Standard Chartered hires a chief information officer for its corporate, commercial and intuitional banking arm, based in Singapore.

Rene W. Keller joins the British lender with responsibilities over the business’ «technology strategy, architecture and delivery value chain,» according to a release. He will report to Dr. Michael Gorriz, group chief information officer (CIO) at Standard Chartered.

Keller was most recently a group data officer and group head of innovation at Deutsche Bank after serving as the bank’s global CIO of its private wealth arm. Previously, he was group CIO for Germany’s international exchange, Deutsche Börse; COO for fintech Information Mosaic; alongside other tech leadership roles at Swiss Life, Credit Suisse and UBS.

Tech Evolution

The hire signals greater commitment by Standard Chartered to build capabilities to capitalize on the industry’s ongoing path towards digitalization as well as withstanding the emerging entrants of promising fintech players, especially in Asia.

The bank has already undergone several projects to boost its tech capabilities, including a mobile token rolled out for corporate clients in more than 38 markets; the joining of the Enterprise Etherium Alliance to develop blockchain research and application in banking; and a new venture, alongside five other founding banks, to address unmet financing demand from the early stages of supply chains.

«[Keller] will play an instrumental role in driving the business forward by digitizing our clients’ experience and co-creating innovative solutions by partnering and maintaining its fundamental role against the growing competition of fintech and big tech,» said Gorriz, underlining the corporate, commercial and institutional business’ ongoing «growth and evolution journey».