Three quarters (73 per cent) of senior financial services industry decision-makers predict a big jump in demand for board-level chief technology officers (CTOs) in the sector over the next five years, as the challenge to find senior talent to leverage disruptive technology increases.

Administrative services provider Intertrust surveyed over 500 executives covering the asset management, corporate, capital markets and private wealth sectors, finding that 40 per cent believe that by 2023 most firms in their sector will have hired CTOs with a mandate to drive strategic change, particularly by harnessing artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and robotics.

The study highlighted the growing challenges faced by organisations exposed to a technology skills gap, with almost a third (29 per cent) of respondents admitting that just keeping up to date with the latest technology innovations was a challenge. The biggest skills shortages are in AI, RegTech and compliance (all at 39 per cent), followed by data analytics (35 per cent) and cyber security (34 per cent).

Despite their predictions, the study revealed a lack of urgency to secure senior level talent. Only a quarter (27 per cent) of decision-makers said their firm is currently recruiting for a CTO-level role and upskilling existing staff to capitalise on emerging technologies.

A further 29 per cent said their firm doesn’t currently recognise the need to recruit technology leaders or invest in new training, while 16 per cent of respondents said that their organisations were finding it challenging to recruit tech talent.

Stephanie Miller, chief executive of Intertrust said that with many firms struggling to keep up with the latest developments in emerging technologies - let alone seek a competitive advantage - the question will increasingly become when, rather than whether, to make new senior hires to devise the right strategy and implementation programme.

“Firms delaying their investment in appointing new CTOs with influence at the top table, or not doing so at all, risk losing out on the best candidates and falling behind their peers,” she commented.

“Given the competition for technology leaders from other sectors outside financial services as well as their own, the necessary skills, particularly in high-demand areas such as AI, RegTech and compliance are not always in ready supply,” concluded Miller. “With the gulf in performance between digital leaders and laggards growing rapidly, firms can’t afford to be too complacent about their place in the technology revolution.”

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