Lead Enterprise Architect | Technology Strategist
AL RAJHI BANK
Total years of experience :31 years, 5 Months
• Formulate the Al-Rajhi Banks IT strategy for the previous periods (2018-2020 & 2021-2023) and the current period (2024-2026), ensuring alignment with the vision of the Al-Rajhi Group. IT strategy development encompasses understanding business strategy and industry trends, establishing objectives and priorities, defining IT initiatives, and developing integrated and actionable transformation roadmap to bridge gaps between existing and desired states.
• Define the Banks target state architecture by assessing gaps between the business needs and the technology landscape. Formulate target architecture principles and establish a technology target state architectures for business capabilities, applications, data, and infrastructure. Build practical implementation roadmaps aligned with IT and business strategies, successfully achieving a state that maximizes the value of technology investment, enables massive transaction growth (>800M a month), reduces application complexity by 25%, digitalize and automate business processes and introduces new self-service business capabilities to improve time-to-market.
• Develop RFIs and RFPs to address complex business challenges. Proficient in evaluating and selecting the most suitable solutions and vendors, ensuring alignment with overarching business objectives.
• Utilize the BizzDesign EA Tool to model the target state architecture across all five layers—business, apps, data, integration, and infrastructure. Skillfully develop intelligent business dashboards, establishing a centralized platform as a singular reference for Al-Rajhi Bank and its subsidiaries. This platform is instrumental in comprehending the impact of change, streamlining application portfolio rationalization, optimizing application lifecycle management, and gaining insights into associated costs.
• Define solution architectures and Lead the Design Authority, overseeing mega application modernization and technology transformation projects, aiming to achieve the target state objectives while mitigating technical risks. Notable projects include launching two digital banks, including the Al-Rajhi Malaysia Digital Bank (Thought Machine), core banking transformation (NewGen, Temenos, and Experian) to standardize the tech stack, reduce product launch time, and increase revenues; Modernize the ATM backend (based24 EPS) and payment hub (FIS) to a best in class technology stack, digitizing mobile customer journeys for a 35% increase in mobile transactions; exposing and monetizing open banking APIs, rapid implementation of an enterprise-wide anti-fraud management system (SAS), application carve-outs to subsidiaries (cortex, robotics), and deploying a group-level application stack (ITSM, monitoring and visibility, ERP, CRM/360, product and pricing catalog) simplify architecture and maximize the value of technology investment.
• Formulate and execute the Banks cloud strategy, achieving a substantial $100M in cost savings, improving resiliency and scalability, and elevating cloud infrastructure as a pivotal backbone of the Bank.
• Assess and elevate the maturity of the IT Strategy and Enterprise Architecture Department and achieve Level 3 compliance in SAMA ITGF mandatory requirements. Improving the maturity involves continuously enhancing the (EA) policies, procedures, principles, and standards in alignment with industry best practices like TOGAF and BIAN and regulatory standards such as NDMO, BCBS239, and NCA.
• Led the establishment of Al-Rajhi Banks IT Governance Department, overseeing a team of over 20 direct and indirect reports. Manage the annual budgeting cycle, handling department funds exceeding $10 million.
• Design and execute a robust IT governance, risk management, and internal control framework, compliant with
central bank IT control requirements and achieving COBIT maturity level 3 for critical processes. Designing an IT governance framework includes identifying organizational objectives, regulatory requirements, and key pain points, conducting COBIT assessments to identify critical gaps, and leading to targeted improvements. Evaluating risks, identifying corresponding controls, and prioritizing improvements based on the risk assessments. Defining a robust governance structure encompassing risk and compliance management, policies, processes, and organizational structures. Led establishing the IT Steering Committee, conducting skills training and awareness programs, and developing performance dashboards to track KPIs and KRIs effectively.
• Initiate and lead an organization-wide ITIL process improvement program to establish a foundation for service management and enhance the overall quality of IT services. Set up various functions, including change management, change advisory board, testing, ITPMO, and service desk, while implementing multiple IT policies and processes based on industry best practices such as ITIL, COBIT, TOGAF, and PMBOK.
• Establish the Banks multi-speed IT Operating Model that supports the IT strategy and business operating model. Conduct IT operating model assessment and design and implement the target state operating model encompassing technology, processes, people, and partners to achieve agility in-service support and solution delivery value streams.
• Oversee a variety of HR-related functions for the IT department, which includes evaluating competencies and staff performance, creating job definitions, maintaining the skill inventory matrix, recruiting and training staff, defining and communicating key result areas (KRAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as succession planning.
• Drive ongoing process improvement through internal audits, quality improvement planning, management reviews, and organizational assessments.
• Spearheaded multiple industry certification programs, securing CMMi Level 2 and ISO20000 certifications for the IT Department and ensuring ISO9001 compliance for banking operations.
• Successfully executed the timely and high-quality replacement of an outdated legacy retail banking system with a cutting-edge core banking system tailored to support over 400 branches and 2000 ATMs.
• Provided consulting expertise in various software development life cycle processes, including project management, developing business requirements, design and architecture, testing, and release and deployment.
• Spearheaded changes and improvements in the testing system, testing team, environment, tools and automation, and processes.
• Directed overall improvement in the change, release, and configuration management processes for effective and efficient handling of change requests, product releases, and deployments.