Chris Shayan appointed head of AI at Backbase to lead vision

Backbase has announced the appointment of Chris Shayan as the new Head of Artificial Intelligence for the company. This strategic move aims to bolster Backbase’s AI vision and enhance its Engagement Banking Platform by rearchitecting banking around the customer.

Chris Shayan is a digital leader noted for his achievements in scaling digital banking transformation programmes. His impressive track record includes a stint at HD Bank, where he served as Chief Digital Officer. Under his leadership, HD Bank experienced a complete digital transformation, resulting in a fourfold growth in its customer base. Shayan's strategies led to 84% of new customer acquisitions through digital channels, a sevenfold increase in active customers, and an elevenfold increase in online deposits. These achievements significantly contributed to a nearly threefold growth in operating income per customer, with over 96% of retail transactions happening digitally.

Prior to this, Shayan was the Chief Technology Officer at Techcombank, where he oversaw the bank's digital transformation using Backbase's platform for both Retail and Business Banking. He implemented a shift from monolithic architecture to microservices and micro-frontends in just nine months, which resulted in Techcombank's first profitable year, exceeding USD $1 billion. This transformation facilitated further innovation and investment at the bank.

Chris Shayan expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, saying, "I'm excited to be joining Backbase as its first Head of Artificial Intelligence. I believe that AI's potential extends beyond just process optimisation. The existing technology at Backbase is remarkable, and I am genuinely excited about contributing to the development of a robust Gen AI track that will empower banks to enhance productivity and further accelerate their modernisation efforts. I'm particularly interested in leveraging LLMs to personalise and innovate the customer journey, unlocking new avenues for banks to increase customer lifetime value."

This appointment underscores Backbase's mission of rearchitecting banking around the customer by fortifying its AI initiatives. It also marks the start of a new Centre of Excellence (COE) in Vietnam, supported by a team of dedicated subject matter experts.

Thomas Fuss, Chief Technology Officer of Backbase, commented on the appointment, "We are pleased to announce Chris Shayan as our new Head of Artificial Intelligence. With his demonstrated expertise in digital banking solutions and a true passion for technological advancement, Chris is a true business leader who drives innovation and is set to lead our AI initiatives into an exciting future."

Backbase aims to integrate AI into its Engagement Banking Platform (EBP), which will play a significant role in the firm’s ongoing efforts to modernise customer journeys and optimise operations. With Shayan's focus on leveraging large language models (LLMs) and AI, Backbase anticipates further revolutionising its platform to build what it terms the "world's leading Engagement Banking platform."