Ward Thils Top-Executive
Dynamic and results-driven digital and AI transformation director with 20 years experience in orchestrating digital innovation, business transformation, and program management in the financial services industry.
• Adept at leading high-impact initiatives and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to drive business growth and boost customer experience.
• Strategic thinker and hands-on leader, known for his no-nonsense approach and relentless focus on achieving tangible business outcomes.
• Proficient in agile methodologies, strategic planning and stakeholder management.
• Recognized for inspiring cross-functional team leadership and effective communication.
• Passionate about fostering human centred digital, data and AI change and committed to delivering IT solutions that exceed business objectives.
• Fluent in Dutch, French and English and used to operating across cultures in complex international organizations.
• Life-long learner: MIT Professional Education CDO and Chicago Booth School of Business CAIO certified.
• Committed to bringing exceptional leadership and visionary drive to the organization.
Headquarters:
Brussels Metropolitan Area
Title:
Head of AI-Driven Client Experiences
Company:
BNP Paribas
Company Industry:
Banking
Company Website:
http://www.bnpparibasfortis.be
Company Linkedin:
linkedin.com/company/bnpparibasfortis
Company Size:
10001+
Current Job Duration:
10 mos
Country:
Belgium
Languages:
Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish
Work Experience:
Title: BNP Paribas Fortis
Company: Bnp Paribas Fortis
Company URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bnpparibasfortis/
Industry: Banking
Company Size: 10001+
Location: None
Country: None
Employment Type: None
Start At: 03-2025
Ends At: Present
Description: Cluster Product Owner driving next generation client engagement through the strategic application of AI across channels and journeys:
• Leading cross-functional squads to design and implement AI-driven experiences – including virtual assistants (chat & voice), personalized communication flows, smart insights and contextual notifications – that enhance relevance, responsiveness, proactivity and service quality at scale.
• Collaborating closely with Business Lines, Channels Tribes and Client Servicing Teams to deliver use cases that align with evolving client needs, business objectives, and the bank’s ethical AI standards.
• Anchoring AI transformation in human-centered design, data strategy, and continuous learning to accelerate adoption and unlock tangible value for both clients and the organization.
• Member of the management team of Tribe Artificial Intelligence.
• Strategy lead Agentic AI implementation at scale across segments and functions., Launched innovative new European virtual business cards offering for BNP Paribas Group in collaboration with BNP Paribas' IT Group Payment Services, Cash Management Competence Centre, Worldline and BNP Paribas Fortis' Tribe Daily Banking., Program Manager for Axepta BNP Paribas Benelux's top priority business transformation program for
2023: the integration of Ingenico in-store acquiring business divested by Worldline in Belgium and
Luxembourg:
• Reporting directly to the CEO and CIO, managing a two-year program budget of 7M€, aligning 6 projects executed by around 25 FTE (plus up to 15 FTE offshore at key suppliers).
• On-time client data migration and delivery CPQ & Billing lead-to-ledger solution in support of switch-over client invoicing via Salesforce Axepta prior to Ingenico platforms' decommissioning end Q3 2023.
• Phased client portfolio migrations in Belgium and Luxembourg to meet TSA deadlines in June and October 2024 (incl. bi-weekly Transition Committees with Worldline).
• Monthly Program Board with Axepta Benelux, BNP Paribas Fortis and BNP Paribas Group management.
