When Ron Knapp joined Citigroup’s fintech unit as head of technology, he sent a note to his new managers with a suggestion: “Given what we’re trying to achieve I think I should come in wearing my boots and jeans.”
Mr Knapp joined Citi FinTech in 2016 to build a team of technology specialists, a few months after the bank had launched the division to “design and deliver the bank of tomorrow”. Having spent 16 years at Amazon, latterly in software development, his move meant he joined a tribe he says will become increasingly valuable to big banks — established tech professionals.
Financial institutions started poaching professionals from the tech world about three years ago in response to disruption from fintech competitors, says Max Johnson, manager at the recruitment agency Robert Walters. But to convince tech tribes to work for them, they have had to change.