Delivering Innovation at Scale in a Global Bank
A top 10 global bank with 185,000 employees across 56 countries sought to modernise the way its sales teams and traders created, priced, and marketed financial products for their B2B clients. The existing workflow relied heavily on Excel spreadsheets and manual data gathering, with client interactions happening primarily via email. This limited how many customised options could be explored and slowed down decision-making.
The bank needed a self-service platform with integrated data and workflows, and user-friendly interfaces for traders, sales teams, and clients to collaborate. I led the design from the ground up, transforming outdated manual workflows into an intuitive, scalable platform that could meet the bank’s global needs.
Research & Discovery
Given the complexity of financial markets, I needed a quick immersion into the domain of portfolio optimisation under constraints. Thanks to my background in mathematics, I was able to rapidly absorb the key concepts, allowing me to engage productively with users and stakeholders.
I spent a week on the trading floor in New York to observe workflows and experience user pain points firsthand. This in-person research revealed valuable insights about their daily routines, setup, and needs.
Co-Creating with Users
From the start, the users were sceptical. They had seen previous attempts fail—business analysts collected requirements for months, and a year later, they were presented with a product that missed the mark.
I took a different approach, immediately prototyping and iterating with the team. This hands-on method allowed for rapid feedback and co-creation, turning the design process into an engaging and enjoyable activity in their otherwise high-pressure environment.
Navigating Corporate Dynamics
Innovation in large organisations always comes with challenges. Navigating a matrix organisation with bureaucratic hurdles, siloed departments, and conflicting priorities required adaptability and diplomacy. Key challenges included:
Silos: Midway through the project, an unknown team informed us that we weren’t allowed to use the data we had integrated into the system, leading to rework and delays.
Gatekeeping: Despite building relationships with internal users, project managers often acted as gatekeepers, blocking direct communication with stakeholders.
Conflicting Interests: Some stakeholders prioritised their teams’ workload over user needs. For example, an engineering manager resisted sharing design ideas with users, fearing their influence would push the team to build additional features.
Legacy Systems: Integrating new technology into old, fragmented systems slowed development and required constant adjustments to ensure compatibility.
Competing Visions: Some internal leaders wanted the product to look and feel like traditional enterprise software, while users expected something as intuitive as the consumer apps they used daily.
Through careful relationship-building, understanding the various incentives across teams, consistently putting the customer first, and choosing my battles wisely, I was able to navigate these challenges and keep the project moving forward.
From Prototype to Product
Following the discovery phase based on prototyping, we built a proof of concept in code—a simple yet functional prototype connected to real data.
This form-based interface allowed users to input their target returns, risk tolerance, and investment constraints (such as asset class limits or sector restrictions) to generate an optimised portfolio. The results were visualised through dynamic charts and detailed data tables, illustrating the trade-offs between expected returns and potential risks, helping users understand the impact of their investment choices.
This proof of concept revealing deeper user needs. Building on our insights, we developed a more complete product, ensuring seamless integration with the bank’s existing suite of tools, design system, and branding. Regular weekly demos with stakeholders ensured continuous alignment and kept the project on course.
Outcome
Product Launch: Brio was successfully deployed across the bank’s global markets division and its B2B clients.
Increased Efficiency: The platform reduced reliance on manual workflows, speeding up response times and allowing teams to explore a greater number of product options with clients.
Better Client Experience: Clients could now self-service through the platform, enabling them to experiment with different product customisations before engaging with the sales team, creating a more seamless and engaging experience.
Reflection
Moving from the agility of startups to the structured environment of a large, traditional bank was a shock and a learning experience. In the startup world, I was used to rapid iteration, where decisions and assumptions were constantly revisited based on new user insights. But at the bank, I encountered resistance to re-examining decisions that had taken significant effort to reach, even when those decisions no longer served user needs. This reluctance created friction, but it also clarified my role: to inject fresh energy and a new perspective into the process.
I realised that driving change in such an environment isn’t just about design or technical skills. It’s about influencing, building bridges, and navigating internal dynamics strategically. While change is slower, the reward is far greater—making an impact on a global scale that benefits both the business and its clients. That’s incredibly fulfilling.
