Michael Abbott

Global Banking Lead at Accenture

‘Paradigm shift’ was coined in 1962 by scientific philosopher Thomas Kuhn, who noted that technology advances in smooth linear patterns until something ushers in a new way of thinking. Banking is experiencing a paradigm shift. This is no accident; it’s the impact of passionate visionaries who are harnessing the power of emerging technologies to reshape the future of banking—and we are just getting started. Some leaders prioritize historical data when crafting their strategies. I look to the future and ask how we can invent it. With an academic grounding in mathematics and engineering and a fascination for technology, I started my career as a research scientist at IBM’s Watson Labs, building some of the earliest TCP/IP routers, which form the backbone of the internet today. After graduate school I joined Mitchell Madison, a start-up consultancy founded by former McKinsey partners. Missing the thrill of building things, I landed at GE Capital. During my 10 years at GE I grew the Consumer Finance business to $30 billion in assets and $1 billion in net income. I built GE’s bank card business and turned the group’s 80-year-old private label business into a highly profitable growth engine. In 2010, I was presented with the GE Chairman’s Award for leading the business through the financial crisis.

Talks About
#technology #banking

Preferred Locations
#Northamerica