clients more impactful.”
Virginia Farm Bureau: An Enterprise CIO’s Journey
Shifting focus to the world of insurance at the Virginia Farm Bureau, we spoke withan Enterprise CIO at a complex mission-driven organisation. As he approaches retirement, Patrick (Pat) Caine reflects on his career as a CIO and the centennial of an organisation renowned for resiliency, collaboration, commitment to a greater cause, diversity and service to its members. “In my role as CIO, I’ve always been that person who connects the dots between business needs and technology execution. Virginia Farm Bureau is digitally relevant, collaborative, and well‑positioned for the future.”
Mastercard: Protecting Trust in the Digital Economy
Michele Centemero, EVP Services at Mastercard Europe explains why promoting awareness, stronger collaboration and data-sharing, and continued innovation of payments ecosystems, will be critical in reducing the impact of scams and protecting trust in the digital economy. “The combination of AI, robust identity controls and open banking can help protect consumers from scams, whether across card and account‑to‑account payments or in fraudulent account openings.”
Thales on AI Security: How FinServ’s Budget Priorities Signal a Boardroom Shift
Todd Moore, Global VP – Data Security Products at Thales, reveals why making AI security a boardroom priority today, will help firms position themselves to capture competitive advantage, safeguard customer confidence, and define the future of secure innovation. “Balancing AI’s opportunity and risk means embedding security at every stage, from design to deployment and ongoing monitoring.”
Paymentology: The First Live AI-Agent Payment Is a Test for Credit Infrastructure
Thomas Benjaminsen Normann, Product Director at Paymentology, dissects the future for agentic payments and the progress still to be made. “Agentic payments demand something more granular: a clearer account of who or what acted, under what limits, and with what right to create a liability on the customer’s behalf.”
Also in this issue, we hear from Publicis Sapient, on why asset managers must redesign their enterprise for AI-driven decision intelligence; learn from Bitpace why the most resilient payments infrastructure will be the one with the most adaptability; rank the AI maturity of 12 of the largest payments networks in the latest Evident AI Index; and round up the key FinTech events and conferences across the globe.
Richard Doherty, Head of Wealth & Asset Management, Publicis Sapient, on how asset managers must redesign their enterprise for AI-driven decision intelligence
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The asset management industry is entering a structural inflexion point. The first wave of AI focused on improving productivity through copilots and automation. The next wave will fundamentally reshape how decisions are made, executed, and governed across the enterprise. This is not a technology upgrade. It is an operating model shift.
Despite significant investment, many firms remain trapped in fragmented AI experimentation. A majority are yet to realise meaningful economic returns from AI, not due to lack of capability, but due to a failure to redesign how intelligence is applied across the organisation. The gap between ambition and outcome is not a technology problem. It is a structural one.
From Automation to Decision Intelligence
The industry conversation has evolved. The question is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to scale it across the enterprise. However, most firms are still approaching this challenge through the lens of automation, identifying tasks that can be executed faster or at lower cost. This delivers incremental value, but does not address the underlying constraint: the structure of decision-making within the organisation.
Traditional operating models are built around sequential workflows. Work moves from function to function: research, compliance, operations, and distribution, each dependent on the previous stage. This creates latency, duplication, and fragmentation. Agentic operating models shift the focus from tasks to decisions.
Instead of asking “Which processes can we automate?”, leading firms are asking: “Which decisions can be augmented or owned by intelligent systems?”
This shift enables organisations to move from sequential workflows to parallel decision systems; from human-led analysis to AI-assisted reasoning; from periodic insight to continuous intelligence. The result is not a marginal improvement. It is a step-change in how the enterprise operates.
The Pressures Driving Change
This transformation is not happening in a vacuum. Asset managers face mounting structural pressures: margin compression driven by fee pressure and passive competition; rising operational complexity from regulation and product proliferation; and advisor capacity constraints that limit scalable growth. Agentic operating models directly address all three.
By automating complex workflows, rather than individual tasks, firms can significantly increase advisor and analyst capacity without proportional cost increases. Parallel decision systems reduce the time required to launch products, respond to market events, and deliver client insights. This compresses cycles from months to days. Continuous monitoring of guidelines, portfolios, and operational processes reduces exposure to regulatory breaches and operational failures.
These are not theoretical benefits. They represent measurable improvements in cost-to-serve, time-to-market, and operational resilience.
Not all Intelligence is the Same
To scale AI effectively, organisations must recognise that not all problems require the same type of intelligence. Enterprise AI operates across three distinct layers, and conflating them is one of the primary reasons AI initiatives fail to scale.
Deterministic systems execute predefined rules with complete consistency. They are essential for functions where there is zero tolerance for error, trade validation, settlement processing, and regulatory reporting. If a business outcome must be identical every time, deterministic logic remains the correct approach.
Predictive systems use historical data to forecast outcomes. Applied in areas such as portfolio risk modelling, fraud detection, and client churn prediction, they generate probabilities and insights, but they do not interpret context or make decisions independently.
Agentic systems operate where problems require interpretation, judgment, and contextual understanding, investment guideline interpretation, regulatory document analysis, portfolio insights, and client communication. These systems can reason across complex information, generate insights, and take action within defined boundaries.
The ‘Different but Valid’ Dilemma
A critical challenge in adopting agentic systems is understanding how they behave. Traditional software produces identical outputs. Agentic systems produce reasoned outputs.
This introduces what I call the ‘different but valid’ dilemma. An agent may take a different reasoning path from a human and arrive at a different, but still correct, conclusion. This variability is not an error. It is inherent to reasoning systems.
The real risk lies in hallucination, outputs that are not grounded in data or evidence. Managing this requires organisations to clearly define where variability is acceptable. All AI-driven processes sit on a spectrum: deterministic actions with no variability (trade execution), predictive actions with controlled variability (risk scoring), and agentic actions with higher variability (investment insights).
Leading firms design systems where agents perform reasoning, deterministic systems enforce execution, and humans retain oversight on high-consequence decisions. This balance enables both flexibility and control.
The Operating Model Shift
The most significant change is not technological; it is organisational. Traditional models are built on functional workflows. Agentic models are built on coordinated decision systems.
Consider what launching a new investment product looks like under each model. In a traditional model, it involves sequential handoffs between teams, compliance reviews the guidelines, operations configures the systems, and distribution drafts the client narrative. Each stage waits for the last.
In an agentic model, intelligent systems operate in parallel: compliance agents interpret guidelines, operations agents configure constraints, distribution agents generate client narratives, and governance agents validate outputs. This orchestration compresses timelines, reduces friction, and enables continuous decision-making. It represents a fundamental redesign of how work is performed.
