The Transformation of the Digital Banking Chief Information Officer (CIO)

As banking presumes to a new era, the era of digital banking, the CIO (Chief Information Officer) also has to adjust. Today’s CIO in the banking industry is expected to acquire new skills and assume new responsibilities while fostering internal collaboration and creating a start-up culture.

Cognizant conducted a survey of 50 banking CIOs, to see how CIOs partner with other department heads while integrating digital business capabilities into their organizations. Interestingly, 45% of CIOs lead the change, followed by CEOs and CMO; 70% of CIOs identified organizational culture as the primary obstacle to digital business success, with 66% citing a lack of commitment from the board and/or CEO; and 55% of the CIOs feel their digital efforts have been successful, while 26% believe they have been moderately successful. While the results are satisfying, the challenges that CIOs face when implementing digital transformation in banking are many. To be able to cope with them, the CIO has to be an agent of change, a collaborator, a customer expectation guru and a future looking person. Too many qualities for a CIO?