Meet the Expert, François Toussaint

"Be curious and regularly step out of your comfort zone"

Deciding not to study IT at the last minute and then building a career in IT after graduating. Some call it coincidence, others call it karma, but for François Toussaint, key account manager at Sopra Steria for ING, it's proof that life isn't a linear path from A to B and that it regularly has surprises in store for you. He therefore advocates always being curious and regularly stepping out of your comfort zone.

So, what does a key account manager at ING do?
“In my role, I am Sopra Steria's main point of contact with ING. Every day, I work to build strong strategic relationships with customers, aligning their needs with our IT solutions and services to improve ING's financial services and effectiveness. This only makes sense if I have a thorough understanding of the bank's real challenges and can clearly explain the added value of our services. To achieve this, I liaise with directors, and managers at ING and internally with the business to identify real issues and ensure that projects assigned to our teams are progressing smoothly. No two days are the same.”

How did you end up in IT?
“Initially, I wanted to study IT, but then I realised that I wasn't the right person to sit behind a laptop all day typing code. At the last minute, I changed my mind and went to study economics instead. After graduating, I ended up working in IT at Callataÿ & Wouters, a company that develops software for the financial sector. I worked there as a developer and IT consultant. The company was then taken over by Sopra, continuing under the name Sopra Banking Software. I held various roles at Sopra, including analyst, team leader and project manager. I then switched to the sales team.

The great thing about Sopra Steria is that if you're curious and willing to learn new things, opportunities will come your way. I never thought I would end up in sales, but I discovered that I really enjoy interacting with customers. I enjoy understanding their challenges and working with them to find IT solutions to their problems. However, this only works if you are close to the customer and know how to gain their trust. Without trust, they will never share their real pain points with you.”

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the financial sector?
“The biggest challenge is digital transformation. Banks are facing increasing competition from new fintech companies and major technology corporations. Banks are also increasingly functioning as IT companies, with business and IT becoming more integrated. Everything is going online these days. Banks must keep up because customers expect increasingly innovative services and products through all kinds of channels. This is only possible if banks move with the times and respond to this using data and new technology solutions. If you don't keep up, you stand still, and that's disastrous. Let me give you a simple example: lending and the decision to grant a loan. If the decision isn't made quickly enough, the competition will win the customer over.

It's therefore important to have a digital process in place so that customers know where they stand within a day.

Another challenge is the current global geopolitical situation. Due to import tariffs imposed by the United States on other countries, as well as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, markets are under pressure. In response, the European Central Bank has lowered interest rates to stimulate the economy. One downside of this is that banks' revenues are falling, so they are focusing on controlling costs. This can be achieved by encouraging greater efficiency and productivity among employees and by digitising and automating processes. AI can play a role in this, and Sopra Steria can help with that.

A third challenge is digital sovereignty. In Europe, the aforementioned geopolitical tensions are fueling a growing debate about whether we as Europe are too dependent on non-European data services and technologies. Can we continue to rely on the services of these companies in the future, and will our data still be secure? I notice that this discussion is becoming more common, and it is important that we think about this and, if necessary, fall back on European alternatives to safeguard our strategic autonomy. ING, for example, already has data centres in the Netherlands.

Finally, I would like to mention the increasing legislation and regulations surrounding data, technology and digital security with which the financial sector must comply. Over the past ten years, the pace of regulation has increased dramatically, as have the operational costs of compliance. PSD2, GDPR, PSD3, DORA, MiCA, the Cyber Resilience Act and the AI Act are just a few examples. This requires expertise that small banks usually lack, so they have to hire it in. Large banks also find this difficult. For me, as an individual, it is almost impossible to be well informed about every new directive. At Sopra Steria, we realised that it would be smarter to pool our regulatory knowledge and share it, which would enable us to assist the banks more effectively.”

What makes your work enjoyable? What inspires you?
"I am a curious person by nature, so I enjoy meeting new people who have a different perspective on things than I do. That is refreshing because it provides new insights and broadens my horizons, both in my private and professional life. In my work, I therefore try to approach a customers' problem with an open mind and understand their issues. If I can help a customer, I'm happy."

What role can AI play in the financial sector?
“AI has enormous potential, but the disadvantage is that we sometimes don't know exactly how it works or how accurate its results are. I'm therefore keeping a critical mind, and I believe we need to exercise caution when using AI. In any case, I'm glad that Europe has good AI regulations in the form of the AI Act. Currently, the financial sector is still cautious about the technology, partly due to the complex nature of its operating environment. Nevertheless, AI offers advantages such as cost and time savings, as well as better decision-making. I think AI could be useful in customer journeys, for example, by increasing efficiency. It can also help to detect financial fraud and inform credit decisions. There are many interesting initiatives, but we are still waiting for AI applications that can be used on a large scale.”

What advice would you give to someone interested in a career in IT?
“First, be curious. If you are curious, the world is your oyster. That has worked very well for me. Secondly, be open to people and learn new skills and technologies. My second piece of advice is to step out of your comfort zone regularly. It won't always feel comfortable, but you will increase your self-confidence, become less afraid of making mistakes, and learn new skills that will make your work more interesting.”