HANOI: Eugene Keith Galbraith, the world-class banking veteran, hopes to add value by drawing on his vast experience with BCA, the hugely successful Indonesian bank, to help Techcombank achieve its vision of becoming a leading bank in the region.

As an independent director, Galbraith recalled the first time he came to Vietnam in 2018 with “happiness, but no special expectation”.

Yet, the country amazed him. Vietnam gave him a sense of comfort through its culture and business environment, Galbraith said.

Throughout his 40-year career, Galbraith’s roles in the finance industry included vice-president commissioner of PT Bank NISP Tbk, managing director of ABN Amro Asia, and senior adviser to the Indonesian Finance Ministry.

“I jumped at it. This is a great opportunity for me to learn about a new and dynamic country, and also become part of Techcombank’s success story,” he said.

An avid reader, Galbraith suggested Marshall McLuhan’s book Understanding Media in which the late author described that in the media world, it was not the content but the modality of delivery that mattered.“It’s very relevant to digital banking services because what you want to develop is not just profitable relationships, but sticky relationships. That’s where digital transformation has to be managed very carefully,” Galbraith said.

While it is common knowledge that digital tools help with cost saving and efficiency, to Galbraith, it is all about trust.

“So it’s very important that banks maintain a warm rather than a cool medium where there’s no loyalty, and the intimacy between the consumers and the products is lost,” he added.

 - ANN