Operational Efficiency in Financial Services

Steve Briggs

Head of Strategic Partnerships, Co-operative Financial Services

Biography

Steve is Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Co-operative Financial Services where he is responsible for managing the strategic relationships with key IS suppliers.

When he joined CFS in 2007 he was Head of Management and Control where he was responsible for supplier strategy and management in the project delivery function as well as finance, performance measurement, demand management, risk, process management & QA as well as a Project Office.

Prior to CFS Steve worked for Barclays for four and a half years. In that time he managed the relationship between the CIO and the international and wealth businesses. Latterly he was responsible for managing the strategic relationship with Steria and was heavily involved in the renegotiation of the Barclays’ Xansa outsource deal.

Steve has also worked for Xansa and Scottish Hydro-Electric in Edinburgh and Perth.

He is married with two children, is a keen fell runner and runs the local Cub Scout pack.

Darren Cornish

Head of Customer Intelligence, AXA

Biography

Darren is a dynamic figure often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. He has been known to remodel train stations on his lunch breaks making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. He translates ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, writes award-winning operas and occasionally treads water for three days in a row.

He woo's women with sensuous trombone playing. He can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed. Is an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, Darren once single handedly defended a small village in the Amazon basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. When bored, he builds large suspension bridges in his garden.

He is an abstract artist, a concrete analyst and a ruthless bookie.

Darren once read ‘Paradise lost’, ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘David Copperfield’ in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. He has performed several covert operations for the CIA.

On weekends, to let off steam, Darren participates in full contact origami. Years ago he discovered the meaning of life, but got drunk and forgot to write it down.

He has won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and chess tournaments at the Kremlin. He has played Hamlet, performed open-heart surgery, and spoken with Elvis. Oh, and to be honest, he recently joined AXA as their Head of Customer Intelligence and is tasked with helping further the recent improvements to customer experience while producing value to the business.