Fredrik Lindstrom

Chief Digital Officer, Commonwealth Bank

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has doubled down on its fascination with how Scandinavian economies are quietly reshaping digital finance and commerce, luring across a key executive from Denmark’s Danske Bank to become its new chief digital officer. Australia’s largest institution has confirmed that Fredrik Lindstrom, who is currently group chief information officer for Danske Bank, will replace Pete Steel in the increasingly important CDO role that straddles technology, customer experience, service design and delivery and marketing. Steel, who has traded in his banker’s chips to hit the consulting circuit with Boston Consulting Group, had been regarded as one of the key players in maintaining CBA’s technological competitive advantage over its rivals by creating new ‘sticky’ services that provided experiential reasons for customers to stay beyond price and scale. Two of the big moving pieces in CBA’s digital playbook – aside from ambushing its rivals by breaking an unofficial boycott of Apple Pay – have been the relaunch of the bank’s core mobile app and its complimentary Benefits Finder service that helps eliminate friction in dealing with government.