Head of Value Proposition

ING has identified the Small Medium Enterprise & Mid-Corporate (SME & MC) segment as a major growth opportunity. To expand their market share in existing markets and enter new markets, they are in the process of setting up a new Global SME & MC department. This team will drive the development of fintech solutions and digital innovation to create value for SME & MC businesses. This exciting journey offers interesting career opportunities for experienced strategy consultants and digital professionals alike. To build this team, ING is working with Top of Minds Digital Executives to hire two MT-level roles: Head of Value Proposition & Head of Strategic Planning.

THE SME & MC OPPORTUNITY

In line with ING’s strategy of empowering people and businesses to stay a step ahead, ING is setting up a new Global SME & MC department. ING is currently delivering strong results in the SME & MC segment in the Benelux, Poland, Romania and Turkey and expanding its footprint in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. There are three reasons why this business unit has huge growth potential:

• Client behavior in the SME & MC segment is changing, which results in the opportunity of a new, more digital, approach. Companies are served through an increasingly connected and data-driven ecosystem, featuring accounting software, factoring companies, invoicing services, CRM/ERP providers, leasing companies, financial advisors as well as banks.
• The banking regulations are adapting to the changing ecosystem, creating new possibilities.
• Although ING has a strong SME&MC business in several markets, their current footprint in Europe’s largest economies is limited. The growth potential is huge.

FOCUS ON FINTECH & DIGITAL ACCELERATION

So far, disruptive fintech players seem to be more adept at responding to these changes than established players. ING is bent on capturing the SME & MC market by combining the agile way of working of start- and scale-ups (which ING has adopted in many business units already) with the scale and financial resources of a global bank.

As part of the strategy to grow its SME & MC business and create a differentiating customer experience, ING invested in fintech Kabbage in late 2015. They currently provide millions of SME’s throughout Spain, France and Italy with the opportunity to easily apply and get approved for online loans in under 10 minutes.

The new Global SME & MC department will expand ING’s market share and enter new markets. The department will also develop innovative and disruptive solutions to enter new markets. In markets where ING already has a significant presence within this segment, the focus will be on consolidating strengths and accelerating their digital transformation.

SELF-SERVICE FINTECH PLATFORM

The key to success is to support SME & MC companies with their day to day business. Entrepreneurs care about their product or service, getting paid and growing their business. Financial services are only interesting if they are easily accessible and immediately add value in a relevant way.

“A greenfield opportunity to impact the entire sector.” – Luc Truyens, Global Head of SME & MC

Luc Truyens envisions an online self-service platform, offering both ING’s financial products and relevant services from fintechs. Managed globally, enriched with local products. This user-friendly hub should be fully integrated into the daily financial operations of clients (accounting, invoicing, payments, transactions, etc.). With algorithms, the platform will generate insights into the financial health of businesses. And most importantly: it will offer free advice and a tailored selection of lending, working capital, leasing and trade finance products. To make that happen, Truyens is a building a global team.

HEAD OF VALUE PROPOSITION

The core of this role is to grow the global SME & MC portfolio disruptively through innovative propositions and digital acceleration. The Head of Value Proposition will develop the value proposition and concept, define the roadmap and take the lead in the implementation of a next-generation digital finance platform.

The Head of Value Proposition will be the expert on the evolving needs of SME & MC businesses. These insights are key to create the ideal customer experience and establish the right mix of services and products. The Head of Value Proposition will act as a product owner for the Product Development team, leading and managing development projects such as the creation of an aggregator to process data from a wide variety of sources or a mobile interface. The Head of Value Proposition will represent the voice of the user, ensuring that the team delivers value to the end user. The Head of Value Proposition will be part of the SME & MC Management Team (5 FTE) and will report to the Global Head of SME & MC, Luc Truyens.

Initially, the focus will be on creating a self-service platform to enter markets in which ING doesn’t have a significant SME & MC business yet. Using advanced market analysis and in close cooperation with the local ING business, the Head of Value Proposition will establish the right range of products and services and define the market-entry strategy. The next stage will be to roll out best practices from these challenger markets to primary markets.

Considering the complexity of the financial industry, the highly strategic nature of the assignment and the need for stakeholder management at all levels throughout the organization, eight years of experience at a consulting firm is an excellent background for this role. The opportunity is especially interesting for these candidates because they can skip the traditional route via corporate strategy. As they will have a huge impact on the future of the financial industry and ING’s role therein, there will be plenty of next steps to come. A strategic background at a digital scale-up in a product role would also be relevant experience.

ING works with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy. Contact Roland Vetten at roland@topofminds.com for more information.