ABN AMRO Hires New Chief Innovation, Technology Officer

Robbie Lawther

5 September 2017

Dutch bank has appointed Christian Bornfeld as a member of the executive board and chief innovation & technology officer. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval and advice of the employee council.

Bornfeld will join ABN AMRO on 1 December 2017, and he will start as member of the executive board and as CITO on 1 March 2018, the firm said in a statement.

Johan van Hall, currently vice-Chairman of the executive board and CITO, will hand-over his remaining tasks beginning 2018 and will resign from the executive board on 1 March 2018.

Bornfeld is currently chief operating officer of personal banking at Nordea, responsible for IT, operations, strategic programs and business risk implementation and support. Previously, he worked at Danske Bank as chief information officer of corporate & institutional banking and head of IT strategy, enterprise architecture & technology innovation.

"His (Bornfeld) strong track record and extensive experience in IT in the banking sector make him perfectly suited to be appointed to ABN AMRO as new chief innovation & technology officer,” said Olga Zoutendijk, chairman of the supervisory board. “As innovation, technology and digitalisation have our utmost strategic focus, Mr Bornfeld will be appointed at executive board level."

The statement also said that the “supervisory board is grateful to Mr van Hall, who has worked for 35 years at ABN AMRO, in particular for his valuable contribution including the integration of two banking IT platforms and the preparations for the IPO. During his two consecutive terms as a managing board member, Mr van Hall made a meaningful contribution to the digitalisation of the bank and the innovation of the IT platforms”.