Leading A Top 10 Transformation of the Decade at DBS Bank with David Gledhill

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Driving innovation in technology and business transformation demands visionary leadership, seamless integration of business and tech strategies, and a willingness to take risks. Today's guest, David Gledhill, exemplifies these qualities as he shares his experience leading DBS Bank through a remarkable digital transformation and beyond.

David Gledhill is a seasoned technologist and business leader. As the former Group Chief Information Officer at DBS Bank for over 11 years, he spearheaded the bank’s technology and transformation efforts, building a high-performance culture and integrating technology into the core of the business strategy. Under his leadership, DBS achieved global recognition for its digital transformation, and David’s journey has been featured in Harvard Business Review as one of the top global transformations. After his time at DBS, David held a senior role at Lloyds Banking Group, further enhancing his expertise in large-scale transformation. He is now a non-executive director at companies like Singapore Airlines and serves as a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company.

In this episode, host Barry O'Reilly invites David to discuss his leadership journey, from reshaping the technology at DBS to embracing a digital-first strategy. David offers insights on making tough decisions, aligning business with technology, and leading organizations through massive change.

Key Takeaways:

• Technology as a Strategic Driver: David emphasizes the shift from viewing technology as a support function to recognizing it as a core driver of business strategy. He explains how leading with a digital-first mindset can unlock new growth opportunities.

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• Bold Decision-Making in Leadership: David shares the importance of making tough decisions early in leadership roles. He describes how scrapping failing projects and resetting strategies allowed DBS to pivot successfully.

• Building a High-Performance Culture: David highlights the significance of creating a culture where business and technology teams share accountability. His “two in a box” leadership model at DBS encouraged joint ownership of goals and outcomes.

• Learning from Tech Giants: Drawing inspiration from companies like Google and Amazon, David discusses how studying these tech giants helped DBS adopt cutting-edge practices in cloud computing, data analytics, and agile development, setting them apart in the banking industry.

Additional Insights:

• Fostering a Culture of Storytelling: David highlights the importance of storytelling in driving organizational change. At DBS, he brought in a journalist to craft compelling narratives around early successes, which helped engage teams and build momentum for transformation.

• From Technologist to Strategic Leader: David’s transition from a technical expert to a strategic business leader is a testament to the evolution required in leadership roles. He reflects on how moving from deep technical work to overseeing large-scale business transformation broadened his leadership perspective.

• The Role of Technology in the Future of Banking: David reflects on the future of the financial industry, noting that technology will continue to play a critical role in driving innovation and improving customer experiences. He emphasizes the need for continuous adaptation to stay competitive in the fast-changing digital landscape.

Episode Highlights

• 00:00 - Introduction to the episode

Barry introduces David Gledhill, highlighting his role as former Group CIO of DBS Bank and his contributions to the company’s digital transformation.

• 04:12 - David on his early career and technical roots

"I started off even when I was 11 or 12, building stuff with electronics and did computing electronics at university."

• 05:13 - The turning point of joining DBS

"When my career progressed, I became more of an exec... And then back in 2008, an opportunity came to join DBS Bank and become a CIO again, and get really back into tech."

• 12:21 - Scrapping the core banking system

"They’d spent like $300 million of a $200 million budget. And the estimate was this is going to take another five years and another billion dollars to complete."

• 12:36 - Rebuilding the technology strategy at DBS

"I had to basically scrap that whole program and restart... it was a total reset of strategy, roadmap, people, everything from scratch."

• 17:31 - Creating success with the ‘buy, sell, hold’ strategy

"We came up with this what we call the buy, sell, hold diagram... I love the system, and do more with it. Sell it to get rid of it. Hold is kind of meh but it'll keep going for now."

• 24:21 - The platform model and joint leadership

"We created a ‘two in a box’ leadership model, where a business leader and a tech leader had joint KPIs... business KPIs, customer service levels, tech modernization – everything."

• 31:47 - The ‘Gandalf’ moment and digital-first strategy

"We looked at Google, Amazon, Netflix, Apple, LinkedIn, Facebook, and I came up with this idea of what if we were the D in Gandalf?"

• 37:33 - Lessons for the future and technology’s role in business growth

"It’s hugely satisfying when you see that happen... they’re doing some super risky things, which may or may not play out, but that’s great fun to be part of."

Follow Our Guest

• LinkedIn: David Gledhill
• Website: DBS Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Singapore Airlines, McKinsey & Company

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