A building society has created a new post for a CIO and appointed a leading innovator in finance to the job.

The Cumberland Building Society has underlined its intent to modernise the business by doing so, and has welcomed Ian Stacey, the man who is now responsible for the strategic planning around their major investment programme in digital technology.

Ian arrives with 36 years of experience in banking and finance transformation with organisations including Barclays, EY and KPMG and most recently helped to establish two UK challenger banks.

He will be responsible for leading the technology and data agenda at The Cumberland and will help to deliver its major investment programme in digital technology and transformation.

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Ian said: "Most financial services companies can't do what The Cumberland is proposing because the scale is too big or the transformation is too complex requiring them to take components out of their spaghetti of technology and gradually replace them.

“It takes them longer or they may just digitise part of the bank, so to hear Des Moore (the chief executive) talk about this complete transformation and to find a company willing to do that is really exciting."

Ian believes that technology will help both Cumberland customers and colleagues. For customers it might be a question of better functionality on The Cumberland website and mobile app or more personalised products.

For colleagues it will mean a seamless flow of information that will streamline tasks such as mortgage applications or help them make quicker decisions for their customers.

They will also be able to access the same information safely and securely whether they are in a branch, working at home or at the head office in Carlisle.

But, he feels that technology will not change the fundamentals of the business and will only serve to enhance The Cumberland's excellent reputation for customer service which has been recognised in many awards and a Platinum rating on Feefo.

He added: "I have tested some of the digital banks customer service propositions and they are certainly better than many of the traditional banks and building societies but The Cumberland is streets ahead.

“If we can get the tech proposition right, add this to the excellent customer service we already offer and build on this by giving people the right tools then we will have a phenomenal opportunity to elevate our reputation and performance to even higher levels.

“This is a very exciting time for The Cumberland, its customers and colleagues.”
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