A digital challenge
COO of Atom Bank , Stewart Bromley , describes the incredible strides the digital-only bank is making in the financial world
Stewart Bromley is the Chief Operating Officer of Atom Bank . Having graduated from the University of Warwick , Bromley began working internationally for Ford Motor Company , moving on after 14 years to help with the rebrand of O2 . He then started working independently before being headhunted by HSBC Direct , setting up and running the first central centre of excellence for the HSBC Group . It was at this point that Bromley delved deeper into banking , consulting for Lloyds and Nationwide , spearheading digital projects in the 1990s which were fresh and innovative for the time .
“ My skills lie in change ,” says Bromley . “ Whether it ’ s technological , digital , or cultural – I ’ ve done the lot .”
Bromley was approached by a peer and friend of his , Mark Mullen ( Atom ’ s
CEO ), asking if he would help to set up a new bank . Bromley responded that if the bank was digital-only , he was interested : “ Having preached the threat of a digital bank at board-level for a number of years , this was too big a calling ,” Bromley says . In May 2014 , he formally became the second employee of Atom Bank , joining before all but one of the founders . “ I started right from day one , and at the time there were six of us in a little room trying to work out how to build a bank .”
A digital challenge
That six-strong team had no small task on its hands . A digital-only bank would require a great deal of research , but Bromley soon discovered that the research leaned heavily in Atom ’ s favour : “ Atom is about the absolute recognition that consumer behaviour
78 December 2016