10 Most Innovative CEOs in Banking
A common theme among innovation teams at banks is the need for “executive air cover” — a C-level sponsor for that new, uncertain initiative with a questionable ROI. The CEOs below run banks that are leading the way in the innovation sector. Their bets are so big that the CEOs themselves must play a direct role in getting the new products and services off their feet, and even more importantly, guide and direct the culture of the banks that allows such innovations to grow. We salute the 10 Most Innovative CEOs in Banking in the U.S.
1. Richard K. Davis, US Bank. For some reason, US Bank still has the reputation of being a boring, conservative, Midwestern bank. That may even work to its advantage when investors look askance at its larger rivals paying fines and making settlements running to nine, ten, even eleven figures. But the truth is that US Bank is anything but dull, and the bets it has made on mobile banking under CEO Richard K. Davis will pay off down the line for its investors and its customers. In “photo banking,” the bank is the nation’s clear leader, launching mobile photo bill pay, mobile account opening, and the eye-popping mobile photo balance transfer. Add to that features such as voice commands and mobile commerce within the banking experience and it’s clear US Bank has the executive go-ahead to pack its mobile experience with innovations. It’s not just us pointing this out. The bank was named the most innovative bank in North America in the most recent Efma/Infosys study, and the “simplest” (best) large bank in the US by branding firm Siegel & Gale. Davis began his banking career as a teller at age 18, but can heartily call himself a Mobile Banker today.
2. Betsy Cohen, The Bancorp. The Bancorp is not well-known outside the financial world, but the companies it enables and supports are. Simple and Moven are only two of the innovative banking services The Bancorp supports, in part by making its banking license available to the startups. The company is also a major issuer of prepaid cards, working innovative startups such as Marqeta, and processes $11 billion in credit card transactions a year. The Bancorp is one of the nation’s largest holders of healthcare savings accounts, too. Cohen, who founded The Bancorp in 2000, has a history in healthcare, as well as law, academics, and real estate. She founded another bank, JeffBanks, in 1981, which she sold prior to founding The Bancorp, and she launched a company aimed at capturing value from the fintech startup community, the Fintech Acquisition Corp., in 2008.
3. Richard Fairbank, Capital One Financial Corp. Richard Fairbank graduated from Stanford in 1972 and Stanford Business School in 1981 before co-founding Capital One. Fairbank has continued to embrace entrepreneurs at Capital One. The bank’s internal innovation sandbox, Capital One Labs, hosts entrepreneurs-in-residence to help re-imagine the banking experience. Capital One regularly comes out with unexpected products, such as SureSwipe — using swipe technology to record a mobile phone passkey rather than using passwords, which are not secure and annoying to boot. Capital One also partnered with mobile advertising startup PushPoint to deliver location-based offers. And you’ve seen the bank’s edgy ads on TV. Fairbank was recently named one of the top 100 CEOs in STEM (science. technology, engineering & mathematics) by the organization STEMconnector. You don’t make that list unless you are pushing the envelope, and Fairbank is doing just that.
4. Bob Steen, Bridge Community Bank. Quick, what was the first bank in the country to implement fingerprints and retina scans to ID customers? Try three-branch Bridge Community Bank, based in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Steen, the bank’s CEO, pushed for biometrics even though customers didn’t ask for it. In fact, many were downright put off by it. But Steen says he thought it was the right thing to do — so Bridge Community did it. Why? Because customers chose poor passwords and then cannot remember them. There had to be a better way, Steen figured. He also pushed for advances in payments technology, including P2P payments, still a rarity at smaller banks. “Many bankers don’t put a proper value on payments revenue,” Steen said. “The community bank’s role has to be connected to a payments solution.” Steen got a shout out from the stage at the American Bankers Association annual convention in New Orleans last month — and he wasn’t even attending the conference. He isn’t resting on his laurels, though. Now, he is advocating for a faster payments system. We’re reluctant to bet against him.
5. Ajay Banga, MasterCard. While American Express has likely unveiled a set of innovations that bests MasterCard’s, arguably no CEO has made innovation a greater centerpiece of corporate strategy than Ajay Banga. Banga began banging the innovation drum a couple of years ago upon his arrival from Citigroup’s Asia Pacific division, and hasn’t let up since. As Banga said just last Sept. 11 at MasterCard’s analyst day about the company’s future, “The key … is having the data and having the technology with the right people … . So, that’s where I am, that’s what we’re trying to do. [MasterCard will] do it through growing the core, diversifying our geographies and building out those new businesses, have a little spring … in our innovation step and earn the right to get the business from all the players in the ecosystem, the banks and the financial institutions but also merchant, consumers and governments.” We hear it, Ajay, we hear it.
