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Russel Clarke Russel Clarke joined First National Bank in 1994 and has been with the organisation his entire career. The bank’s head of IT data and analytics, he has experience across IT operations, client relationship management, development, IT finance, IT service management, business intelligence and data warehousing. He has had over 25 years’ experience in banking IT, 12 of which have been in management. As the FirstRand group IT data owner, major achievements include the implementation of a group IT service management platform for the group. Clarke admires disruptive technologies that challenge the status quo — by implementing solutions that push the bar, driving innovation and business value. What does your company do? FNB provides personal, private, business, commercial and corporate banking services to millions of customers across South Africa. Over and above our core banking activities, we have insurance and MVNO (telecommunications) products to provide our customers with digital platforms and a financial ecosystem to support their financial lifestyles and preferences. What do you see as the IT leader’s top priorities in 2023? I’m sure the most topical IT subject in business today is artificial intelligence. The race is on in IT to drive the enablement of business through AI platforms and tools to gain a competitive advantage, surface insights through data and automate as much as possible. Using AI with a strategic focus on a data strategy to reduce cost-to-income ratios is a key focus. However, this still comes with a skills shortage challenge. Another big concern on the CIO’s radar is data privacy and protection, as using external AI platforms still poses a risk. This is now being recognised by organisations, with a call for AI regulations to be imposed. Another ongoing focus in IT is the management of cyber risks and their identification and effectual mitigation. Cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated techniques, including AI, to prey on vulnerable systems and customers. Business relies on IT to identify, monitor and lower organisational attack surfaces to prevent these cyber incidents and manage risk posture. System breaches, data leaks or ransomware attacks could have disastrous effects for an organisation’s finances, trust and reputation. Banks are extremely competitive and one thing keeping CIOs awake at night is the scarcity of skills With inflationary pressures and consumer defaults on the rise, the increasing bad debt book is eating into banking profits so cost containment and efficiency are worrying. However, it is also fuelling innovation. There is a drive to “spend-to-grow” as well as a caution to “cut and save” which is driving a conversation around priorities, so IT has to be as lean and agile. This can be achieved through modern platforms, IT data insights with AI, collaboration and innovation. This mix is not sustainable unless you bring it all together with a cohesive, free-thinking culture and encourage all staff to participate in a common strategy. Banks are extremely competitive and one thing keeping CIOs awake at night is the scarcity of skills. With the brain drain in South Africa, hanging on to key staff is a problem. And as the cost-of-living escalates, key staff that don’t emigrate are seeking higher-paying opportunities. Banks and other IT companies end up outbidding each other and are either forced to pay up for key staff or outsource while trying to keep costs down. Consulting houses are snapping up key resources to capitalise on this situation. Who do you most admire in business and why? I am a budding foodie and although a bit controversial, Gordon Ramsay is a “get it done” guy who over time has built up a formidable restaurant and food empire. His tactics are a bit brutal, but he has achieved results through sheer dedication, persistence and clever business practices, which has seen him become one of the most successful chefs in the world. How do you attract and retain talent? In IT, and especially in the data world, good talent is really scarce, so there are a few key areas I focus on to retain my top talent. Firstly, I ensure I am the best leader possible, as most staff leave because they don’t like their boss. Making sure that they have a clear understanding of the strategy and what part they play to achieve the collective outcome is important. I allow staff to think freely and explore, and I ensure they are adequately remunerated. Staff want to know you have their back and you will stand by them through thick and thin. Communication is key to building trust, which results in engaged staff who have no reason to leave. Talent retention is key because there are three factors that need to be considered: firstly, someone’s skills and how quickly they can acquire new skills and then put those skills to use; secondly, personality and attitude determine how well someone will work with the rest of the team and go the extra mile when situations get tough; and lastly, institutional knowledge gained through experience and business networks over time contribute knowledge and wisdom to your solutions. Adopting these principles creates an environment that is highly sought after by other employees and demand from outside to join your team increases significantly through word of mouth and interaction. If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be? Make sure you explore all your options when planning your career. Ensure you get exposure to as many disciplines as you can so that when you are ready to choose it’s with an holistic perspective. Get some work experience before embarking on any post-grad studies – it brings context to academic material and allows you to test theories and hypotheses in a practical way. I always say you can read a book on how to drive a car but actually driving a car is a very different experience. What’s your favourite productivity hack? We tend to get very busy during the day and small tasks usually slip through the cracks. I make sure that I plan my day to achieve a balance between focused work, meetings, team collaboration and personal time. One of the risks in today’s fast-paced world is burnout, so it’s important to take things in your stride and ensure a balance. Make sure you work in those time slots to reward yourself throughout the day – it can just be that 30-minute coffee catch-up with an old friend or taking a break to spend with your family in between meetings. I don’t enjoy lengthy meetings when there is minimal contribution required from me, so where I can I avoid these. When you have too many things to do, it can be overwhelming, so I prioritise my work based on importance and urgency and by focusing and completing these tasks one by one, it gives me a sense of accomplishment and energy to complete the next one. What occupation (other than your own) would you like to try? When I was at school, I always had a dream of becoming a pilot and flying a helicopter. I wanted to be an EMS pilot to help save lives. I’ve always enjoyed aviation, but my opportunity was smothered when I was chosen to enlist in the army and not the airforce for my national service. Private pilot tutoring wasn’t affordable at the time. I then landed a job in banking IT, which was an exciting new world for me – and the rest is history. Maybe one day I will have the means to get a recreational pilot’s licence. Where do you see the technology industry heading in the next three to five years? Technology evolves exponentially and it is tough to predict what things will look like in the long term. Based on banking trends, though, there are a few key growth points worth mentioning. Artificial intelligence will become a significant component in decisioning and predicting with many of the routine-based interactions being facilitated by bots and intelligent digital interfaces. Digital channels will grow and become more feature rich, but also personalised based on behaviour patterns, age and predicted needs. Mundane jobs will get automated and new job types will be created to align with the digital evolution. As machines cannot do everything, I foresee staff with high levels of emotional intelligence, leadership and people skills becoming more sought after. The highly competitive nature of payment ecosystems will see these evolve and ensure that interbank payments happen faster and cost less. A big move towards a cashless society with the enablement of peer-to-peer payments and frictionless payments for both online and offline buying will minimise churn and shopping cart abandonment, with growth seen in the enablement of small traders. This is evident in products such as e-wallet and pay to cell. These are drivers that bolster the case for a Reserve Bank-governed, blockchain-based digital currency in South Africa. As we begin to exhaust the analysis and opportunities of internal data, I foresee the creation of trusted data ecosystems between banks and retail in a virtual marketplace. The aim would be to mutually derive value from each other’s data and could possibly become commoditised over time, though privacy and protection of this data remains a concern. Cloud adoption has grown significantly but as volumes increase, costs or cloud adoption will begin to drive hybrid on-premises/cloud prioritisation strategies. The development and use of cloud tools and utilities such as AI will increase and application integration to these cloud utilities will improve. What is one book you’d recommend to our audience and why? Atomic Habits, by James Clear. This book helped me identify how changing small things can collectively make a big difference. I realised how many silly habits I had that were counterproductive, and Clear explains the psychology behind these habits. He takes you through some easy life hacks such as the forgotten art of habit stacking, the unexpected power of the two-minute rule and the trick to entering the Goldilocks zone. These tricks help you stay on top of your game. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter
