surpass its competitors during the challenging circumstances of COVID- 19 : “ Most organisations , not just banks , had to stop investment , stop hiring , or even let go of staff . Because CBD had that clarity of vision and focus , we did the opposite .”

However , despite its strong culture , which allowed it to weather the onset of COVID-19 , Kimmel makes it clear that the challenge has been no less difficult , “ It was very hard initially ; no bank is naturally set up for a scenario like that .” Through the dedication of its IT and operations teams , CBD was able to make the transition to remote working without any deterioration of its service levels . In fact , reflecting on the effect that the pandemic has had on banking generally , Kimmel goes on to state that coronavirus may have inadvertently spurred on the next wave of both tech and customer service transformation . “ The commonly agreed notion and sentiment now is that COVID-19 has been one of the biggest digitisation boosters we ’ ve seen in a long time , because , all of

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Title : Chief Operating Officer Location : United Arab Emirates

Industry : Banking

Stefan has over 20 years of experience in digital transformation , technology management and innovation with a range of globally leading organisations , including BCG , Oliver Wyman and IBM . Prior to joining CBD , he was the Leader Digital Technology , Financial Services at PwC for the Middle East . Stefan holds a Master ’ s in Business Management from the University of Nuremberg as well as a Master ’ s in Business Administration from the University of Georgia in the US . Joined CBD in Feb . 2020 . fintechmagazine . com