The Chief Digital Officer – Savior for the Digitalization in German Banks?
The Chief Digital Officer – Savior for the Digitalization in German Banks?

Summary/Abstract: Digitalization is changing processes in the German banking market. These changes pose significant challenges for companies. Many German banks could miss the connection in the age of digital transformation. They are forced to digitize processes due to low yields, as new players in the market (FinTechs) could shed up to 40% of sales and up to 60% of profits from traditional banking. How to deal with digitalization has been discussed widely. One idea that has been promoted and implemented, was installing a Chief Digital Officer along with the Chief Information Officer / Head of IT. Among the 2,500 largest publicly listed companies worldwide, 160 CDOs have been hired in 2016, 124 in 2017 and 54 in 2018, according to a 2019 study by PWC’s strategy&. Numbers have gone down and it is in question whether and how long the position of a CDO will be crucial for business success. Only 7% of German banks currently employ a CDO. Creating the role of a CDO alone will not be a measure for success in organizations, as long as it is not accompanied with a suitable digitalization strategy and a change management process that effectively highlights and persuades all of the organization stakeholders of the benefits.

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