Anna Barsby has a wide experience in using technology to drive change in businesses that have also included TUI Travel and Whitbread.
Her appointment to the board at The Cumberland is the latest step in the building society’s plans to focus on changing consumer patterns which have seen a number of key appointments in recent months and a commitment to invest heavily in new technology.
Anna is relishing the opportunity to help guide The Cumberland and is impressed with the vision it has set out and willingness to embrace change.
“My whole career has been about change and transformation - both in technology and in business. I have worked in a wide breadth of organisations, but mostly consumer industries with lots of customer facing work.
“I’ve lived through lots of digital and technology and data transformations and it feels like that’s a skill set that The Cumberland could do with for the next few years as we undertake such a fundamental change to your system landscape.” she said.
“The Cumberland seems to be doing all the right things, taking the right steps to add skills and new positions to its senior team, which is brilliant.
“Everything I’ve seen so far is strong and robust – we have to make sure we don’t over govern and allow pacy decision making, but we must make sure risks are understood, visible and then tightly managed,” she added.
And The Cumberland’s recent focus on stating its purpose as providing Kinder Banking has impressed Anna too. “I love it - it really sings to the strength of being a mutual. Banks are automating so far for efficiency, but forgetting what customers want. Kinder Banking is a great way of explaining that people are central to The Cumberland. Values are so important to young people, too, and it’s something The Cumberland should be shouting about.”
Anna’s appointment comes a few months after The Cumberland created a new post of chief information officer and then appointed a leading innovator in the finance world to the role.
Ian Stacey joined with 36 years of experience in banking and finance transformation with organisations including Barclays, EY and KPMG, will be responsible for the strategic planning around The Cumberland's major investment programme in digital technology.
The Cumberland has also established a transformation team to focus on meeting the changing needs of customers and this year its annual report underlined its readiness for a major investment in new technology.