Chief Data Officer — Consumer-Finance Book

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent data investment producing limited reusable business value within a listed diversified financial-services platform. The immediate arena is the consumer-finance book during a post-acquisition integration. For mandate 045, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Data Officer operating perimeter covers approximately CHF 3,300 million in assets under oversight, with activity spanning several consumer-finance book customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Data Officer Financial Services remit carries direct influence over roughly 300 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Data Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the consumer-finance book. The Chief Data Officer Financial Services seat must resolve a post-acquisition integration, while preserving the underlying strengths of the consumer-finance book. For mandate 045, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Data Officer’s first year on the consumer-finance book is expected to end with trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption. In mandate 045, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Data Officer — Consumer-Finance Book seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the consumer-finance book, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a post-acquisition integration cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Data Officer value-creation thesis for the consumer-finance book, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately CHF 3,300 million in assets under oversight, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Data Officer Financial Services organisation of about 300 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the consumer-finance book economics and execution constraints created by a post-acquisition integration, with Chief Data Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Data Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the consumer-finance book; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have converted governed data assets into adopted products with named owners, service levels and economic value in mandate 045.
• Build the Chief Data Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the consumer-finance book, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Financial Services organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the consumer-finance book baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to data investment producing limited reusable business value, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Data Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the consumer-finance book, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable consumer-finance book trend against trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Data Officer’s agreed first-year consumer-finance book value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Data Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the consumer-finance book’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Data Officer mandate’s highest-priority consumer-finance book risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical consumer-finance book talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Data Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Data Officer-owned improvement in the consumer-finance book operating constraint behind a post-acquisition integration, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 045: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive in a listed Financial Services or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the consumer-finance book, your Chief Data Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Data Officer brief.

As a Chief Data Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Financial Services or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of CHF 1,900 million and led an organisation of at least 300 people.

For mandate 045, the board wants two transitions: a difficult consumer-finance book portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a post-acquisition integration. As the prospective Chief Data Officer for this consumer-finance book, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 045 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Data Officer must be based in Zurich; international relocation is supported, but this Financial Services role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Financial Services governance forum.
• Proven Chief Data Officer ownership of at least CHF 1,900 million and leadership of no fewer than 300 employees in a comparable consumer-finance book context.
• One completed Financial Services or adjacent-sector example of data investment producing limited reusable business value with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from banking, insurance, payments, wealth or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Data Officer-level consumer-finance book consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Zurich location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 045.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Data Officer package is CHF 450,000–620,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final consumer-finance book scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 045 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Data Officer appointment in Zurich, centred on the consumer-finance book, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 045.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 045. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 045.