With nearly two decades of leadership in financial services, Wasim has driven operational excellence, strategic transformation across global banks and innovative startups. He is the Founder & CEO of 1CG, Strategic Partner to Birdie, Advisory Board Member to BankAbility and the Operational Excellence Society.
Starting his career in business banking at Abbey National, Wasim went on to manage UK Libor lending teams at RBS. At Barclays Wealth Management, as VP and Head of Credit Operations, he later led the launch of Smart Investor. His consultancy roles in the CIO office focused on system decommissioning, platform implementations, banking entity closures, product launches, and structural reform for Barclays Private Bank.
In fintech, as Director of Operations at AskIf, Wasim launched CBILS with the British Business Bank, developed SME green finance initiatives, and managed third-party vendors. At Standard Chartered, he led global transformation in Financial Markets, driving change across 45 regulatory markets and overseeing a group-wide material outsourcing programme.
Most recently, as Interim COO of CFIT (Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology), leading organisational capability in governance, finance, technology, operations, strategic deliverables, partnering with ExCo to advance coalitions, ecosystems, and partnerships.
Wasim holds a Master’s in Economics from the University of Glasgow, has completed executive certificates at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and MIT Sloan. His areas of expertise include business strategy, digital transformation, client journeys, process reengineering, lending, regulatory compliance, corporate innovation, and outsourcing solutions.
