Executive Columns

When I was approached about the opportunity to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ING DIRECT in Australia, I was over the moon. I would be the first Australian in the role and was honoured to run such an...

We started with a blank sheet of paper and the challenge was to determine, through the eyes of consumers, what real value looked like. Social media was a critical tool in the early beginnings of our business – to engage...

The funds management industry is one of the great successes of the Australian economy. Since compulsory superannuation was introduced in 1992, funds under management have grown from $250 billion to over $1.4 trillion – greater than the size of the...

The Rudd Government has worked hard to build Australia’s reputation as a financial services hub by implementing policies and regulatory reform to make our financial markets more innovative and efficient. In September 2008, we established the Australian Financial Centre Forum...

I’m a strong believer in the mantra “we think tomorrow; we act today”. Inevitably, when we think about where we want to be in the future, there are skills, systems, people or product offering gaps that a business must overcome....

If ever there was a natural evolution of roles in any organisation, it is the progression from Chief Information Officer (CIO) to Chief Operating Officer (COO). In our business as a direct and internet bank, technology plays a critical role...

At Aviva, innovation is about making it easier to meet the needs of financial advisers and customers. Innovation is not just about finding a new way of doing things but about implementing a stepped change in thinking, products or services...

Imagine a world without ATMs, EFTPOS or internet banking – it’s almost impossible to do. Yet only 30 years ago these essential banking services were unheard of and probably considered unnecessary. Changing social trends and attitudes, combined with advances in...

Commercial disputes are inevitable, especially in emerging areas of science and technology where the subject matter expertise of those involved in putting deals together frequently leads to misunderstandings and disagreements down the track, which in turn are highly disruptive, distracting...

Take a quick look at the payment cards in your wallet or purse. There’s a good chance at least one of them sports a shiny embedded chip. You may have got this card quite recently. It may even have arrived...

With the growth of global organised crime and terrorism, the role of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in combating money laundering, terrorism financing and other major crime is increasing.Money laundering is turning ‘dirty’ money into ‘clean’ funds,...

Tim O’Reilly is widely credited with coining the term Web 2.0. His definition is “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on...

The modern era of the CIO evolved from the period of 1995 to 1998, with the growing public realisation that the internet was able to deliver information and connectivity easily to their grasp. This explosive take-up, akin to the proliferation...