The Chief Transformation Officer: Driving Change in Financial Services
In this episode of The Change and Transformation Podcast, host Simon Spooner sat down with Chris Iwanowski, Chief Transformation Officer at Allianz Australia, to discuss his approach to leading large-scale transformation, the evolving role of the CTO, and how to maintain wellbeing while steering significant organisational change.
The Three Pillars of Successful Transformation
When asked about the key factors crucial to successful change and transformation, Chris identified three essential elements:
Clear governance and structural alignment: "I tend to think of everything in business as a machine. And that machine needs to work with all the moving parts," Chris explains. This is particularly important in financial services where, as a service industry rather than a goods producer, efficient information and data flow through the system is essential.
Transparency and data-driven decision-making: "I want everything on the table that is important, and I want my decisions not based on opinion," Chris emphasises. In transformation, you're asking people to change, which they can only do with certainty and trust – and trust comes from data.
Stakeholder engagement: Recognising that transformation is fundamentally about changing people, processes, and culture, Chris stresses the importance of engaging stakeholders actively. "You need to draw people in and turn them from someone who is being changed to someone who changes along with your process."
Replatforming Allianz Australia: A Transformation Journey
Chris joined Allianz Australia to lead a significant transformation programme that combines the Allianz Customer Model (a framework for serving customers across multiple lines of business) with their IT Master Platform (the software, data, and IT framework). This combined approach, called the Business Master Platform (BMP), has been rolling out across multiple operational entities globally.
In late 2022, the programme underwent a dramatic shift, changing both the IT architecture and the delivery model completely. This disruption created the necessity for a dedicated Chief Transformation Officer role in the Australian market, which Chris stepped into.
Creating Tangible Wins Along the Journey
While large-scale transformation takes time, Chris emphasises the importance of creating "tangible intermediate results" to maintain momentum and engagement.
For Chris, these wins include:
Creating clarity and transparency about the current state, challenges, and path forward
Developing meaningful communication that bridges the gap between high-level vision and detailed technical requirements
Delivering incremental IT releases that work well and demonstrate progress
Acknowledging that unlike modern applications that update overnight, established companies with century-old legacy systems require a different approach to transformation.
The Attributes of Successful Transformation Leaders
When hiring for his transformation team, Chris looks for three key attributes:
Intrapreneurship: "Being entrepreneurial in a corporate environment... sitting at the driver's seat of the car that you have been given and really driving it using the full extent of the road, up to the natural guardrails."
Resilience: The ability to maintain composure when things go off track and work through challenges.
Decisiveness: "I want people around me to make decisions by themselves. Please don't make me the bottleneck of your decisions."
The Search Project Perspective
At The Search Project, we specialise in identifying professionals with these rare combinations of skills – individuals who blend structured thinking with adaptability, who can drive change while maintaining wellbeing, and who demonstrate intrapreneurial spirit within large organisations.
Chris' insights reinforce what we've observed in the market: successful transformation leaders combine methodical approaches with human-centred change management, clear governance with stakeholder engagement, and personal wellbeing with organisational performance.
For more insights on change and transformation in financial services and beyond, follow The Search Project's podcast series and connect with us.