HSBC Calls On High-Flying CEOs For Tech Advice

HSBC has appointed a technology advisory board to help it take advantage of digital opportunities and leverage the creative technologies disrupting the industry.

The board comprises senior executives and CEOs representing a range of industries, including cyber security, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI).

It will meet quarterly to provide advice and guidance on digital strategy, focusing on how the bank can take advantage of technological innovation, combat cyber crime and leverage its global infrastructure.

Advisory board

The board will have three main areas of focus. The first is disruption, i.e maximising the opportunities resulting from technologically-driven changes in customer behaviour, new trends in financial technology and product innovations.

The second revolves around best practice in using digital identity and biometric security for access to data and systems, while the third – infrastructure – refers to large-scale infrastructure transformations and platforms, along with insight on maintaining agility and promoting innovation.

Andy Maguire, HSBC Group COO and chairman of the board said: “The Technology Advisory Board is key to helping us adopt technology that makes HSBC simpler, better and faster for our 46m customers and 250,000 colleagues across our global network.”

The board consists of: Mickey Boodaei, CEO of Transmit Security; Steve Kirsch, CEO of Token; Chris Larsen, Executive Chairman of Ripple; Megan Quinn, General Partner at Spark Capital; Dr. Kira Radinsky, Chief Scientist at eBay; Haoyu Shen, former CEO of JD.com; Dr. Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys and Dr. Gurjeet Singh, CEO of Ayasdi.

Speaking to Silicon, an HSBC spokesperson said: “We have appointed the board so we can leverage the progress we have made so far and ensure we take advantage of transformational technology,” adding that the selection process focused on “senior entrepreneurs with global experience who will help us in the areas outlined.”

Back in May, HSBC announced that it will be axing 840 IT jobs in the UK and transferring the positions to India, China and Poland as part of its ongoing cost-cutting measures.

Customers were also left frustrated after having to endure an online banking outage at the beginning of last year, which the HSBC confirmed was not a cyber attack, before being hit by a DDoS attack at the end of the month which prevented customers from accessing their online accounts.

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