Can RPA ‘take the robot out of the human’? Are FinTech companies and startups a competition or rather an opportunity?

In this #LeadershipDeepDive episode, Mark Foulsham, COO of Kensington Mortgages, talks with Hendrik Deckers about his journey from CIO to COO and how the boundaries between functions are becoming blurry. Reflecting on the changing role of a leader, Mark believes that digital leaders need to think outwards not inwards and follow a human centered approach.

Mark has a very clear view on workflow Automation:
✅ RPA is a vital part of Kensington Mortgage’s toolbox
✅ Minimize staffing in the back office through automation and outsourcing, leaving people to focus on customers
✅ Understanding the business model is critical for the RPA to be effective
✅ Working in a highly regulated environment requires constant feedback from customers and risk assessment

“I’m a big believer in having no regrets”, Mark says and adds “breaking down those hierarchal structures, working in a way that is more interconnected within the different layers of a firm I think is really key”.

Table of contents

01:20 | Introduction and Mark Foulsham’s background

03:25 | About Kensington Mortgages

04:24 | Drivers for change

06:21 | Reinventing the business: workplace

11:04 | Workforce

13:58 | Changing leadership

15:55 | Journey towards Agile way of work

17:25 | Workflow. Mark’s view on automation

25:22 | Start-ups and FinTech companies as generators of Innovation

27:55 | Kensington Mortgages’ operating model

33:06 | Internal and external data

36:09 | Mark’s secret for success

41:30 | Mark’s management & leadership style

50:03 | MBTI: the Commander

55:06 | Mark’s most brilliant failure & lessons learnt

57:41 | Mark’s core values

01:00:42 | Best & worst thing that has ever happened to Mark

01:03:37 | Ways to relax

01:05:45 | Mark’s mentors

01:08:22 | Personal mantra

01:09:58 | What Mark loves & fears most

01:13:29 | Advice for people starting out