The Brief

A top 10 global insurance and asset management firm needed a COO who could drive a customer experience transformation in a multi-business line, globally complex environment.

A CEO change had ushered in a new direction for the company and the Technology and Operations leadership - formerly layered - was promoted to the management committee, becoming central to the overall growth strategy.

The new COO would need to be able to hit the ground running in a regulated, high transaction volume environment. In addition to managing a team of 10,000+ employees, the COO would be accountable for integrating crucial digital tools and automation technologies to achieve industry best efficiency rates and customer experience standards.

The Approach

Marlin Hawk targeted modernised, scaled organisations with an international presence. We looked specifically at leaders with direct-to-consumer experience who could also manage the complexities that come with overseeing multi-site teams across different continents.

The Result

The successful candidate came from a top ecommerce organisation, where he led all contact centres, fraud operations and customer experience. Under his leadership, the business significantly expanded its customer contact channels through innovation, improved fraud loss performance, and enhanced the returns experience for online purchases, all during a period of high growth.

The candidate had previously built a career managing global operations leaders at one of the world’s largest global banking organisations. He excelled at driving digital transformation and operational efficiency across the Americas, EMEA & APAC. Perhaps most importantly, he had demonstrated success in building high performing teams and leveraging global delivery capabilities to maximise organisational effectiveness.

The Impact

Overall, the business continues to achieve significant growth across APAC as well as their Global Wealth & Asset Management segment.

Structurally, the new COO has centralised the Global Operations & Procurement functions. Already, he has deepened the relationship between Technology & Operations, working hand in hand with the CIO to integrate crucial digital servicing tools and helping to drive increased service levels across all lines of business. The team has also continued to inject best-in-class talent at the leadership level across both Technology & Operations.

Through the new strategies around global workforce management, digitalisation and servicing innovation, the firm is off to a bold start to execute their 2020 goals. They will look to continue their aggressive growth path, while striking the perfect balance of elevated customer experience and reduced global servicing costs.