Second Global Planning Session: connected teams to accelerate BBVA’s transformation

CEO Carlos Torres Vila kicked off the session, connecting live from London. “We are looking for agility in build our development in order to be faster and reach customers sooner. And we are also working to improve the quality, delivering incredible, amazing experiences, and doing it efficiently.”

Ten global projects from BBVA’s digital agenda were selected for the planning session. Throughout the day, the different teams made commitments and defined deliverables for the next three months.

The Second Global Planning event marks another milestone in the new way of working at BBVA, connecting countries and different business areas, to go from strategy to execution in an agile and efficient manner; synchronizing teams and for the first time, sharing a global agenda that is already in its execution stage.

Derek White, Head of Customer Solutions, hosted a session that helped give a new push to the 10 global projects under development in several countries.

The people behind these global initiatives – which address a number of fields, including data use, new payment solutions, banking apps, user experience and digital sales – met at BBVA City’s auditorium. Derek White reminded participants that these projects were selected from a total of 500 initiatives for best connecting with what customers demand and need in the different countries.

“These 10 projects are part of more than 60 local projects and initiatives. That is why it is essential for us to work as a team and try to align the things that are going to be done globally and locally,” noted Derek White, for whom this global agenda represents the best way to maximize the value of BBVA’s resources with a real impact for the different countries.

The creation of the Engineering Customer Solutions area was one of the key components of promoting the global agenda, led by multidisciplinary teams. “We needed to decentralize technology,” explained Ricardo Moreno, Head of Engineering, who considers that BBVA is taking the right steps to transition from a functionality-based organization to a project-based organization. “You can have teams using agile methodologies for projects, but you can also use agile methodologies across all areas. An organization aligned with the KPIs or business objectives at all levels. That is our vision for the future,” he added.

This way of working was dubbed “essential” for the Group’s transformation, as it will position BBVA to compete with top digital leaders.

Francisco González, BBVA’s Global Executive Chairman, expressed his conviction that BBVA is doing things correctly. "The transformation effort that started 10 years ago with the technology platforms has moved into a stage that needs to be marked by execution". For Francisco González, BBVA has a competitive edge that cannot be easily replicated. “We have all the tools to make a big change. And I believe that BBVA has a unique opportunity to be one of the top global players,” he maintained.

In this change, Francisco González stressed that the key elements are people and teams comprised of multidisciplinary team - from financial experts to engineers or mathematicians - working in collaboration with the other areas, such as legal and compliance, CIB, risks or design. “We need to remain very well connected, knowing that we all are part of a team in which we are all important,” he insisted.

At the end of the day, the teams had commitments from the different support areas and countries that would be implemented in the next quarter. In June, they will reconvene for 'Demo Day', when the teams will show their deliverables and continue planning in an agile and efficient manner.

The day ended with a visit from was BBVA’s Head of Talent and Culture Ricardo Forcano, who assured that this session should be regarded as a milestone for BBVA. “This is a milestone that will allow us to translate strategic priorities into specific actions in the global and local programs in all of the bank’s geographic regions,” he concluded.