Significant personnel changes have recently occurred within the technology and wealth management divisions of Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. (SHSE: 601166), affecting departments including the Data Center, Technology Operations Center, Wealth Management Department, and its fintech subsidiary.
Significant Tech Division Leadership Changes
A report indicates that Chen Xi, previously Assistant General Manager of the bank's Data Center, has been appointed as Deputy General Manager of the Technology Operations Center.
Within the fintech subsidiary, Zheng Zizhou, the former Technology Director, has been promoted to Assistant President. He had previously served as General Manager of the Cloud Computing Business Unit, General Manager of the RPA Business Unit, and Director of the Application Innovation Center.
It is noteworthy that in mid-April, the bank also conducted a major reshuffle of senior leadership in its head office technology division, involving the Technology Operations Center, the Technology Management Department, the Financial Technology Research Institute, and the fintech subsidiary.
At that time, Hou Cheng, General Manager of the Technology Operations Center, was transferred to become General Manager of the Head Office Technology Management Department. Wang Yi, Vice President of the fintech subsidiary, succeeded him as General Manager of the Technology Operations Center. Furthermore, Chen Chong, President of the Financial Technology Research Institute, was reassigned as its Chief Researcher. Sun Hao, Deputy General Manager of the Technology Operations Center, took over as President of the Financial Technology Research Institute.
Following these recent changes, the leadership of the bank's technology division has seen substantial turnover this year, with changes at the helm of the Technology Management Department, Technology Operations Center, and Financial Technology Research Institute, and a shift in deputy leadership at the Technology Operations Center.
Concurrent Technology Capability Enhancements
Alongside these rapid personnel changes, the bank is also strengthening its capabilities in areas like AI.
In early June, the bank initiated an upgrade project for its "Golden Snail" RPA platform to enhance its capabilities. This includes using the bank's own large language model to generate RPA code, upgrading the RPA client, adapting it to a domestic operating system, building a unified RPA portal, optimizing user account permissions and monitoring systems, and opening up RPA scenario capabilities. The project implementation period is eight months from contract signing.
The "Golden Snail" RPA platform was developed by the bank's fintech subsidiary, with related products first launched as early as May 2019. Whether the future development and upgrades of this platform will involve other vendors is a point of interest.
Furthermore, on May 17th, the bank began soliciting suppliers for a new cloud platform operation service system R&D project. The project aims to procure R&D services to build a new cloud platform operation service system centered on application management, leveraging the bank's existing observability capabilities. The estimated service volume is 108 person-months.
Wealth Management Division Also Sees Reshuffle
The bank's recent head office adjustments extend beyond the technology division.
Wu Minqing, Deputy General Manager of the Wealth Management Department, has been appointed as Deputy General Manager of the Private Banking Department. She previously served as Deputy General Manager of the Retail Wealth Business Center and Assistant General Manager of the Retail Wealth and Liability Management Department.
Notably, at the end of May, the General Manager of the Wealth Management Department was transferred to a branch. This means that following Deputy General Manager Wu Minqing's reassignment, the Wealth Management Department has recently seen both its general manager and a deputy general manager leave their posts, indicating further leadership changes are likely for the department.
At the end of May, Li Li, General Manager of the Head Office Wealth Management Department, was designated to become President of the Tianjin Branch.
Li Li, born in January 1980, has a long tenure at the bank, having held various positions in both head office and branches, including roles in Shenzhen Branch and Hangzhou Branch, and most recently as General Manager of the Wealth Management Department since 2023. He also serves as a director of the bank's wealth management subsidiary.
Industry-Wide Trend in Wealth Management Focus
In fact, as banks advance their retail transformations and competition intensifies in areas like credit cards, capital-light businesses such as wealth management have become fiercely contested. Adjusting wealth management leadership and emphasizing related businesses within the retail framework to drive growth is a strategy increasingly adopted by many banks.
At the end of June, Huang Jin, General Manager of China Minsheng Bank's Wealth Management/Private Banking Department, was transferred to become General Manager of the Personal Finance Department. Similarly, in late June, Hua Xia Bank appointed a new head for its Wealth Management and Private Banking Department, recruiting an executive from China Minsheng Bank.
Earlier, other banks including Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and Bank of Hangzhou have also focused on wealth management layouts, involving adjustments to head office structures and leadership appointments.
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