Governance: the Foundation for Trust
Trust is the prerequisite for scaling AI. Without it, adoption stalls, not because the technology fails, but because the organisation cannot adequately explain or defend the decisions it makes.
Leading firms implement governance models built on three principles. First, explainability: every decision must be traceable and auditable. Second, authority boundaries: agents operate within clearly defined limits. Third, human oversight: high-consequence decisions remain under human control.
Regulatory expectations will continue to evolve, but one principle remains constant: organisations must be able to explain how decisions are made.
Scaling AI is a Leadership Challenge
Executives must take a deliberate approach across four areas:
Define the intelligence model: map business problems to deterministic, predictive, or agentic systems.
Build the foundation: invest in data, infrastructure, and orchestration capabilities.
Redesign the operating model: shift from workflows to decision systems.
Implement governance to ensure transparency, control, and compliance.
Start with high-value use cases and expand rapidly across the enterprise. The firms that act now will establish a structural advantage in cost, speed, and decision quality. Those that do not risk being constrained by legacy operating models that cannot scale with the demands of modern markets.
The Question is not if, it is Who
The industry is not simply adopting new technology. It is redefining how decisions are made. The firms that succeed will not be those that deploy AI tools in isolation. They will be those who design the right form of intelligence for each problem, redesign their operating models around intelligent systems, and scale agentic capabilities across the enterprise.
This shift is already underway. The question is no longer whether it will happen. The question is which firms will lead, and which will be forced to follow.
Financial Services Director Arunkumar Gopalakrishnan on how Publicis Sapient is developing the playbook for delivering successful AI-led digital transformations across the financial services landscape
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Publicis Sapient doesn’t sell tools; it delivers human-led, AI-enhanced solutions that blend proprietary platforms with deep industry expertise across global banking. The organisation is shaping the future of financial services by delivering complex digital transformations across continents – from the UK and Southeast Asia to the Middle East and the United States – anchored by a belief that true innovation lies at the intersection of business insight and technological depth.
Publicis Sapient utilises a SPEED philosophy – Strategy, Product, Engineering, Experience and Data. “For us, SPEED isn’t just a framework. It’s the way we align our capabilities to accelerate transformation,” explains Financial Services Director Arunkumar Gopalakrishnan. “My focus is the ‘P’ in that process – Agile Program Management and Product Management; helping clients move from vision to value at pace.”
Transformation at SPEED
During his time with Publicis Sapient, Arunkumar has seen the power of transformation at SPEED on a variety of high-stakes projects: helping a major UK bank launch a digital-only entity on the cloud; partnering with a leading Thai bank to revitalise its mobile-banking experience for a fast-growing, tech-savvy customer base; supporting a sovereign-funded startup bank exploring blockchain for trade finance in collaboration with Microsoft; building a holistic wealth-management platform for a large US custodian bank; and helping another lead the way in AI adoption. These are the type of innovation journeys where Publicis Sapient excels at moving from groundwork to exponential scale.
At the Intersection of Business and Technology
Publicis Sapient excels by fusing two disciplines often treated as separate. “We are at the intersection of business and technology,” explains Arunkumar. “You need deep business acumen to understand client challenges. However, you must have enough technical depth to engage meaningfully with engineering teams. That balance is what enables real problem-solving.”
From fraud prevention to blockchain and digital banking the industry is changing fast,” he notes. “Working with Generative AI today feels like standing on a new frontier. It keeps us on our toes, but it’s also what drives us – to stay relevant, deliver outcomes and connect both worlds of business and technology.”
Meeting the Challenge: Balancing Innovation and Risk
The biggest challenges facing financial services clients are not purely technological. They are structural and cultural. “Banks operate in complex regulatory environments,” notes Arunkumar. “There’s always a tension between innovation and risk management. On one hand, you want the next shiny thing; no one wants to be left behind in the technology race. On the other, you can’t bring something to life without going through the proper regulatory and risk-management controls.”
That balance defines the work Publicis Sapient does. “We are a people + product business,” he says. “Our strength lies in talented people, strong domain understanding, platforms, tools and a culture that says to clients: We have your back; we get it done.”
Many of the firm’s engagements, he explains, involve deep collaboration, experimentation and iteration. “Some of the use cases we take on aren’t easy. We work with partners, we research, we prototype, we unlearn and relearn. Progress in this space is continuous, not linear.”
A Digital Transformation Success Story
Publicis Sapient partnered with a large US Bank to lead digital transformation efforts focused on GenAI implementation and scaling. It worked in collaboration with Google and the Bank to design, build, and adopt GenAI to spur innovation, enhance risk management and improve productivity.
The high-level solution is composed of modular components including a secure GenAI Gateway for LLM access control, RAG framework for contextual retrieval, and Vertex AI integration leveraging Gemini models for high-quality natural language responses.
Delivering the Solution
The solution delivered integrated, repeatable accelerators designed to solve the central business challenges of speed, risk, and control from the ground up.
Publicis Sapient’s Financial Services Director Arunkumar Gopalakrishnan explains how the platform was built upon some core pillars:
Unified LLM Access & Model Context Protocol: “We streamlined the model consumption layer with a foundational gateway, built on a resilient Model Context Protocol (MCP). The MCP acts as an essential abstraction layer, ensuring all data streams, model inputs, and application requests are managed consistently, securely, and in compliance with governance rules.”
Integrated Governance & Security: “We implemented a ‘shift-left’ security approach, embedding continuous guardrails directly into the GenAI pipelines. This pre-processing step, coupled with adversarial testing, proactively minimizes human error, reduces operational risk, and ensures a continuous, audit trail.”
Proprietary Knowledge Grounding (RAG): “The platform enables the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pattern. This involves securely indexing the bank’s vast internal repository of operational knowledge and compliance guides – by using this verified knowledge to ‘ground’ LLM responses, the platform ensures every AI output is based on the bank’s accurate, proprietary data. This successfully mitigates factual errors, minimizes hallucination risk, and protects brand integrity.”
Agent Orchestration (Agentic AI): “Moving beyond simple chat, the platform includes capabilities for managing Agentic AI workflows which greatly improves efficiency. These agents are goal-directed systems that execute multi-step business processes (e.g., investigating a service ticket, performing patching operations etc. with human-in-loop for oversight). This is the crucial layer for end-to-end automation of complex, cross-functional tasks.”
Unified Observability: “The final pillar establishes a system for tracking crucial metricstied to defined business outcomes. This enterprise-level observability framework captures data like response latency, quality, consumption rates etc. This data allows leadership to continuously monitor output quality and reviewing against the standards of accuracy and trustworthiness.”
