This edition featured Cheslyn Jacobs, CEO of GoTyme Bank, who led a thought-provoking discussion titled Leading Through Reinvention: Building Inclusive, Customer-Centric Financial Services in a Digital Age.
Drawing on his experience in banking and digital transformation, Jacobs explored the forces reshaping financial services and the leadership approaches required to respond successfully. Throughout the session, he challenged attendees to rethink how organisations create value for employees, customers and society in an increasingly digital world.
Key takeaways
Jacobs began by highlighting three forces reshaping the financial services industry. Firstly, digital disruption has permanently raised customer expectations, with speed, simplicity and personalisation now considered table stakes rather than differentiators. Secondly, the inclusion imperative is creating both a moral responsibility and a significant market opportunity, with 1.4 billion adults globally still remaining unbanked. Finally, the customer power shift means loyalty can no longer be assumed, as customers switch providers freely and increasingly expect experiences tailored to their needs. Trust, he argued, remains the industry’s most valuable differentiator.
To navigate these shifts, Jacobs introduced three interconnected leadership frameworks: Care and Grow, Customer Centricity, and Grow the Pie.
Care and Grow
Referencing the leadership philosophy developed by Etsko Schuitema, Jacobs challenged attendees with a question: “Are you using people to achieve results, or using results to grow your people?”
He explained that transformational leadership requires balancing two complementary forces: care and growth. Care involves genuine concern for people, investing in their wellbeing, building trust and being consistently present. Growth, meanwhile, requires leaders to set clear expectations, develop people to realise their potential and hold them accountable with compassion.
Jacobs encouraged leaders to “give before they take” by understanding what their teams need to do their best work before measuring output. He also emphasised the importance of developing people rather than simply managing performance and creating psychological safety where employees feel empowered to test ideas, raise concerns and innovate. In highly regulated environments, he noted, fear of failure can suppress innovation, making trust-based leadership essential.
Customer Centricity
Turning to customer centricity, Jacobs argued that many organisations mistakenly equate customer service with customer-centricity.
He explained that customer-centric organisations recognise that customers differ in their needs and lifetime value. Rather than designing products and experiences for the “average customer”, organisations should build strategies around long-term relationships and customer lifetime value. Loyalty, he noted, is earned rather than assumed.
One of the session’s strongest messages was the link between customer centricity and inclusion. Jacobs challenged traditional perceptions of underserved markets, stating: “Underserved does not mean low value. It means under-recognised.”
He explained that inclusion is about discovering value that has historically been overlooked. Organisations that make customers feel seen, understood and included build trust that compounds over time into loyalty, retention and advocacy. Today’s underserved customers, he suggested, are likely to become tomorrow’s primary market.
Grow the Pie
The third framework explored the concept of grow the pie, inspired by the work of Alex Edmans.
Jacobs challenged the long-standing assumption that business is a zero-sum game in which gains for one stakeholder come at the expense of another. Instead, he argued that sustainable success comes from growing value for everyone.
He explained that organisations create long-term value by investing in employees through training, wellbeing and leadership development; in customers through inclusion, personalisation and genuine service; and in communities through financial literacy, access and meaningful social impact initiatives. Purpose, he noted, should not be viewed as a cost to profit, but rather as a driver of sustainable profitability and growth.
Bringing the three frameworks together, Jacobs demonstrated how leadership that invests in people, prioritises customers and creates value for stakeholders builds organisations capable of lasting reinvention.
As he concluded: “Cared-for people + customer focus + stakeholder investment = reinvention that lasts.”
The session left attendees with practical insights into leading through disruption while creating organisations that are agile, inclusive, customer-focused and positioned for sustainable growth.
A word of thanks
We extend our sincere appreciation to our accelerator facilitators for accepting the challenge to facilitate meaningful discussions and contribute to the success of the session:
• Corinne Beadsmoore (Africa Specialty Risks)
• Daisy Legodi (Sasria SOC Limited)
• Debbie Victor (Digicall)
• Ian Thompson (QSURE)
• Ildiko Richardson (AgriSpecialist Underwriting Managers)
• Sarika Seetaram (Bryte Specialist Motor)
• Xenia de Lima (Old Mutual Insure)
Following the session, attendees enjoyed networking, providing an opportunity to continue the conversation, exchange ideas and strengthen professional connections.
We extend our gratitude to our main sponsor, Yard Insurance, our co-sponsor, QSURE, and our table sponsors, Africa Specialty Risks, Old Mutual Insure and Sasria for their support in making this event possible.
Thank you to everyone who attended.
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