Cover story
the company and its soon-to-be CEO, in which his in-depth understanding of strategy formulation and execution for the boards of some of the most prominent corporations across the GCC and Middle East would play a crucial role in turning around the fortunes of a company that, though it had immense potential, had strayed off course.
Stepping into SmartStream In 2016, SmartStream was a company with a long heritage in the financial technology space. It had developed solutions that had helped many banks to reinvent their middle and back-office processes, and it already had a reputation for technological innovation. But it had arguably strayed too far into pursuing custom developed solution addressing the needs of single clients. Kaddoura had seen this mindset develop over nine years while on the board and had observed the detrimental effect it was having on the company’s finances, and its relationships with its core clients. “I have seen two other CEOs at the company, both with very different working styles,” Kaddoura explains. “As a board member, I need to understand what drives the CEO, so in 2016, when I was asked to step in, I already knew what would work for the company and what would not.”
financial results were heading south and the board asked me to make a quick turnaround in six months.” Though he was given a short period of time to make a material difference in the company’s performance, Kaddoura embraced the opportunity wholeheartedly, using his long-standing knowledge of SmartStream and its core strengths to implement a raft of new measures that would refocus it, change its priorities and get all of its different people and divisions working together towards the same goal.
“The leadership was too technically focused. Embracing new technologies was a priority for the company, but it was not always done with the right metrics in place or necessarily for technology.”
“The company was moving away from what it was known for and what the market wanted, so I was asked to take over as an interim CEO and make a quick turnaround,” he adds. Tasked with revitalising the company’s performance, Kaddoura did not want to abandon the pursuit of innovative technologies – but needed to ensure that staying at the bleeding edge of new technology development did not get in the way of understanding the company’s clients and their priorities. “The company, as is often the case in organisations led by technically focused individuals, had lost sight of its investors and market priorities,” he says. “The leadership was too technically focused. Embracing new technologies was a priority for the company, but it was not always done with the right metrics in place or necessarily for technology,” the CEO adds. “You have to look at the investors’ perspective when you are chasing new technology,” the CEO adds. “The
24
Not only did Kaddoura return the company to profitability in just a few months, six years later he is still the CEO. It’s a role he relishes, giving him the opportunity to build on its consistent revenue growth, increase alignment with clients and continue to focus on investing in new technologies. At the same time, Kaddoura is focusing on the challenges financial services are likely to face in the near future. Now, SmartStream has a comprehensive suite of solutions, which each address specific pain points in the industry – and which work together to create a portfolio of technologies and services that helps banks to be more agile and responsive at a time when they face growing competition from fintech and challenger banks. “What I brought was my experience in organisational restructuring, which was built up over nine years on the board and, importantly, an investor perspective,” Kaddoura explains. “I knew that there was exceptional talent in the company, so I reached out to the right people early on to ask them to rebuild the business and drive the shareholder’s vision.”
Technology from the people’s perspective
The strength of Kaddoura lies in his willingness to reach out to other people. As you talk to him, you realise that he is aware of the value of people, which can be overlooked in a technology company – and that he is eager to learn from their experience and their specialist skill sets.
“Some of the people here have been with SmartStream for more than 40 years and many more have been here for over 20 years, so there is an unmatched wealth of experience within the company,” he remarks. “I started by reaching out to people at various different ranks within the business and in our different offices around the world.”
“Some of these people had not been heard within the organisation before, let alone met the CEO. My chats uncovered a treasure trove of great ideas,” he continues. “I come from a consultancy background, so I know that in most instances the solution resides within the company itself and in the people who do their jobs day-in and day-out. Some of the solutions that came out were really phenomenal.” For Kaddoura, SmartStream is a family, albeit of 1,200-strong
Chief Executive Offi cer /
www.the-chiefexecutive.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
