Douglas Blakey

Fri, Jun 13, 2025, 7:06 AM8 min read

The financial industry is at a turning point. Emerging technologies, evolving regulations, and shifting customer expectations demand bold leadership. That was a key takeaway of Temenos’ TCF25 in Madrid.

Banking has witnessed many a turning point in the past 30 years or so. The 1990s witnessed mass liberalisation of banking regulation. Then there was the abolition of interest rate controls and of barriers to the entry of foreign banks. The rise of non-bank competitors and a reduction in state ownership and in politically directed loans, often at concessionary rates, followed. The period following the financial crisis of 2007-2009 was another turning point. The digital drive including the mass adoption of mobile banking was another such turning point.

And now the rise of emerging technologies such as AI, evolving regulations, and shifting customer expectations represents another genuinely transformative turning point.

There are few, if any, more impressive and significant vendor-run annual banking conferences than Temenos’ celebrated Community Forum. The latest event attracted over 1,400 C-level executives, decision-makers, and industry pioneers and it remains an annual highlight of the conference circuit. Not for the first time, in the 20 years or so of regular attendance, one was left with the impression that TCF was bigger and better than ever before.

One highlight was a discussion with Sai Rangachari, Temenos’ Chief Product Officer. His appointment, back in January, was a high-profile hire as he leads the development of Temenos’ solutions and defines the company’s overall product strategy. It was also a headline-grabbing appointment given his track record. His CV includes over 20 years of experience and an in-depth knowledge of the US financial landscape from start-ups to leadership roles in Tier 1 US banks and leading vendors.

As Managing Director at JPMorgan, he led the bank’s digital channels platform and open banking strategy. At FIS, as Chief Product Officer for Banking and Payments, he spearheaded cloud banking initiatives and growth in the payments business.

During his time at Capital One, he launched next-generation digital origination and servicing platforms increasing origination volumes and customer engagement. Most recently, he founded and led the product and technology function at Tandym, a digital payment wallet provider.

Rangachari has enjoyed a ring side seat during past industry turning points. He argues that AI and emerging technologies go far beyond the ability to offer increased efficiency and cost savings, new revenue opportunities, improved risk management, greater personalisation and increased customer engagement.