I by IMD

Former ING and UBS CEO Ralph Hamers joins IMD’s Murat Tarakci to unpack how he led “banking’s biggest digital transformation” – and why AI may redefine financial advice.

Drawing on his experience at two of the biggest banks in the world, Hamers argues that CEOs “cannot delegate what your strategy is, what your brand stands for, how your people behave,” and must personally connect the dots between purpose, strategy, culture and execution”. He lays out his three-way innovation engine, his vision of banks as “tech companies with a banking license,” and a bold claim that “advice to clients can be better generated through AI than through an advisor.”
He explains why “restructuring is generally a reaction to a burning platform” and how he reframed ING’s future by asking, “what is left from our DNA?” and turning that into a purpose-led transformation story.
To dive deeper, check out: 
Ralph Hamers’s new book,  Do Your Thing: Lessons from banking's biggest digital transformation
I by IMD’s new report, The future of banking

Our Guest:

Ralph Hamers is a Dutch banker and business leader best known as the former CEO of ING Group and UBS Group. He spent 29 years at ING, became CEO in 2013, and led the bank through a major digital transformation focused on mobile banking, agile working, customer experience, and platform thinking; ING said he helped turn the group into “a leading digital bank.” In 2020, he left ING to become Group CEO of UBS, a role he held until 2023, when Sergio Ermotti returned to lead the Credit Suisse integration. In 2026, Banking Circle Group announced Hamers as its chairman, citing his experience scaling global financial institutions and advising fintech companies including Arta and Grab. His book Do Your Thing: Lessons from Banking’s Biggest Digital Transformation draws on the ING transformation to offer a leadership framework for connecting purpose, strategy, culture, and execution. 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphhamers/

What does it take to lead one of the world’s most loved brands — and still admit it had become too slow, too complex, and too hard to move?
 In this CEO Dialogue, LEGO CEO Niels Christiansen discusses with IMD’s Jean-François Manzoni how he simplified the organization, empowered local teams and expanded beyond children to adult fans. He explains why LEGO opened stores when others were closing them, why “the basis is physical” even in a digital world, and why sustainability remains a long-term investment even when “consumers are (…) not willing to pay for it.”
When Christiansen took over as CEO in 2017, he stepped into a company that had “stalled”. Today, LEGO Group has grown into the world’s largest toy company, with revenues exceeding €11bn ($12.8bn) and around 34,000 employees worldwide. It is one of the most remarkable brand stories in modern business.
Listen in to understand how LEGO rebuilt momentum — not through grand slogans, but through disciplined execution.

Our Guest:

Niels B Christiansen
President & Chief Executive Officer, the LEGO Group; CEO, LEGO Holding.

Niels Christiansen joined the LEGO Group as CEO in 2017 after leading Danfoss. Under his leadership, LEGO has expanded its retail footprint, invested in sustainable materials, strengthened digital play experiences, and continued to rank among the world’s most loved brands.

What does it take to inherit a family legacy without becoming trapped by it? In this episode of I by IMD, Marleen Dieleman speaks with Chef Pam, the visionary behind Potong, a 120-year-old family pharmacy in Bangkok’s Chinatown which she transformed into a world-renowned restaurant and cultural landmark, earning her the title of the World’s Best Female Chef. 
Her story is not just about creating the best Thai food, or serving cocktails in her family’s former dispensary, or receiving the desired Michelin Star. It is about migration, risk, reinvention, and what it means to build something deeply personal inside a multigenerational legacy.
She is strikingly clear about the choices that shaped the journey, recalling that during the pandemic-era rebuild, “I sold all my gold” to invest in the project, working all the way to today, where “it’s not about money anymore,” to continue the family business. Chef Pam’s business partner is her husband, and together with their daughter, who has to cope with her parents working long hours in the kitchen, they are already planning their next steps and expanding their footprint in the neighborhood. Her advice to next-generation leaders is blunt: “I don't think there's a shortcut.” 
This episode conversation offers unique insights and a powerful lesson: legacy does not have to be a constraint. It can be the building material of innovation.
Our guest:

Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij (Chef Pam) is a Thai chef and entrepreneur who reimagined her family’s 120-year-old Chinese medicine building into Potong, a Michelin-starred restaurant known for progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine. She was awarded “World’s Best Female Chef” in 2025, the first Thai and first Asian woman to receive that title.

Ann Perrins on rebuilding Atlassian Williams F1 through talent, culture, psychological safety – and the long road back to winning.
What does it really take to rebuild a Formula One team from the inside out? 
In this episode of I by IMD podcast, Susan Goldsworthy hosts Ann Perrins, Chief HR Officer at Atlassian Williams Racing, to discuss the human side of elite performance: how to attract world-class talent, build a culture people want to stay in, and transform an iconic team without losing its identity. 
Perrins makes it clear that this doesn’t mean a soft agenda: the team “can't return to winning unless we get that right.” She also reframes a term many leaders misuse: “psychological safety is not about everything feeling nice and comfortable.” And she is blunt about the reality behind the glamour: “we’re very explicit and we don’t sugarcoat it.” 
Our guest:

Ann Perrins is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Atlassian Williams Racing. Before joining Williams in 2023, she built her career across banking, consulting, and global engineering and operations environments, including 17 years at BP and senior roles at GKN Automotive. At Williams, she is helping lead the people, culture, and talent transformation needed to support the team’s return to winning.

What does it take to restore confidence in a 160-year-old bank that investors had stopped believing in? 

In this episode, IMD’s Jean-François Manzoni speaks with Societe Generale CEO Slawomir Krupa about rebuilding a major institution from the inside out: stronger capital, more cost discipline, harder strategic choices – and a leadership culture of clarity and accountability.

Krupa does not frame transformation as storytelling. He frames it as work. He says the bank inherited “weak foundations,” warns that dismissing challengers such as fintechs is “a recipe for disaster down the road,” and explains why some painful decisions were made because “it was the right thing to do.” 

Our Guest:
Slawomir Krupa
Chief Executive Officer, Societe Generale
Slawomir Krupa became CEO of Societe Generale in May 2023 after spending nearly his entire career at the bank. Before becoming CEO, he held senior leadership roles across Corporate and Investment Banking, served as CEO of Societe Generale Americas, and led Global Banking and Investor Solutions. Under his leadership, the bank has focused on restoring capital strength, simplifying the portfolio, and repositioning for sustainable growth.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slawomir-krupa/