Realising the Benefits
The positive impact of the work Publicis Sapient is doing includes:
Scalable Framework: Designed as a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model to support future GenAI use cases across the enterprise; agent-driven extensibility enables enhancements with rapid time-to-market deployments.
Accelerated Onboarding: Automates the provisioning process by surfacing relevant documentation, policies, and procedures instantly.
Knowledge Reuse: Leverages existing enterprise knowledge bases to reduce redundancy and improve consistency.
Building with Purpose: From Vision to Scale
At the heart of Publicis Sapient’s transformation philosophy is its Digital Business Transformation Framework. Teams use a playbook to take clients from problem definition to scaled delivery. “It starts with Ignite – understanding the problem and bringing in strategic expertise,” explains Arunkumar. “Then comes Hunt & Shape – identifying and defining value, mapping MVPs and roadmaps. And finally Build & Scale – turning ideas into outcomes by building the right solutions.”
Scaling, he insists, is not only about size but certainty. “You don’t scale right away. You start small – proofs of concept, limited users, experiments and learn fast. Once you know what works, you can accelerate.”
He points to a current AI engagement as an example. “We started with one application hosted on the platform last year. Now we have twenty-plus, and many more coming. Building the foundation took months, but once we understood the landscape, everything else became a fast follower. You develop a playbook, you know the risks, and then it’s about momentum.”
Generative AI: A Catalyst for Reinvention
Few technologies have captured the imagination of financial services like Generative AI. Arunkumar sees its impact as both profound and pragmatic. “While business leaders talk about productivity gains, CIOs are using GenAI to drive measurable productivity and cost efficiency by modernising high-friction IT Service Management processes,” he notes.
Publicis Sapient identifies three areas where the shift is most visible:
Enhanced self-service: Intelligent Virtual Assistants act as the first line of defence. They automate a big chunk of initial inquiries, freeing human agents and improving response times.
IT-agent augmentation: GenAI synthesises ticket histories, diagnoses root causes and drafts expert-level resolutions. It drastically shortens the mean time to Resolution for critical incidents.
Developer velocity: Secure, context-aware coding assistants are improving efficiency, allowing engineers to focus on high-value work.
Publicis Sapient’s next frontier is Agentic AI, where intelligent agents move beyond analysis to orchestration and action. Teams have been testing these systems within IT service environments for major banks. “We started with a simple knowledge-search application,” he recalls. “It consolidated information across multiple systems to provide accurate, high-performance answers.”
From there, Publicis Sapient expanded into process automation. “Imagine an IT engineer under pressure to fix issues fast,” he says. “The knowledge-search tool becomes a force multiplier, identifying root causes instantly. Next, you automate the actions – patching servers, routing tickets, escalating tasks – with a human in the loop for control.” The goal is productivity gains with safety.
Challenges remain – particularly model drift and AI hallucination – but these can be mitigated with rigorous evaluation frameworks. “AI is probabilistic, not deterministic,” says Arunkumar. “You can’t expect one-plus-one to always equal two. That’s why continuous grounding, validation and human oversight are key.”
Innovation in Action: Real-World Use Cases
For Arunkumar, the most exciting part of AI transformation lies in the unexpected. “Some of the best use cases aren’t flashy but support everyday processes that, when optimised, deliver outsized value.”
He describes one example from a banking client: improving the reliability of customer statements. “A bank may send hundreds of thousands of daily communications – statements, notifications, alerts. Sometimes statements fail to send, and by the time customers notice, the issue snowballs into reputational risk.”
AI, he notes, can detect these failures proactively. “If a statement isn’t generated by 7 a.m., the system flags it very soon and resolves it before customers even notice. Predictive AI identifies the anomaly; GenAI drafts the corrective communication for review. It’s small, but it saves time, cost and reputation.”
Such “mundane” use cases, he argues, are where the real transformation happens. “Everyone talks about the big, shiny things. But in complex, regulated environments, it’s the subtle automations that drive consistent outcomes.”
Platforms for the Future
Publicis Sapient’s investment in AI platforms underscores its commitment to innovation. Arunkumar highlights three in particular:
Bodhi, the foundational system for building intelligent agents
Slingshot, designed to accelerate software-development lifecycles
Sustain AI, focused on IT service management and operational resilience
“These are our three-pronged approach to transformation,” he explains. “Each builds on the other – Bodhi as the foundation, Slingshot for velocity, and Sustain AI for long-term stability. And there’s more in the pipeline…”
Culture, Collaboration and the Power of Small Wins
For all the technology involved, Arunkumar insists transformation ultimately depends on people. “In any transformation, you work with stakeholders who have competing priorities,” he says. “The key is to focus on agreements first – find small wins and move forward. Progress builds trust.”
Publicis Sapient is a people + product business where Arunkumar encourages his teams to balance ambition with empathy. “If a meeting is contentious, end with one thing agreed. Take the rest next time. Transformation isn’t about forcing alignment; it’s about building it. We tell our clients, and our teams, ‘We have your back’. That trust is what makes complex programs succeed.”
Looking Ahead: Building Expertise and Depth
The focus for 2026, and beyond, is on cultivating deep, dual-disciplinary expertise. “Our teams sit between business and technology,” he explains. “You must be good at both. No one can master all financial services, it’s too vast, but you can specialise. Pick a niche within key areas – asset management, wealth, retail banking, corporate banking, payments, financial crime – and become excellent at it.”
At the same time, he urges his teams to stay curious about technology. “Even if you’re not implementing solutions yourself, you need to understand them and speak the same language as engineers and architects. That’s how collaboration works.”
Continuous learning, he believes, is non-negotiable. “There’s so much information out there – training, communities, conversations. We just need to channel it, understand the basics and keep moving forward.”
Transformation: A Continuous Journey
At Publicis Sapient transformation is never static. “We don’t fix something once and move on,” he says. “We think, test, learn, and build again. You must define the real problem before you solve it, validate your progress and inspire others to see the vision.”
Purpose and persistence turn complexity into clarity for Publicis Sapient’s clients. “The journey is continuous,” says Arunkumar with characteristic calm. “But that’s what makes it exciting. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn, collaborate and move forward – one small win at a time.”
Our cover star Scott Gunther, General Partner at IAG Firemark Ventures, reveals how the company is bringing powerful investments to…
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Our cover star Scott Gunther, General Partner at IAG Firemark Ventures, reveals how the company is bringing powerful investments to life to transform the ways insurance is delivered.
Scott Gunther, General Partner at IAG Firemark Ventures, tells FinTech Strategy how the company is championing key InsurTech investments to transform how insurance is delivered.
“We realised that if we were going to bring the best of the outside world in, we needed to be a truly global CVC.”
