The “growing influence” of chief operating officers (COOs) is reaching beyond the back office, with 60 percent wanting a different job title to reflect their expanding role, according to a global survey released by BNP Paribas Securities Services.
The survey suggested that COOs across Europe, the US and Asia are now more focused on growth and transformation, which reflects financial institutions’ drive to adapt to change.
Key findings from buy side respondents highlighted the increasing competition and ongoing digital transformation in the asset management industry, as some 63 percent of asset manager COOs listed “increased competition in the market as a key challenge”.
Further findings from the buy side identified that 61 percent of asset manager COOs said they were looking for closer collaboration with IT or technology departments, versus 38 percent overall.
The survey also found that asset manager COOs are most likely to come from technology or IT backgrounds, whereas COOs across financial services are more likely to come from finance or accounting backgrounds.
Additionally, 59 percent of asset manager COOs said they would spend more time on delivering change projects in future (versus 43 percent overall), while 24 percent would prefer to be called ‘chief change officer’, compared to 17 percent overall.
Meanwhile, key findings from the sell side revealed that 56 percent of sell-side COOs said that commercial acumen is the most important competency to have in the future, versus 28 percent on the buy side, representing a two-fold increase of the current figure.
According to BNP Paribas, 42 percent of sell-side COOs saw themselves spending more time on realising cost savings in the future, versus the current 32 percent.
The survey also found that sell-side COOs were most likely to feel the COO title is still relevant, while only half of the respondents felt an alternative was more appropriate.
Other key findings suggested that while risk management remains a key part of the role, COOs said that driving growth opportunities, including new products and services (52 percent), and delivering transformational and significant change projects (39 percent), have become essential.
BNP Paribas noted that this trend is particularly marked in Asia Pacific where 56 percent of COOs ranked transformation as their top priority, compared to 26 percent in North America.
From a global perspective, COOs recognised that they cannot rely on technology alone, BNP Paribas highlighted.
More than half (67 percent) of COOs said upskilling the workforce could help drive transformation projects and business growth, while 60 percent said spending time with clients would assist with this.
Alain Pochet, head of client delivery at BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “BNP Paribas Securities Services has been working with COOs for decades and we have witnessed first-hand the challenges COOs are facing to transform the client and employee experience.”
“Our survey shows that COOs are adapting quickly to meet these challenges, and are embracing their growing remit. Crucially, they are not relying on technology alone, but are also upskilling their workforce, a combination which could prove key to the successful transformation of financial institutions,” Pochet added.