• Stakeholder management spanning Axepta Business, Operations, Finance & IT/Projects, external suppliers (Worldline, PhiX Technologies, asUgo Consulting), Risk, Compliance, European Commission Trustee., Strategy lead for Corporate Banking transformation program:
• Managing a 10 FTE team of strategy, value proposition and innovation experts
• Vision, yearly and multi-year plans, alignment with BNP Paribas Group
• Ideation, service design, pre-initiative funnel management, resulting in yearly transformation portfolio of around 20-30 change initiatives representing an investment of 20-25M€
• Cross-segment business roadmap prioritization and C-level stakeholder alignment
• Value driven transformation performance monitoring (objectives & key results)
• Innovative product offerings, fintech partnerships, new business models, technologies & market trends,
• Agile@scale implementation leader (strategic annual planning, quarterly business review, continuous
improvement culture)
• Reporting to the executive committee member responsible for the Corporate Banking business line, Digital transformation manager in charge of team of channel managers, epic owners and intrapreneurs developing BNP Paribas Fortis' digital channels for B2B segments:
• Passionate about creating intuitive digital customer journeys with frictionless UX, customer experience management, service & concept design, customer research, co-creation techniques, collaborative innovation, connecting with fintech ecosystems, paperless processes, contextualized and personalized services, new business models, future trends
• Member of the Marketing & Innovation management team of the Corporate Banking business line
• Business Lead Transformation Investment Steering Committee for Enterprises
• Epic Owner Daily Servicing for Enterprises
• Go-to-market coordination Easy Banking Business
• Scaled Agile implementation: business demand coordination and epic owner alignment for B2B, In charge of end-to-end implementation of e-banking strategy for enterprise customers in Belgium:
• Next generation digital platforms and online channels
• Online customer experience & content strategy
• Customer self-enablement & straight through processing
• E-commerce & e-business
• E-marketing & web intelligence
• Competition benchmarking & market watch
• Strategy & feasibility studies
• Business demand management & implementation road map construction, • Focussing on innovation in digital banking and fintech
• Participated in definition and implementation long-term innovation strategy for CPBB
• Co-creation study project 'Customer-Led Innovation' at Vlerick Business School
• Launched crowdsourcing platform CogniStreamer Innovation Portal at BNP Paribas Fortis, In charge of a team of business analysts working on various e-business projects for B2B segments:
• Together with Marketing CPBB and Value Proposition Bank for Entrepreneurs we are defining and managing BNP Paribas Fortis' digital channels strategy for B2B
• Responsible for the initiation of projects to launch next generation web & mobile services for B2B customers and employees in Belgium
• Building bridges with and contributing to BNP Paribas Group initiatives around digital channels for B2B, Member of business project management team in charge of Connexis, BNP Paribas' international Cash Management e-banking platform for top-tier corporate customers with a worldwide presence in 45+ countries (Americas, EMEA and Asia):
• Managing roll-out in the former Fortis Bank European network: project management, business requirements, functional specifications, user acceptance testing, customer pilot, migration strategy.
• Managing interdependencies with BE, LU and PL home markets’ core banking platform fold-in and rest of Europe branch migration road map.
• Country coordinator for Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Romania, Sweden and Spain.
• Part-time based in Paris, managing several virtual cross-border teams at a time (up to five concurrently).
Cash Management Channels Applications Task Force, Rapprochement BNP Paribas & Fortis Bank (Aug-Nov 2009):
• Participated in bottom-up analysis for Merchant Banking Channels integration between BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank.
• Missions to BNP Paribas Fortis foreign branches for on-site validation and detailing of the MB Channels integration plan (London, Madrid, Cologne, Prague, Budapest, Geneva, Warsaw and Luxembourg)., In charge of end-to-end business project management for the creation of a new online investments module for BNPP Cash Management and BNPP Investment Partners customers:
• Responsible for solution design, testing, delivery and embedding of the new money market funds trading module on existing Connexis Treasury Management platform
• Business analysis, functional specifications writing, user acceptance testing; process and organization set-up; dealing with legal, risk and compliance aspects; preparations for commercial launch.
• Organized on-site workshops with developers in Hong Kong to finalize deliverables during platform design phase., In charge of set-up secured Business Portal (WebSphere Portal Server 6) providing user & access management services for the Merchant Banking Global Cash Pooling (GCP) front-end:
• Responsible for end-to-end delivery: business requirements, functional specifications, user acceptance testing, production validation, stakeholder training, process definition, legal documentation and migration strategy.
• GCP Employee Portal go-live July 2009: used by Cash Management Officers and back-office employees for servicing and support.
• GCP Customer Portal go-live November 2009: used by corporate customers for consulting Notional Pooling reporting., Fortis business representative in charge of monitoring Access Online corporate e-banking platform and supporting organization duplication at ABN AMRO (separation project aimed at delivering maximum continuity of service for Fortis Bank acquired corporate e-banking customers):
• Ensured that ABN AMRO project teams sufficiently served Fortis’ business interests in a highly politicized environment (Fortis Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, ABN AMRO, external service providers).
• Co-presided weekly business workstream leaders’ meetings.
• Personally involved in client migration and organization set-up workstreams.
• Reported directly to the Steering Committee Integrated Channels and to the Dolly Steering Board.
• Expatriated to Amsterdam for a period of two years., • In-house project consultant for Merchant Banking TOPS supporting the Transaction Banking Online Channels Workstream activities during ABN AMRO Integration information verification phase.
• Participated in Merchant Banking Channels Integration Program's project definition and project initiation phases.
• Facilitating role Steering Committee Integrated Channels.