Publicis Sapient
Financial Services Director Arunkumar Gopalakrishnan tells us how Publicis Sapient is developing the playbook for delivering successful AI-led digital transformations across the financial services landscape.
“Working with Generative AI today feels like standing on a new frontier. It keeps us on our toes, but it’s also what drives us – to stay relevant, deliver outcomes and connect both worlds of business and technology.”
Techcombank
Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, PC Chakravarti reveals the operating model, Data & AI foundations, culture and talent playbook, and the partnerships turning ambition into market leading outcomes at Techcombank in Asia.
“Tech is not the limiting factor – it’s about supporting people and talent to leverage capabilities to enhance business models.”
CIBC Caribbean
Deputy CIO Trevor Wood explains how CIBC Caribbean is blending technology, culture, and customer-centricity to deliver seamless digital experiences across the region with a ‘Future Faster’ strategy.
“We want to lead in every market we operate, build maturity across our practices and be architects of a smarter financial future for all.”
Nationwide
Dan Wilson, Head of Customer Journey at the trusted mutual, reveals the strategic ambition driving payments innovation to modernise Nationwide’s platform delivering a resilient and secure financial future for customers across the UK.
“We’re seeking to modernise the Society’s core infrastructure but also build the tools and features our customers need to help them manage their money and payments.”
Chief Information Officer, Jan Bouwer, explores the work Alexforbes has undertaken to modernise and expand its financial services for its 1.2 million members and retail customers alike. “Alexforbes can now engage its 1.2 million members more directly, offering a wider range of services.”
Dave Murphy, Head of Financial Services EMEA & APAC at Publicis Sapient, on unlocking data to unleash the intelligence with AI
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In today’s financial services landscape, the promise of artificial intelligence is everywhere… Hyper personalisation, intelligent automation, real-time insights, and AI-assisted customer experiences. But here’s the truth: AI doesn’t run on ambition. It runs on data.
If your customer and transactional data remains locked inside monolithic core systems, even the most sophisticated AI will underdeliver. The most effective path to AI-powered transformation isn’t a complete rebuild of your core – it’s strategic decomposition. By making high-quality data available in near real-time to your channels and platforms, banks can unlock AI’s full potential without overhauling their entire architecture.
At Publicis Sapient, we believe unlocking your data is the critical enabler for harnessing the full value of AI across the financial enterprise. It is no longer necessary to completely rebuild your core infrastructure. Instead, what’s required is strategic decomposition of monolithic systems to ensure near real-time data availability to your channels and AI applications.
The Data Access Conundrum
Banks are acutely aware that their legacy systems create data silos. Research reveals that 70% of banks’ IT budgets are still spent on maintaining legacy systems. Moreover, more than half cite the limitations of their core as the primary barrier to transformation.
Despite a shared recognition of the need to change, many institutions remain hesitant, concerned by the perceived complexity, cost and risk of restructuring their data architecture and overhauling foundational platforms. But this hesitation comes at a cost. As customers demand more personalised and seamless experiences, and digital challengers launch AI-enabled services at speed, traditional institutions risk falling behind.
Why Data Accessibility Unlocks AI’s Potential
The simple truth is: AI cannot thrive in isolation. It needs high-quality, accessible, and timely data. It needs customer and transactional information that’s available near real-time. And it needs a composable, event-driven architecture where data can flow freely across customer journeys and operational workflows.
Decomposing monolithic core banking systems enables all of this. By creating strategic APIs and data layers, banks can liberate critical information from legacy platforms and make it available to AI-powered services without the need for complete core replacement. In our work with leading banks globally, we’ve seen accessible data unlock:
1:1 personalisation at scale
Real-time fraud detection and risk modelling
AI-assisted customer onboarding and service
Automation across lending, compliance and operations
This is not theoretical. It’s already happening. In one engagement, we helped a regional bank transform its operating model via a phased core modernisation programme – delivering a one-to-one return on investment over five years by shifting from reactive IT spend to proactive value creation through accessible data.
Progressive, Not Paralysing
One of the biggest myths around core modernisation is that it requires a disruptive, ‘big bang’ transformation. That’s no longer the case. Advances in architecture, engineering tools, and AI-powered development platforms – such as our own Sapient Slingshot – now make it possible to modernise progressively and liberate critical data, rather than rebuilding everything from scratch.
Techniques like multi-core routing, event-driven orchestration and domain-driven design allow banks to gradually make customer and transactional data available near real-time to channels and AI applications – all without jeopardising day-to-day operations or requiring full core replacement.
Reorienting Around Data and People
Technology alone is not enough. Successful transformation requires a cultural shift – one that reorients the organisation around data, agility, and human outcomes. The future-ready bank is not only AI-enabled but data-led and human-centric.
By unlocking and democratising data through modern architecture, banks can power everything from predictive decision-making to better colleague collaboration. We are already seeing leading firms embed AI into their customer and employee journeys. Not as add-ons, but as integral parts of reimagined experiences built on liberated data.
The Future Belongs to the AI-Enabled
As AI capabilities continue to evolve, the divide between data-rich and data-poor, and AI-enabled and AI-limited institutions will widen. The leaders will be those that treat transformation not just as a technical challenge, but as a strategic imperative – reshaping how they operate, compete and serve.
Now is the time to act. Unlocking your data through strategic core modernisation is no longer a question of ‘if’, but ‘how’. Because in the age of AI, the intelligence of your bank will only ever be as strong as the data it can access and learn from, and ultimately the systems that underpin it.
Find out more from Publicis Sapient about core modernisation here
Dave Murphy, Head of Financial Services EMEA & APAC at Publicis Sapient, on why retail banking is at an important crossroads and must react
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Retail banking stands at a pivotal juncture. As digital-first generations reshape customer expectations and competitive pressure from FinTechs and neobanks intensifies, traditional banks face a critical choice: modernise now or risk obsolescence. Publicis Sapient’s latest Global Banking Benchmark Retail Banking Report underscores that “digital by default” is no longer an aspiration. It’s an immediate necessity.
Drawing on insights from 600 retail banking executives across 13 countries, the report highlights a convergence of transformative forces… The accelerated adoption of Gen AI, the decline of legacy IT infrastructure, and an urgent need to reimagine customer engagement for a younger, mobile-first demographic.
Digital or Die: A Defining Moment
Retail banking has been evolving for over two decades, but the stakes have never been higher. In Q1 2025, JPMorgan Chase reported a net income of $14.6 billion, up 9% year-over-year. This was driven by robust trading revenues and investment banking fees. Meanwhile, UK neobanks are making significant strides. Revolut achieved a net profit of $1.0 billion in 2024, marking its first billion-dollar annual profit, with revenues soaring 72% to $4.0 billion. Monzo also reported its first full year of profitability, posting a pre-tax profit of £15.4 million and doubling its revenue to £880 million.
