Dive Brief:
- State Street tapped Andrew Zitney to serve as executive vice president and chief information officer, effective this week, the bank told CIO Dive on Thursday.
- Zitney, a State Street veteran, served for five years as the bank’s chief technology officer and became interim CIO following the departure of Brian Franz, who moved to Estée Lauder, where he now serves as chief technology, data and analytics officer.
- “Andy brings extensive experience and expertise leading cutting-edge technology and driving transformation, underscoring our commitment to advancing our technology, supporting business growth and fostering innovation through responsible AI,” State Street COO Mostapha Tahiri said Wednesday on LinkedIn.
Dive Insight:
The leadership change comes amid seismic shifts in financial sector technology strategy triggered by AI adoption and ongoing modernization at State Street.
The bank prioritized investments in AI and automation technologies three years ago, after launching a cloud-based, wealth-management data platform leveraging Microsoft Azure infrastructure in 2020. State Street further expanded its cloud estate and streamlined its data center footprint as part of a 2023 alliance with Amazon Web Services.
Digital transformation remains front and center for the firm, executives said Tuesday, during the bank’s second-quarter earnings call.
“We continue to invest in technology and infrastructure to modernize our platforms while enhancing data delivery and user experience,” said Mark Keating, State Street’s interim CFO.
The bank's information systems and communications expenses increased 11% year over year during the second quarter to $523 million, Keating said. During the same three-month period, State Street saw annual recurring revenue for its cloud-based platform grow 10% year over year to $379 million.
“We are pleased with our ongoing success in transitioning clients to our cloud-based [software-as-a-service] platform,” Keating said.
As CTO, Zitney oversaw infrastructure, engineering, enterprise architecture and end-user experience, according to the bank’s website. Prior to his appointment to CIO, the bank published a report highlighting the importance of unlocking legacy data for modern AI applications.
“Institutional investors are at a pivotal moment in their data transformation journey,” Joerg Ambrosius, president of investment services at State Street, said in the June report. “What our research confirms is that a holistic data strategy is no longer a competitive advantage — it is becoming a baseline expectation.”
