HSBC hires Google engineering director for retail tech role

Mike Warriner, HSBC

Mike Warriner joining HSBC as chief information officer for retail banking and digital wealth management.
Warriner spent 5 years at Google in London as engineering director.
His appointment is part of a $2.1 billion digital push at HSBC.

LONDON — HSBC has appointed a former Google executive as its new chief information officer for retail banking and digital wealth management.

Mike Warriner spent five years at Google in London, serving as engineering director and the European chairman of Google Payments. As engineering director, he led the Google Engineering site and AdSense Engineering.

Cambridge educated Warriner was chief technology officer of British tech company Intelligent Environments before joining Google, where he led the development of secure online banking applications.

Warriner said in a statement: "HSBC is an amazing brand, has great products and a highly capable global technology team. But even the strongest can’t sit still and the market is moving rapidly with new entrants taking advantage of mobile, artificial intelligence, chat bots and agile development.

"I am confident that together we can build the best products in the market – relevant, innovative, and exciting and a great experience for our customers."

HSBC said Warriner's appointment is part of a $2.1 billion digital push at the bank, which includes recent innovations in retail and wealth products. The bank has announced HSBC Beta, an app that allows people to see all their accounts in one place and find the best deals, and has announced plans for an online investment advice service.

Warriner started at HSBC on November 6 and will be based in London. He reports to Ganesh Balasubramanian, Global Retail Banking and Wealth Management CIO.

Balasubramanian said in a statement: "As we continue to adapt to evolving customer needs, we need the right people to bring new thinking to HSBC, ensuring we are able to offer the best possible banking experience.

"Mike brings a unique mix of deep technical knowledge, past experience of the banking world and Google scale, plus expertise in building and leading global technology teams."

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