Despite these advancements, 62% of retail banking executives admit their pace of transformation lags behind competitors. This isn’t a minor delay – it’s a strategic disadvantage in a market where 44% of new currents accounts are already being opened with digital banks and FinTechs.
Gen AI: Catalyst and Compulsion
Among all the changes underway, generative AI has emerged as the most powerful and potentially disruptive force. According to the benchmark study, data and AI are the top investment areas for digital transformation over the next three years. Executives are betting big on AI not only to improve customer engagement but also to modernise operations and accelerate core transformation. The impact of Gen AI in banking is tangible. It can:
Personalise customer journeys at scale
Accelerate software development lifecycles
Write code and automate data management
Deliver hyper-relevant product recommendations
Power AI agents with human-like customer service abilities
In short, Gen AI makes what was once prohibitively expensive and time-consuming not only possible but scalable.
The banking customer has changed
The report makes it clear: retail banks must stop building for yesterday’s customer. Gen Z, who will make up one-third of the workforce by 2030, already prefer mobile-first, always-on banking. They value immediacy, customisation, and authenticity. A staggering 83% of Gen Z consumers say they are frustrated with current bank processes.
Compounding this generational shift is the growing irrelevance of traditional customer segmentation. Today’s consumers defy linear categorisation. The same individual can be a small business owner, a parent, and a new homeowner. Yet banks often treat them as three separate customers because of product-centric data silos.
The core problem with legacy thinking
Legacy systems continue to be the biggest barrier to meaningful transformation. 70% of banking executives say their legacy infrastructure is hindering their ability to deliver the digital experiences customers expect. Many core systems are COBOL-based and nearing end-of-life. Yet banks are reluctant to modernise due to perceived risk and complexity.
The irony is clear: the risk of maintaining outdated systems now outweighs the risk of change. With Gen AI, banks finally have the tools to confront the 800-pound gorilla in the room – core modernisation.
Why Core Modernisation is the linchpin
Modernising the core is about more than infrastructure. It’s the key to unlocking the full value of AI, data, and digital transformation. A modern, cloud-native core enables:
Real-time access to first-party and third-party data
Agile delivery through microservices
Better governance and regulatory transparency
Faster go-to-market with new apps and services
Retail banks that modernise their core can stop building costly middleware just to access data. Instead, they gain a unified view of the customer and the agility to respond to banking market shifts in real time.
The virtuous cycle of AI and Core
What’s truly powerful is the feedback loop between Gen AI and a modernised core. Gen AI helps accelerate the core transformation by generating code, automating testing, and streamlining documentation. Once modernised, that core then enhances Gen AI’s capabilities with clean, structured data. This virtuous cycle creates exponential value, making digital transformation faster, cheaper, and more sustainable.
Retail banks are already allocating 35% of their customer experience digital transformation budgets to Gen AI. Furthermore, many are embedding AI across the entire software development lifecycle using tools like Sapient Slingshot to reduce human error, increase test coverage, and ship better code faster.
From Product-Centric to People-Centric banking
Ultimately, the report urges retail banks to shift from a product-centric to a people-centric mindset. That means designing experiences around life moments, not product categories. It means knowing that the mortgage customer is also a small business owner and a parent, and offering solutions that reflect that reality.
With modern core systems and Gen AI, banks can personalise outreach, tailor financial advice, and meet customers where they are. This holistic view is essential not only for growth but also for loyalty.
The era of deferral is over. Banks can no longer afford to delay core transformation. Gen AI has lowered the cost, reduced the complexity, and increased the speed of change. The only question left is whether banks are ready to lead or risk falling behind.
Publicis Sapient is working at the intersection of Gen AI and core modernisation every day… Helping banks link strategy to execution and deliver on the full promise of digital transformation. The future of retail banking isn’t coming – it’s already here. The time to act is now.
MoneyLIVE Summit 2025: A stellar combination of thought leadership, cutting-edge technology showcases and unparalleled networking opportunities
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The MoneyLIVE Summit 2025, held on March 10th-11th at London’s Business Design Centre, once again positioned itself as one of the most significant events in the banking and financial services industry. With over 1,500 attendees, 200+ speakers, and an agenda packed with insights on digital transformation, AI-driven innovation, and payment advancements, the event delivered a comprehensive overview of the future of financial services.
As one of Europe’s most influential FinTech and banking conferences, MoneyLIVE Summit attracted executives from leading institutions, including HSBC, Revolut, Standard Chartered, Barclays, Google, and Mastercard, providing attendees with unparalleled networking opportunities and deep dives into the latest industry developments.
The 2025 edition of MoneyLIVE Summit focused on several key themes within the financial sector, including:
AI and Automation in Banking
The Future of Payments and Open Banking
Sustainability and ESG in Finance
The Evolution of Embedded Finance
Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention
Modernising Legacy Systems
AI and Automation: The Next Frontier
One of the most anticipated discussions centredd on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation in Financial Services. Keynote speakers such as Taylan Turan (CEO, Retail Banking, HSBC) and Francesca Carlesi (CEO, Revolut UK) highlighted how AI is revolutionising customer interactions, risk assessments, and fraud detection.
A standout panel featured representatives from Google Cloud, Lloyds Banking Group, and Monzo, discussing the ethical implications of AI-driven banking and how institutions can balance efficiency with regulatory compliance. The consensus? AI is no longer a futuristic concept but an operational necessity.
On the opening day we spoke with Tim Mason, Managing Director for Artificial Intelligence at Deutsche Bank, and Publicis Sapient VP Jan-Willem Weggemans, about the rise of Agentic AI. Look out for this feature in the May edition of FinTech Strategy Magazine. Publicis Sapient also hosted an AI Champions Meet Up.
The Future of Payments and Open Banking
With open banking continuing to disrupt traditional financial models, this year’s summit included multiple sessions on its evolution. Speakers from Visa, Mastercard and Stripe explored how real-time payments and digital wallets are reshaping the customer experience.
One of the most engaging sessions was on CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) and the impact of digital currencies on global trade. Representatives from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank provided valuable insights into regulatory developments and the long-term feasibility of CBDCs in mainstream banking.
Sustainability and ESG in Finance
The financial industry’s role in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives was another critical theme. With growing investor interest in sustainable finance, executives from Barclays, NatWest, and BlackRock discussed how banks can integrate ESG principles into lending and investment strategies.
