Top financial services CIOs in Southeast Asia

The role of the Chief Information Officer is continuing to gain relevance across Southeast Asia.

Last month, Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, issued a decree instructing all government agencies in the country to appoint a CIO to coordinate technological agendas between different authorities.

Here we have a list of top CIOs and IT executives in the financial services industry across the ASEAN region.

Surachai Chatchalermpun, CISO, Krung Thai Bank, Thailand

Chatchalermpun is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Krung Thai Bank (KTB), a state-owned bank in Thailand which was formed in 1966 following the merger of two government-owned banks, Kaset Bank and Monton Bank.

He leads an IT security team responsible for app penetration testing, IT security compliance, security solution architecture, security awareness and user activity monitoring (UAM). Prior to joining KTB, Chatchalermpun was the Regional IT Security Manager and Head of IT Security at Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) responsible for the entire spectrum of the company’s IT Security.

Mary James, CIO, Bank Danamon, Indonesia

James has over 20 years of experience in IT within the banking and telecommunications sectors, with a focus on turnkey projects, product development and implementation of mission critical application systems and processes.

She has also expertise in conceptualising business models and delivering cost efficient, quality solutions to enterprises. James has written about the importance of the finance sector adapting to digital disruption.

Her previous roles include Group CIO and Head of Infrastructure at Alliance Bank, Malaysia and CIO at NIB, Pakistan.

Voranuch Dejakaisaya, CIOO, Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Thailand

After 10 years of service in the Krungsri bank as CIO leading the Information Technology Group, Dejakaisaya was appointed to be Chief Information and Operations Officer (CIOO) in January 2017, extending her responsibilities to the operational arm of the group.

Krungsri is one of Thailand’s most important banks and has strategic shareholders from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan largest bank and the fifth worldwide by total assets.

During her 30 years of experience in IT and financial services, Krungsri has witnessed numerous changes in the industry. She said in an interview with FST Media , that these “range from product innovation, growth, productivity, security and regulatory control requirements, and our challenge is to develop IT solutions to cover the end-to-end process.”

Eat Chetrasorivong, acting CIO, Sathapana Bank, Cambodia

With nearly 15 years of experience in IT with a strong focus on the banking sector, Chetrasorivong has worked with five international banks, including Maybank, Phillip Bank and Angkor Capital Bank.

At Sathapana Bank he leads and directs four IT departments (IT Application, IT Infrastructure, IT Digital System and Information Security) and is in charge of project management, resources and HR. Chetrasorivong is also responsible for key support to enable business units to achieve targeted objectives.

Tran Cong Quynh Lan, Deputy General Director, Chief Information Officer, VietinBank, Vietnam

Tran Cong Quynh Lan joined VietinBank in 2012 and is currently Deputy General Director, CIO, at VietinBank.

He is in charge of all IT related activities in the bank, including the development and monitoring of the implementation of the organisation’s IT strategy to ensure that is coordinates with the business strategy.

Among the CIO’s achievements are the standardisation of the IT architecture towards service and the deployment of multi-functional customer platforms such as mobile and internet banking.

In 2015 he received an award at IDG’s CIO and CSO Summit & Awards in Southeast Asia.

Enrico Hernandez, Senior VP - Information Technology at BDO Unibank, Philippines

Enrico Hernandez has been Senior Vice President, Head - Information Technology Group - Information Technology Development of Philippines’ BDO Unibank since May 2011.

He has previously handled the ITD Unit responsible for consumer lending and served as the IT Head of BDO Private Bank Inc. He was also Applications Development Head of Banco Santander Philippines, which BDO acquired in 2003.

Hernandez is a graduate from Ateneo de Manila University and holds BSc degrees in Chemistry and Computer Engineering.

David Gledhill, Group CIO, DBS Bank, Singapore

David Gledhill is Group Chief Information Officer, as well as Head of Group Technology & Operations at DBS Bank, one of Asia’s leading banks and a leading Asian bank and dubbed by Euromoney as the “World’s Best Digital Bank”.

Gledhill has over 25 years of experience in the financial service industry and has spent over 20 years in Asia. Prior to joining DBS in 2008, he worked for 20 years at JP Morgan, holding senior regional positions in technology and operations.

As Head of Group Technology & Operations at DBS, Gledhill manages about 10,000 professionals across the region and is focused on strengthening the bank’s technology and infrastructure platform to drive greater resilience, organisational flexibility and innovation.