BANQUE SAUDI FRANSI
Mike Cunningham , Chief Strategy & Digital Officer , elaborates on the importance of culture and a local approach in Banque Saudi Fransi ’ s transformation
Mike Cunningham , Chief Strategy & Digital Officer
As practically everyone in the banking sector continues to invest in digital technology , the extent to which a company chooses to focus on culture can often be an important differentiator from the crowd . Better yet , understanding how the latter informs the former ’ s development can lead to breakthrough innovations . Only the most visionary organisations are capable of producing such results , and Banque Saudi Fransi ( BSF ) is positioning itself among this distinctive group .
Established by royal decree in 1977 , BSF was once an affiliate of Crédit Agricole CIB , one of France ’ s largest banks . Since that time it has become Saudi Arabia ’ s secondlargest corporate bank and founded an extensive network that includes four primary offices ( Riyadh [ HQ ], Jeddah , Al-Riyadh , and Al-Khobar ), 84 branches , 563 ATMs , and over 3,000 employees . Emphasising a teambased structure that maintains a simple and customer-centric outlook , the bank prides itself on an agile ability to create big ideas and execute them effectively .
It was this exciting culture that drew Mike Cunningham , Chief Strategy & Digital Officer , to BSF in 2018 . “ The opportunity captivated me ,” he explains . “ Being given the chance to be an agent of genuine change and to be a true intrapreneur was too good to miss .” Responsible for five divisions within the bank - Strategy , Strategy Delivery , Marketing