A major highlight was a fireside chat with Ana Botín, Executive Chairman of Santander Group, who emphasised the need for banks to take the lead in financing climate action while maintaining profitability. She stressed that FinTech innovation must align with sustainability goals to drive real change.
Notable Speakers & Thought Leadership
MoneyLIVE Summit 2025 featured an impressive lineup of speakers, including CEOs, policymakers, and FinTech pioneers. Notable names included:
Francesca Carlesi (CEO, Revolut UK) – Discussed the role of challenger banks in redefining customer expectations.
Taylan Turan (CEO, Retail Banking, HSBC) – Spoke about how traditional banks must adapt to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.
Saif Malik (CEO, UK, Standard Chartered Bank) – Shared insights on the rise of embedded finance and its impact on global banking.
Anne Boden (Founder, Starling Bank) – Highlighted the impact of neobanks on legacy banking institutions.
Google Cloud & AWS Representatives – Covered AI’s growing role in fraud prevention and customer engagement.
Lee McNabb (Head of Payment Strategy, NatWest) – Shared views on modernising core payment architecture for the long term.
The diversity of perspectives provided attendees with a well-rounded understanding of the industry’s challenges and opportunities in the coming years.
MoneyLIVE Networking & Attendee Experience
Networking has always been a key highlight of MoneyLIVE Summit, and the 2025 edition did not disappoint. The event provided ample opportunities for professionals to connect, with dedicated networking zones, private meeting areas, and an exclusive VIP lounge for C-level executives.
The FinTech Startup Village was a must-visit area, showcasing some of the most innovative fintech startups in Europe. Several emerging companies, specializing in AI-driven financial advisory, blockchain-based payments, and RegTech solutions, presented their groundbreaking products.
A standout initiative was the Women in Finance Roundtable, which focused on fostering greater gender diversity in leadership roles within the financial industry. Featuring influential female leaders from Citi, JPMorgan, and Monzo, the discussion encouraged actionable steps towards inclusivity and representation. Publicis Sapient also hosted a networking session on Celebrating Women in Finance.
Exhibition & Innovation Showcase
The exhibition hall was bustling with activity, featuring booths from major players like IBM, Microsoft, Accenture, and Salesforce, as well as FinTech disruptors showcasing cutting-edge solutions. Attendees had the opportunity to experience hands-on product demos, including AI-powered chatbots, biometric authentication for secure banking, and blockchain-based smart contract platforms.
One of the most talked-about innovations was Quantum Computing in Financial Services, presented by IBM. Experts explored how quantum computing could enhance complex financial modelling, risk analysis, and fraud detection, potentially transforming the industry in the next decade.
Key Takeaways & Industry Impact
MoneyLIVE Summit reaffirmed its reputation as a forward-thinking, insightful event that brings together the brightest minds in finance and technology. Some of the key takeaways included:
AI is mainstream – Banks and fintech firms must embrace AI-driven solutions to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
Payments are evolving rapidly – With open banking, digital wallets, and real-time payments on the rise, banks need to innovate or risk being left behind.
Cybersecurity remains a top priority – With increased digital transactions, fraud prevention and regulatory compliance are more critical than ever.
Sustainability cannot be ignored – ESG-focused financial strategies are no longer optional but a necessity for long-term growth and investor confidence.
Embedded Finance is the future – Traditional banks and fintechs must collaborate to integrate financial services seamlessly into everyday life.
MoneyLIVE: The Verdict
MoneyLIVE Summit 2025 lived up to expectations, delivering a stellar combination of thought leadership, cutting-edge technology showcases and unparalleled networking opportunities. For professionals in banking, payments, fintech, or regulatory compliance, this event provided invaluable insights into the industry’s trajectory.
The only potential downside? With so many high-quality sessions running simultaneously, attendees had to make tough choices about which discussions to prioritise. However, the availability of on-demand session recordings meant that all the key insights attendees need were available.
With an impressive lineup of speakers, a strong focus on industry trends, and excellent networking opportunities, MoneyLIVE Summit remains a must-attend event for financial professionals looking to stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape.
Jan-Willem Weggemans, Vice President, Commercial Payments Lead at Publicis Sapient on the outlook for payments modernisation
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The payments industry is transforming rapidly, driven by customer demand shifts, regulatory developments and technological advances. Payments players need a tailored innovation approach for each value opportunity, based on their strategic position and ambition and each driver of change.
Understanding the drivers of payments modernisation
Driven by technological advancements, shifting customer expectations and regulatory developments, banks and financial institutions must adapt their offerings. They must modernise their payments to remain competitive in this ever-evolving landscape as we start this new year.
Customers expect real-time, seamless and personalised payment experiences that are now standard expectations across financial services. Not only that, but users are demanding frictionless cross-border transactions, alongside advanced features like biometric authentication.
Massive advances in technological capabilities drive customer expectations. Cloud computing, data platforms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable faster, scalable, resilient, and more secure payment solutions. These enable opportunities to innovate customer propositions and experiences. Moreover, supporting the modernisation of processes and technologies can lower costs and improve resilience.
Regulatory developments are a key factor. From new (instant) payments schemes to ISO standards to KYC/AML requirements, there is an ongoing need to change/modernise the payments operating model. And possibly innovate client solutions.
For these reasons, legacy banks can struggle with the pace of change and inefficiencies. Including enabling FinTech disruptors to gain a competitive advantage. So, how can banks examine these learnings and implement better change?
Progressive modernisation and the impact of GenAI
Banks and financial institutions can take a tailored approach to payment innovation and modernisation. In all of these approaches, modernising an incumbent player with significant legacy challenges is generally a process of progressive modernisation. Big bang approaches and the building of neo banks to move a legacy bank forward have generally not delivered success.
Progressive modernisation enables a bank to move in a controlled way from the legacy to the modern state. This requires running the legacy and modern services in parallel. Meanwhile, the integration is enabled by decoupling the hardwired systems top and bottom (integration and data). Only then can you spin up the modern enterprise and core services and progressively direct more clients/transactions/products over the new stack.
Progressive modernisation is becoming more attractive and suitable for many clients. Furtherore, GenAI can materially alter the cost and duration of these programs, offering lower risk and a significantly improved business case. With new and innovative solutions that utilise GenAI at their core, the whole journey can be greatly accelerated. Including Legacy system discovery, Target state design, Backlog creation, and Building and Testing.
Three key approaches when facing the need to modernise Payments
Payments players are facing an ongoing modernisation need, driven by changing client behaviours, technology innovation and regulatory activism.
Broadly, we recognise three approaches to payment modernisation, including:
Fix the edge – either top of the stack or bottom, a small fix, without touching 90% of the existing tech.
