Oliver Bussmann

Oliver Bussmann is a globally recognized technology thought leader and driver of large-scale transformation at multinational organizations. The Founder and CEO of Bussmann Advisory AG, he advises enterprises and start-ups looking to stay ahead of the digital disruption curve. He also holds important mandates in industry associations, including as Co-founder of the Swiss Crypto Valley Association, Global Ambassador for UK-based Innovate Finance and as a Board Member of Identity 2020.

From 2013 to 2016 Bussmann was Group Chief Information Officer of UBS, where he successfully led a major IT transformation effort, instituted a new group-wide innovation framework and established UBS as a pioneer in the development of blockchain for use in financial services. Prior to joining UBS Bussmann was Global Chief Information Officer at SAP, where he also spearheaded significant technological transformation, and before that CIO for North America & Mexico at Allianz. Previous roles have included executive positions at Deutsche Bank and IBM.

Bussmann’s achievements have been widely recognized. He was named COO/CTO of the year by Financial News/The Wall Street Journal, European CIO of the Year by INSEAD/CIONET, received the Elite 8 Award, which is given to the most innovative leaders in technology working in capital markets by Wall Street & Technology Magazine, and has twice been included on the Financial News “”FinTech 40” list of innovators shaping the future of finance.

Oliver Bussman is a Board Member of Elevandi, a non-profit organization established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to promote an open and active dialogue between the public and private sectors to advance FinTech and the digital economy. Elevandi is responsible for organizing the world's largest annual FinTech event, The Singapore FinTech Festival. In addition, Bussman is also an Advisor on Distributed Ledger Technology in Capital Markets for the World Economic Forum, a position he has held since January 2020. In this role, he provides guidance on the use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology to enhance efficiency and transparency in capital markets.

As Group Chief Information Officer of UBS from June 2013 to March 2016 he successfully led a major IT transformation effort, instituted a new group-wide innovation framework and established UBS as a pioneer in the development of blockchain for use in financial services. Prior to joining UBS Oliver was Global Chief Information Officer at SAP for five years, where he also spearheaded significant technological transformation, including as an early champion of enterprise mobility, and was CIO for North America & Mexico at Allianz for nine years. Previous roles included executive positions at Deutsche Bank and IBM.

A highly effective change agent, Oliver has extensive experience at the intersection of financial services and technology – managing complex, large-scale digital transformation at global enterprises and working across cultures, continents and industries to achieve measurable results. His strengths lie in bringing people together throughout an organization to reach agreement on a desired future state, develop a plan to implement the change, deliver measurable outcomes and position firms as leaders in their industries.

Oliver is also known for his focus on innovation and has a proven track record as an early recognizer of megatrends that drive change on the business model level. Over the course of his career he has learned not only how to spot these changes but also how to orchestrate innovation in an enterprise in a process-driven yet efficient and creative way.

Oliver is known for his astute use and championing of social media as an essential organizational communications tool. He is a strong believer in extreme transparency, collaboration and the importance of working in networks, and has introduced social media tools in enterprises as effective ways to foster communication, knowledge-sharing and creativity.

Oliver Bussmann envisions a world where technology drives innovation and disruption across industries, making businesses more efficient, effective, and customer-centric. He believes in the power of digital transformation to improve people's lives, and he is dedicated to helping enterprises and startups stay ahead of the curve by leveraging the latest technological advancements. 

Bussmann also sees great potential in blockchain technology and believes it will revolutionize the financial services industry and beyond. He is committed to driving adoption of blockchain and other emerging technologies to create new business models and value propositions.