Co-op Bank ICT boss Washika feted as Chief Information Officer of the year at the CIO100 Awards 2023
The Co-operative Bank ICT Director Charles Khacheso Washika has bagged the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the year honours at the CIO100 Awards 2023 held in Diani outshining five other competitors who were also contesting for the coveted innovation title lauded as a revolutionary solution in the financial sector in Africa and beyond.
Washika was ranked the top for successfully implementing a Sh7billion ($50 million) IT project for the bank.
This ranks the Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Gideon Muriuki’s led bank as an innovation pace setter in the financial sector.
Co-op Bank recently changed its core banking system in one of the most successful core banking system change anywhere in the world.
Further, a fortnight ago, Co-operative Bank was named the overall winner at the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Sustainable Finance Catalysts Award 2023.
Four times consecutively since 2017, Co-op Bank has been the overall winner of the award.
The award was created by KBA to recognize institutions that are practicing sustainable finance and have directly impacted the financial sector, economy, and environment in society.
“Sustainability is fully integrated into our business model that stands on the three pillars of Economic Sustainability, Social Sustainability, and Environmental Stewardship.” Muriuki stated.
The CIO 100 Awards programme recognises and fetes organisations and individuals who leverage IT in creative and groundbreaking ways to enhance business value.
These may include gaining a competitive edge, streamlining business operations, fostering growth, enhancing customer relationships, or driving digital transformation within the organization, say the organisers of the award.
Under the led the Sh7billion ($50 million) IT project for the bank, Washika led bank teams in collaboration with multiple service providers in implementing the latest Finacle core banking system from Infosys of India, which went live, without incident, on Monday 12 June this year.
Earlier, the bank announced that the Core Banking Implementation was a project worth millions of dollars and spanned multiple years.
Co-op Bank believes that its substantial investments in ICT are greatly enhancing the bank’s digital transformation efforts, leading to a more sophisticated banking offering and improved customer experiences.
According to the organisers of the Award, The CIO of The Year Award recognizes exceptional individuals who have demonstrated outstanding expertise in overseeing the IT leadership role within an organization.
CIOs and judges have the opportunity to nominate deserving candidates for the peer award.