Incremental uplift – installing a modern solution (but not fully end-to-end). For example, a new core system for a set of products/customers.
Move to native build – setting steps on the progressive modernisation journey, after investing in decoupling the hardwired legacy systems.
To select the right approach, we consider two key factors: the event and the players. The event looks at the size of the opportunity (or materiality of the threat) and the size/complexity of the change. The player looks at the performance of the existing operating model, whether payments are core, and whether the ambition is to be a leader in payments or to be part of the majority of players.
How a player’s participation strategy drives modernisation choices. A client offers white label card processing services, and in their market, they need to offer the most modern solution and lead with modern technology, AI, and embedded compliance/risk solutions. A major incumbent bank decided to invest primarily in customer value propositions, driving value from the broader client relationship. The bank opted for a processing-as-a-service model when it needed to modernise the processing platform.
Looking at the two extreme options, we see that fixing the edge works well for players where payments are not core, when they do not need to be the first mover, or when their existing operating model is performing well. From an event perspective, it fits when the opportunity is small and/or the change is minor in effort and complexity.
At the other end of the spectrum, moving on the journey to native build is most suited for players where payments are core. Where they want to be the first mover in the market, and where the existing operating model is facing major challenges. From an event perspective, it is more suited when the event supports a significant value opportunity (or threat to the business) and requires a significant change.
Making payments progress real
Many new payment options, including A2A payments and instant payments, offer incremental benefit cases for many players. These are not large enough to kick off the incremental modernisation journey. Thus, most players will opt for a “fix the edge” or “incremental” modernisation approach and wait for another event for a full modernisation.
Regarding regulation. The new ISO20022 standard is due to come into full force in November 2025. However, less than a third of messages were exchanged using the new standard in late 2024. An often cited reason for delays in implementing regulatory changes is the edge approach replanning required to keep up with the evolving set of rules regarding the ISO standards. The evolving set of rules is inevitable, as the regulator is responding to market experiences and feedback from trying to implement the initial rules set. Thus, in regulatory change with this level of impact, a cloud-native approach would be better, enabling a more nimble/agile response to continuous changes.
What is the next move?
Faced with the inevitable need to invest in payments, we suggest taking a portfolio approach and looking 2-3 years ahead when evaluating individual modernisation events. And your strengths/weaknesses and strategy. Modernisation is not just a technical upgrade but a strategic enabler that can drive efficiency, resilience, and innovation. You can ensure that each modernisation effort contributes to a cohesive, future-ready payments ecosystem by aligning your investments with long-term business goals. This approach will help you avoid costly short-term fixes. And build a scalable, agile infrastructure that supports evolving customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and competitive pressures.
Zachary Scott, Managing Director at Publicis Sapient on Buy Now Pay Later demand in the UK and the changing nature of CX in 2025 and beyond…
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In the dynamic world of consumer Embedded Finance, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have become a game-changer. They offer shoppers greater flexibility and convenience. BNPL allows consumers to make immediate purchases while spreading payments over time, often without interest. Its popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic. Fuelled by the e-commerce surge, it continues to play a pivotal role in shopping habits. Recent surveys reveal that 39% of U.S. consumers plan to use BNPL within the next six months.
This growth isn’t confined to the U.S. It’s a global phenomenon. U.S. fintech giant Affirm recently launched its BNPL services in the UK, marking its first international expansion. Affirm selected the UK due to strong demand from merchants eager to incorporate flexible payment options into their offerings.
The BNPL boom reflects a broader trend in Embedded Finance, which integrates financial services seamlessly into non-financial interactions. BNPL, for instance, embeds financing directly into the retail experience. This allows consumers to access payment plans as part of their shopping journey. This integration simplifies the traditionally separate processes of purchasing and financing, creating a smoother, more user-friendly experience.
Optimising customer experience for Embedded Finance
The value case for Embedded Finance is based on this seamless customer experience and the opportunities it offers to enhance the services offered. Partner companies are able to provide financial services without having to maintain extensive and complex financial infrastructure, leveraging technology to facilitate these offerings instead.
Already, several opportunities are emerging that are poised to propel the growth of embedded finance into new sectors and applications. Banks and retailers should be prepared to seize opportunities from embedded insurance products, embedded wallets in non-financial apps, and new forms of embedded lending that go beyond the existing BNPL instalment model.
Consolidating Services
However, to succeed in this next phase, financial service providers and their partners will have to keep pace with and be ready to adapt to changing consumer preferences and requirements. Staying ahead of the curve takes more than just improving individual interactions. It involves curating a comprehensive journey that aligns with consumers’ expectations for simplicity, transparency, and flexibility. People are increasingly seeking a mobile-first platform that caters to both their financial and non-financial needs in a single, unified space. Driving further consolidation of customer journeys through Embedded Finance is likely to be a critical strategy for industry leaders in the next wave of adoption.
Advancements in open banking protocols and the rise of new FinTech ventures are setting the stage for more integrated financial and non-financial services, further blurring the boundaries between these two traditionally distinct customer journeys. Emerging trends in Generative AI and conversational banking will also contribute to the enhanced customer experience. These technologies are set to shape consumer expectations, with more and more people looking to access support and services through conversational experiences. Embedded Finance is no exception.
New Opportunities
For financial service providers, embracing these trends opens myriad possibilities. Leading the charge in Embedded Finance can contribute to customer acquisition, generate direct revenue from the new services offered, and enable cross-selling of other financial products.
For partners within the Embedded Finance ecosystem, the opportunities are equally substantial. As well as driving Net Promoter Score (NPS), they can unlock new referral or commission-based revenue streams.
It’s clear that the future of consumer finance is deeply linked to the progress of Embedded Finance. As more offerings beyond BNPL emerge, the boundary between financial services and non-financial experiences can become increasingly blurred. For providers and partners ready to embrace this change and leverage it to meet evolving customer needs, this represents a substantial opportunity.
FinTech Strategy and Interface joined Publicis Sapient at Money20/20 in Amsterdam for the launch of its third annual Global Banking Benchmark Survey and spoke with Head of Financial Services Dave Murphy about its findings
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The third annual Global Banking Benchmark Study from Publicis Sapient draws on insights from 1000+ senior executives in financial services across global markets. The study focuses on the goals, obstacles, and drivers of digital transformation in banking.
Global Banking Benchmark Study
The study was launched during Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam last month. Eoghan Sheehy, Associate MD, and Grace Ge, Senior Principal, highlighted the banking industry is focused on improving existing processes rather than introducing new ones. Data Analytics and AI are identified as key priorities for digital transformation. Additionally, there is a focus on internal use cases and efficiency.
