Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Gabriela and I've been working at IG&H for about one and a half years. The 20 years before joining IG&H I was an entrepreneur and founded my consultancy firm in 2004. It focused on IBM technologies, realizing IT projects and supporting clients in building up their skills, along with those of their employees. This means I've witnessed the constant evolution of IT first-hand over the last two decades. In my free time, I enjoy doing sports, especially long-distance running. Endurance and perseverance also help me in projects, which can be a lot like marathons.
What drew you to IG&H?
During the interview process, I visited Utrecht and spoke to many people from the leadership team and IG&H’s founder. The open and transparent culture immediately stood out and I liked the spirit of the company. Coming from an entrepreneurial background where I had been the CEO and one of the two shareholders, I saw a fresh challenge: Creating something new in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region within the financial services sector.
How would you describe the current state of digitalization in the DACH region?
To say there is a lot of untapped potential in Financial Services in the DACH region is the understatement of the year. For instance, when I talk to clients about digitalization, I often hear about scanning paper documents and uploading them somewhere – which is merely digitization. I believe in learning from one another and letting best practices travel across borders. IG&H's sector expertise can be a true asset to clients here, too.
What is your role & what does it involve?
As Director DACH for Financial Services & Insurance, I’m responsible for building and growing the business in a highly competitive and important market. I have all the freedom I need to bring entrepreneurial added value to the company and help it become relevant.
What does a typical day at IG&H look like?
I’m an early bird and always try to start my day by going running in the morning. My current role is influenced by sales and commercial topics. On Mondays, I plan the week and set up my schedule and deadlines. My workday usually starts at 7:00 with some planning, defining priorities and key tasks. Next are some customer phone calls, discussing opportunities and common approaches. Throughout the day, I connect with existing clients and stakeholders to hear how everything is going and brainstorm new ideas. At the end of the week, it’s time to reflect on the progress made.
What do you enjoy most about working at IG&H?
The mixture of the DACH start-up spirit and having a big team in the background to support you in both the Netherlands and Portugal is something I enjoy. I love working in big international teams! My colleagues give me the possibility to be creative in exploring and thinking about new approaches because I can rely on their existing experience.
Taking what you came up with during an inspiration session with clients and witnessing the functionality come to life is amazing. It shows you can solve a sector-level problem and make an impact.
What has been your proudest moment at IG&H?
Bringing the first DACH banking customer on board was a great win, not only because of their strategic importance but also for general awareness of IG&H in the German market. We are a consultancy firm that delivers the complete end-to-end spectrum for clients on their digital transformation journey - and this region truly needs a digitalization boost. That’s why I love discovering potential and letting great concepts travel, like helping bring IG&H's AI-based credit decisioning to the German market.
What FS topic are you most passionate about?
Helping clients reveal their potential along the value chain is my passion. Rethinking and tweaking processes energizes me. For example: How do you as a bank onboard your customers, and can you offer customized packages? Customer experience is a major focus area and unfortunately still rather old-fashioned in this sector. We're living in times of digital natives. People simply expect more!
What do you expect to see in this industry in the near future?
Customer experience and a customer-centric orientation will be key for banks to stay relevant, especially among new competitors such as fintech companies and neobanks. Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results; Financial Services are notoriously risk-averse and need to take an innovative leap.
This sector can rise to the challenge with smart approaches and refined customer journeys. It’s vital to better understand the customers’ needs, anticipate and react to them. Data and AI are the keys to automating processes, helping to find new connections and approaches. My role also involves helping people understand the impact of these tools, turning fears and struggles into synergy and value. Companies must invest and improve their capabilities, especially with the AI revolution well underway. In a nutshell, my mission is to realize end-to-end digitalization in Financial Services.