Bastiaan de Ruiter, Blanco’s new CTO
Bastiaan de Ruiter recently became Blanco’s new CTO. Bastiaan studied computer science in Delft and then gained experience at McKinsey and de Volksbank in IT, strategy and risk management and in everything that comes with it. At Blanco he is going to connect compliance and commerce through technology.
Hi Bastiaan, why did you choose Blanco?
“Blanco is a very innovative fintech that is growing fast. In addition, it’s a very open and international company. The developers really come from all over the world and they work very well together. This was exactly what I was looking for: I like working in a diverse team, where working together towards a common goal is central. In addition, I wanted to combine my love for the financial world with my passion for IT.”
How do you look at Blanco’s solutions?
“Blanco’s solutions add a lot of value for financial institutions, their customers and therefore also for society. Take, for example, Blanco’s KYC platform for financial institutions. Everyone in the sector understands the social importance of good onboarding and monitoring in order to comply with the duty of care and at the same time combat money laundering & terrorist financing. It’s just hard to do this properly, efficiently and in a customer-friendly way. Blanco has solved this problem with its Client Onboarding, Client File and Financial Investment Plan.
The same goes for the banking platform for independent wealth- and asset managers. The market lacks a simple, inexpensive and customer-friendly platform that combines KYC, portfolio management and securities administration. Blanco offers this, allowing wealth- and asset managers to lower their costs, have more insight and improve digital services. This gives wealth- and asset managers the opportunity to focus as much as possible on their customers. As a result, the diversity in the financial landscape also continues to exist. This is a win-win for the wealth- and asset manager and its clients”.
How do you see your role as CTO?
“On the one hand, you have the developers who are technically well versed and develop everything. On the other hand, you have the product specialists who have extensive knowledge about the product. They will think about what should be built first, for example, something for compliance or a new functionality that wealth- and asset managers need. Sometimes the developers and the product specialists then run into difficulties: if we build it this way it has these consequences, if we build it that way then that customer can’t continue, etc. I’m the one who they pull in to solve those kinds of dilemmas and to help them solve the problem on which way to go. In addition, I’m the linking pin that connects commerce and compliance through technology”.
How does your background in risk management help you in this role?
“What wealth- and asset managers do is all about risk management: how should you manage your clients’ risk. Thanks to my background in risk management, I’ve developed a sense of risk. If you have a sense of risk, then you already understand a lot more what wealth- and asset managers are looking for and what’s needed. In addition, it’s a complex system and complexity automatically involves risks that need to be managed properly.”
What will be your biggest challenge this coming year?
“Blanco is doing well, the company is growing fast and there are a number of opportunities. Such as the independent custody institution that we’re setting up with Knox and the takeover of AIRS. I’m looking forward to continue to grow Blanco together with all my colleagues and our customers in the coming year!”