Eoghan and Grace also discussed the challenges faced by the banking industry. These include regulation, competition from companies like Amazon, and the need to attract talent. They emphasised the importance for financial institutions of modernising core infrastructure. Also, building cloud infrastructure to support ongoing digital transformation. Moreover, the study notes the prevalence of the development of custom-made tools and internal use cases for AI implementation. Furthermore, Eoghan and Grace provided examples of repeatable use cases and discussed the success factors for Data Analytics and AI.
Four key takeaways from Publicis Sapient
Four key tracks came out of the study…
Modernising the core will always be important. But modernising the core for its own sake and also building the cloud infrastructure that supports it or allows for it to be modern. A decent chunk of the survey responders are still very focused on this. Executives are stating they want to make sure their people can make the best use of the beautiful core they’ve now built.
GenAI is an area of thoughtful experimentation for the Neobanks. We’re talking about scaled microservices here. Instances where, across Neobanks, you’ll have the same machine learning model and the same GenAI text generator facilitating retail and SMEs. That’s pretty sophisticated and something everyone has to contend with.
Data Analytics transformation is a key priority using GenAI to do so along with bringing new talent into the game.
Payments has been a big theme at Money20/20… We’re seeing lots of activity around ancillary individual product areas.
“The study focuses on how to think about solving problems end-to-end. Banks are dealing with legacy issues and taking a customer first view into solving the challenges. The practical application of AI across the banks is a significant theme as they look to automate decision-making and deliver better credit risk models. AI is finally delivering a set of use cases that truly can impact the way banks operate and build their own technology.” Dave Murphy, Head of Financial Services, EMEA & APAC
Be among the first to receive the study by signing up here
Publicic Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz reflects on the leadership strategies required for successful digital business transformations
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The hardest part of being a business leader and CEO – especially leading through change – are the choices we make every day to move toward that will drive our future success. Often, this will mean letting go of things that made us successful in the past. We must make room for new skills, relationships, ways of working, and opportunities.
The average CEO has 30 years of business experience and makes decisions based on that accumulated experience. But think how much the world has changed in the space of five years, let alone 30. The same thinking and approach are not going to stand the test of time. The modern CEO needs to find and maintain the ability to turn preconceived ideas on their head. As a leader, I’ve always felt it’s important that I adopt the behaviours I advise for our clients. Leaders must be willing to learn, adapt and act with speed.
The Modern CEO
The modern CEO has a complicated, bordering on paradoxical, relationship with change. We dislike uncertainty and volatility, and yet we have an intense distaste for stasis. We would rather avoid geopolitical instability and macroeconomic challenges. However, changes to customer needs, shifting industry landscapes and rapid technological innovation bring opportunities to transform our companies. We must identify paths to value creation and growth, and build better, more efficient businesses. And, the reality is for today’s CEOs, you don’t get to pick one or the other. You have to be ready to lead your organisation in the context of both simultaneously. Leading through either type of change is not for the faint of heart.
In my role as CEO of Publicis Sapient – a digital business transformation company that partners with organisations globally to help them create and sustain competitive advantage – my relationship with change is amplified. I am responsible for driving growth and ensuring our business capabilities are optimised for the digital age. At the same time I’m leading a business that empowers our clients to embrace change by putting digital at the core of how they think, organise and operate. On the Executive Committee of our parent company, Publicis Groupe, I am also weighing in on how to lead on the digital business transformation of the Groupe. This has been accelerated this past year with the pace of AI.
Change Management
The nexus of these different aspects of my CEO role is not uncommon to many of the CEO clients we work with. Like myself, they are leading their organisations and people through a period of tremendous change. Furthermore, they are tasked with making decisions daily on choices that will impact the direction and outcomes for their company.
One of the most critical choices they will make is determining the purpose of their organisation. When there is so much change and challenge surrounding you, the easy path is to react and say, ‘How do I overcome each of these challenges?’ But first you have to be clear on who you are as an organisation and the impact you want to have. Without that sense of direction, you can very easily fall into the mistake of making disconnected, reactive decisions.
Welcome to the latest issue of CEOstrategy where we highlight the challenges and opportunities that come with ‘the’ leadership role
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Our cover story focuses on the work of Nigel Vaz, the CEO of Publicis Sapient – a digital business transformation company that partners with organisations globally to help them create and sustain competitive advantage – and his approach to change management.
Welcome to the latest issue of CEOstrategy!
Tasked with accelerating business growth, while building the synergies across an organisation that can drive innovation to meet diverse customer needs and keep revenues on track, the modern CEO must be mentor, marshall and motivator on the journey to success.
“I lead Publicis Sapient with a set of principles to keep me on track, and which I offer to fellow CEOs as a guide,” says CEO Nigel Vaz. “Embrace change, and view challenges as opportunities for growth and innovation; Foster a culture of continuous learning within yourself and your organisation; Advance the organisational capabilities that will enable your company to deliver on your brand promise; Adopt a data-driven approach to decision-making, utilising analytics and advanced technologies and Stay rooted in purpose to realise your competitive advantage.”
EMCS: Leading a small fish making a big impact
“If you look after your people and you have the right people in place, the customer experience takes care of itself,” explains EMCS Industries CEO Trevor Tasker. “A lot of entrepreneurs say the same, but you don’t always see it in action. If I have to micromanage somebody, I’ve made a hiring mistake. When I’ve found the right person, all I have to do is support them and trust them. If I can’t trust them, I can’t lead them. And being trusted makes my employees so much better at their jobs. It makes choosing the customers you deal with very important as well…”
Moneypenny: People at the heart
We are consistently listed in the best places to work rankings and have created a happy and fun working environment,” says Moneypenny CEO Joanna Swash. “We strive to be authentic, and that starts at the top. If the leadership team walks the walk and talks the talk, then trust is built. Trust fosters a culture where employees are motivated, engaged and empowered with a culture of transparency and honesty…”
Bupa: Choice, care and compassion driving digital transformation
“In a fast-changing world, it’s essential that we harness the power of technology to keep improving health outcomes for our customers,” says Global & UK CEO Carlos Jaureguizar of the digital transformation journey helping Bupa become the world’s most customer-centric healthcare company. “We give our people the tools to give customers the best care, streamline the customer experience and drive innovation.”
Also in this issue, we hear from Rachel Youngman, Deputy CEO at the Institute of Physics, on how organisations can leverage ESG targets to meet the Net Zero challenge; we get the lowdown on a fintech success story from RTGS.global CEO Jarrad Hubble; discover the importance of Strategic Thinking with Institute for Management Development Professor Michael Watkins and count down ten reasons why integrity is key to business success with Serenity In Leadership CEO Thom Dennis.
