Transformation through technology

Chief Information Officer for Insurance, Pensions and Investments

To meet the needs of its customers, Lloyds Banking Group is undertaking what it describes as “one of the biggest technology transformations in the UK,” encompassing not only technological upgrades but also a fundamental shift in the organisation’s culture.

Helping drive this transformation is Amit Thawani, Chief Information Officer for Insurance, Pensions and Investments at Lloyds Banking Group. With a career spanning continents and roles from software developer to enterprise architect and at companies such as Oracle, BNP Paribas, ING and Wells Fargo, Amit brings a unique perspective to the challenges and opportunities facing one of Britain’s oldest and most respected financial institutions.

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Group Chief Operating Officer

Ron is a senior technology executive with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and telecommunications. Ron is currently the Group Chief Operating Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, where a core part of his role is to harness technology and data to unlock the Group’s long-term growth strategy.

He is passionate about tech transformation and how we can harness data and technology to better support the Group’s 26 million UK customers – and deliver on our purpose of helping Britain Prosper.

Prior to joining Lloyds Banking Group, Ron spent 20 years at ING, where he was the bank’s first Chief Technology Officer and served on the Board. His team played an instrumental role in transforming ING into a truly data-driven, digital bank. During his time at ING, he successfully transformed the bank’s technology organisation into a true engineering division that drove the strategy for the bank.

Ron introduced an agile way of working, a (Biz)DevOps organisation and continuous delivery automation. Throughout his career, he has focussed on finding, developing and retaining highly skilled people that bring value to customers, colleagues and communities.

Together with the team at ING, he created a globally scalable digital platform that aims for speed, scale and security.

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Chief Information Officer - Consumer

Martyn Atkinson is the Chief Information Officer of Consumer at Lloyds Banking Group, where Martyn Atkinson leads technology strategy and transformation across digital channels, customer engagement, and mass-affluent propositions.

A seasoned technology and business leader, Martyn has extensive experience driving large-scale change and innovation in financial services. Before rejoining Lloyds Banking Group in 2023, Martyn served as Group Chief Operating Officer at Close Brothers, overseeing operational resilience and transformation. Prior to that, Martyn was Chief Information and Digital Officer at Metro Bank, Director of Technology and transformation at Nationwide Building Society, where Martyn delivered major technology programmes across mortgage, savings, and PCA.

Earlier in Martyn’s career, he held senior roles at Friends Life and began in consulting with Accenture, specialising in complex IT transformation for retail banking. Martyn holds a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is passionate about leveraging technology to create customer-centric, mobile-first experiences that help Britain prosper

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Chief Information Officer - Commercial

Reporting to Ron van Kemenade, Ulku Rowe joins Lloyds Banking Group as CIO, Commercial responsible for leading all technology, service and change for BCB and CIB. 

Prior to Lloyds, Ulku was the Technical Director of Financial Services at Google Cloud, where she worked with the largest customers to leverage Google’s technology for digital transformation. Before that, she was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Chase, serving as the Global Head of Credit Risk Technology. She also held the position of Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was the Global Head of Market Risk Technology. 

Ulku holds a MS degree in Computer Science and a BS degree in Computer Engineering.

Ulku serves on several advisory boards; the Fulbright Association Board of Directors and the University of Illinois College of Engineering Board of Visitors and the Turkish Philanthropy Funds. 

Ulku is a mother of two boys and has plenty of hobbies. She enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, hiking and sailing. She also has a great love for music and is the founder of the Turkish American orchestra. The CIO Commercial role sees her relocate from New York to London and she can’t wait to settle into London life.  

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