The world of financial services is at a pivotal point in time. There seem to be parallel realities. There’s the reality of traditional financial institutions that consists of consolidation, downturn and a strategic drive for innovation, while on the other side the reality of fintech companies is growth. Apart from their different realities both sides glance at each other in sheer adoration.
Traditional financial institutions need to reinvent their existing operation and services in a consolidating market. The best leaders in the field do not only choose the right strategy, they are kings in implementation as well. Execution is key! They walk their talk. Innovation in a traditional environment requires style flexibility; you must be able to make the existing operation more effective and efficient while innovating your business and service portfolio. This calls for entrepreneurial leaders equipped with both vision and firmness.
Fintech startups, on the other hand, are mainly accustomed to success and growth. Their challenge is to contain their hubris and focus on channeling overgrowth into sustainable growth. Their focus should be on professionalization and profitability. The transition from startup to scale up is a different ballgame with different rules. This is for senior executives with a modern mindset only. Leaders who have lived in both worlds and can shift between realities easily. Leaders with their feet on the ground, but their eyes on the horizon.
Find the right leader for the next step
The only viable alternative for a transformation process – in either reality - is going in all the way. The key is to realize that the journey you embark on is going to be wild and unknown; an adventure where all is still to be discovered. A rite of passage that’s messy, non-linear and anything but flawless. Most important is for each company to follow its own path in order to become their true selves. Anyone who is willing to go headfirst into the unknown has the best shot to turn dream into action. Contemporary leaders are the ones that will bring their company to "what's next".
Amrop in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) is happy to help you finding these types of CFO professionals for your company through executive search.