Strategic and Technology Transformation
Transformation that holds under pressure.
Sustainable change takes more than a sound strategy or a new technology. People, processes, systems, incentives and management priorities have to work together, supported by clear ownership and disciplined implementation.
Technology investment
Start with the business problem, not the technology.
Technology investment should begin with the business problem, not the technology. Every major investment should answer three questions:
- 1What problem are we solving?
- 2What strategic capability are we creating?
- 3What measurable value will result?
Boards should evaluate full lifecycle economics, including a five-year Total Cost of Ownership, against expected benefits in growth, productivity, customer experience, risk and organisational agility, and review realised benefits against the original business case. Process redesign matters as much: technology layered over an inefficient process simply digitises the inefficiency.
Krungsri Bank (MUFG Group), 2019 – 2025
Group strategy and transformation across six ASEAN subsidiaries.
- Group-level leadership for strategy, transformation and governance across six ASEAN banking subsidiaries: Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar.
- De facto Group COO / Transformation Lead for selected subsidiaries, strengthening asset quality, operating models, governance and enterprise performance.
- Led modernisation of lending and collections platforms, overseeing RFPs, vendor selection, implementation governance and execution readiness.
- Active participation in Technology / IT Steering Committees at Hattha Bank (Cambodia), SHB Finance (Vietnam), Home Credit Indonesia and Home Credit Philippines.
Project Sunshine: options and a five-year cost-benefit view
Subsidiaries faced a choice between moving IT services from Europe to Asia, previously managed by the former European owners, or replacing an expensive homegrown core lending system with a more advanced platform. A plan set out the options with a five-year cost-benefit analysis, and priorities were determined with local management, the respective Boards and Krungsri stakeholders. The approach became an integral part of “Project Sunshine”.
A platform evaluation scoring model that was reused
While core lending platforms were being enhanced at Hattha Bank, SHB Finance (now SFinance), Home Credit Philippines and Home Credit Indonesia, a scoring model for platform evaluation was shared and customised by each team. It was well accepted across the Asia Pacific region and continued to be used for later vendor evaluation and selection.
Transformation across institutions
Platforms, operating models and delivery governance.
2013 – 2017
Vision Invest (ACWA Holding)
Restructured governance and performance systems across subsidiaries and holding companies of a USD 30+ billion infrastructure portfolio, and built group-wide governance structures and shared-service platforms that reduced duplication and strengthened controls.
2010 – 2012
AIA
Enterprise accountability for multi-country operations and technology platforms across regulated life insurance, with new product launches through close regulatory engagement and USD 40M in annual budgets managed alongside 22% business growth.
2009 – 2010
Vietnam International Bank
Established the COO/CIO function and governance framework of a USD 3.5B bank, and built a common credit and collections platform for commercial and consumer lending.
2007 – 2009
AIG Retail Bank
Introduced new loan origination, loan management and collections systems and aligned procedures to them, so process changes were reflected in day-to-day execution rather than staying policy-level intentions.
2001 – 2006
Birlasoft (GE)
Owned the P&L for the GE Global Development Center, growing the greenfield operation to USD 100M in annual revenue and 5,000 employees within five years, with delivery across India, Australia and the United States.
2006 – 2007
Perot Systems
Raised global workforce utilisation from 64% to 78% within six months and sat on the Global PeopleSoft HR Executive Steering Committee for the Workforce Management Program rollout.
Strategy to execution
Execution is what makes strategy credible.
Strategy becomes credible only through execution. Boards and management should keep challenging three questions:
- What outcomes are we trying to create?
- Who owns them?
- What is not working and needs to change?
Cross-functional programmes can create widespread participation without clear ownership, and leadership attention tends to decline after launch. Measurable business outcomes, leading indicators, escalation mechanisms and strong feedback loops keep transformation on course.
Get in touch
Let’s Advance the Conversation on Governance and Transformation.
For board leaders, institutional executives, governance professionals, event organisers and collaborators.
Start a conversation