Title: Fortis - Commercial & Private Banking
Company: Bnp Paribas Fortis
Company URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bnpparibasfortis/
Industry: Banking
Company Size: 10001+
Location: None
Country: None
Employment Type: None
Start At: 09-2006
Ends At: 09-2007
Description: • Electra project team member: development and implementation of a web-based, PKI smart-card secured, multi-bank, SEPA compliant e-banking solution for cross-border operating corporates (Fortis Connect, based on the Isabel 6 platform).
• Project coordinator for roll-out and migration in Portugal (Isabel 5 to Fortis Connect).
• Analysed business requirements and defined functional specifications for the integration of a wide range of local European payment standards.
• Working knowledge of the end-to-end electronic payment processes., • Monitored pilot and roll-out phases of a large-scale platform migration project in the Benelux (15.000+ workstations and portables).
• Supervised detection and analysis of technical malfunctions occurring during or as a result of the migration.
• Coordinated problem resolution and enhanced the close cooperation between first, second and various third line support teams.
• Monitored the timely delivery of the new software bundles for each consecutive business line.
• Reported on roll-out progress and aftercare activities to the project management team and the business representatives., • Analysed technical failures occurring on Windows NT4 and Windows XP Professional workstations and problems with Microsoft Office products, various bank applications and the Citrix Metaframe SBC infrastructure.
• Gave support to and wrote technical documentation for the IT Service Desk team.
Education:
School: MIT Professional Education
Degree: Blended Professional Certificate: Chief Digital Officer
Field:
Period: Feb 2024 - Mar 2025
School: KU Leuven - Group T Leuven Campus
Degree: Bachelor of Information Technology
Field: ICT
Period: 2001 - 2004
Headline:
Digital & AI Transformation Leader | Strategy, Innovation & New Technologies in Financial Services | MIT CDO | Chicago Booth CAIO
Followers:
2659
Connections:
2569
Skills:
Blockchain, Scaling Agentic AI, Virtual Cards, Conversational AI, Personalization, AI Transformation, AI Leadership, Large Language Models (LLM), Data & AI, Digital Business Development, Network Effects, Online Marketplace, Industry Platforms, Digital Transformation, Cloud Applications, Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, Business Cards, Digital payments, Tokenization, Business Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Strategic Leadership, Innovation Development, Stakeholder Management, Business Process Improvement, Information Technology, Business-to-Business (B2B), Agile Methodologies, Communication, Strategy, Management, Team Leadership, Team Management, Leadership, Generative AI, AI Strategy, Program Management, Change Management, Digital Strategy, Internet Banking, Project Management
Experience:
Title: Head of AI-Driven Client Experiences
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Mar 2025
End: Present
Title: Program Director European Virtual Cards
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Feb 2024
End: Mar 2025
Title: Head of Ingenico Integration Program @ Axepta BNP Paribas Benelux
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Apr 2023
End: Jan 2024
Title: Head of Segment & Channel Strategy Corporate Banking
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Jul 2020
End: Mar 2023
Title: Head of Channel Development Digital Banking for Enterprises
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Jun 2015
End: Jun 2020
Title: Program Manager Digital Channels Strategy for Enterprises
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Aug 2011
End: Jun 2020
Title: Member CPBB Innovation Workgroup
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels
Start: Mar 2013
End: May 2015
Title: Head of Engineering Digital Banking for Enterprises
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels
Start: Nov 2012
End: May 2015
Title: Project Manager Fortis Digital Channels Integration
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Greater Paris Metropolitan Region
Start: Nov 2009
End: Aug 2011
Title: Project Manager Connexis Online Investment Services
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Greater Paris Metropolitan Region
Start: Oct 2010
End: Jan 2011
Title: Project Manager Digital Business Banking Portal, Sirius Distribution Program
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Oct 2008
End: Nov 2009
Title: Fortis Business Demand Manager, Transaction Banking Online Channels, ABN AMRO Integration
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: The Randstad, Netherlands
Start: Apr 2008
End: Oct 2008
Title: PMO Transaction Banking Online Channels Workstream, ABN AMRO Integration
Company: BNP Paribas Fortis
Location: The Randstad, Netherlands
Start: Nov 2007
End: Apr 2008
Title: Project Consultant / Business Analyst Online Services B2B
Company: Fortis - Commercial & Private Banking
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Sep 2006
End: Sep 2007
Title: IT Problem Manager
Company: Fortis - Commercial & Private Banking
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Apr 2005
End: Aug 2006
Title: System Engineer
Company: Fortis - Commercial & Private Banking
Location: Brussels Metropolitan Area
Start: Aug 2003
End: Mar 2005