OM DENNE EPISODE
Alessandro Hatami has spent 25 years at the heart of global fintech and banking, holding senior leadership roles at PayPal Europe, Lloyds Banking Group and GE Capital before founding Pacemakers and serving nearly a decade as an FCA regulated non-executive director. In this fintech and board governance masterclass, he breaks down why incumbents have proven far more resilient than anyone predicted, what boards are getting dangerously wrong about AI liability, and why the NED role is fundamentally misunderstood by most executives who transition into it.
Alessandro argues that board governance is quietly becoming one of the most significant challengers of AI implementation inside financial institutions, not because boards are obstructive, but because they carry personal legal liability for technology decisions that most of them are not yet equipped to evaluate. He also unpacks how Pacemakers operates as an executive search firm for fintech partnerships and why the adapt, evolve, transform framework determines which banks survive the next wave of disruption.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Alessandro Hatami and 25 Years Across PayPal, Lloyds and GE Capital
01:58 What Has Fundamentally Changed in Banking Over 25 Years
03:08 The Innovators Dilemma: Why Incumbents Struggle to Move at Fintech Speed
05:21 Why Nobody Is Actually Closing Their Lloyds Account for Revolut
09:46 When Will Challengers Truly Overtake Incumbent Banks
12:21 How Pacemakers Matches Banks With the Right Fintech Partners
19:28 The Biggest Challenges Boards Face as AI Enters Financial Services
25:52 What Most Executives Get Wrong When They Become a Non-Executive Director
27:11 How to Challenge a CEO Without Overstepping as a NED
29:02 What Separates a High Performance Board from One That Just Meets
33:08 Key Questions Boards Are Asking About AI Governance Right Now
37:38 The Toughest Board Decision Alessandro Has Ever Faced
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