AFTAs 2015: Best Technology Executive, Sell Side—Oliver Bussmann, UBS

The current CIO’s evangelistic attitude toward social media and communication more generally, extends beyond his personal 140-character presence and nearly 15,000 followers, though. In fact, it is now a central tenet in the institution’s wide-ranging technological and operational transformation.

First, there is UBS’ client-facing work this year to recognize. While Bussmann surely couldn’t and wouldn’t take full credit for the success of platforms like Bond Port and Neo, the bank’s work in these areas is highly impressive—netting it three Waters Rankings and Buy-Side Technology awards this year—and has constantly emphasized connectivity and client interaction as part of user interface design.

But it’s the in-house progress that really separates Bussmann from the other finalists. One transformational piece is the firm’s knowledge-sharing model. As Tony Chau, an executive director at the bank, explained in November, the bank’s “social wall” uses a Facebook-like model to engage the business, answer technical questions, and act as a sounding board with which to formulate new tech and ops projects. Second, and related, is UBS’ Jive monitoring platform, which aggregates trending conversation on the platform for top-level executives. “This principle can drive how you communicate internally: identifying the key people who will spread a message within a network, and combining that influence with technology. My style as a CIO has really changed because of this way of thinking,” Bussmann told Waters earlier this year.

Bussmann was also arguably the foremost and earliest proponent of blockchain among major sell-side firms in 2015. Utilizing engagements with innovation labs and internal talent, UBS has helped lead the way in introducing distributed ledgers to the conversation, and then developing real-life capital markets applications. Blockchain was already on Bussmann’s mind more than 12 months ago, and whereas other banks have approached the initiative tentatively, at UBS it’s been all hands on deck.

Finally, there is a bit of history: Bussmann has featured twice on a Waters cover—in February 2015 and in 2002 as a member of an Allianz IT project team. There would be more surprising things in life than the CIO showing up there again in 2028. The only questions are how far financial technology will have advanced by then and what the next “big thing” will be. No doubt, Bussmann will be among those arguing for it.

Blockchain was already on Bussmann’s mind more than 12 months ago, and whereas other banks have approached the initiative tentatively, at UBS it’s been all hands on deck.