'This is exactly the kind of challenge I like’ 

When asked to completely overhaul a long-standing global IT risk model and get everyone on board with the new approach, Wesley Honselaar eagerly accepted the challenge. In just under two years, he and his programme team have laid a solid foundation for a new IT risk model at ING. 

It’s about people, not systems 

The key to success? Cultural change management – that’s crucial when implementing such a large-scale transformation programme. But as if achieving cultural change isn’t challenging enough, Wesley is working on this assignment as an independent contractor. 

So what exactly does this programme entail? Wesley explains: “The banking industry is highly regulated. We have to report externally to regulators and shareholders, and internally to senior management. ING was using a global model for reporting on IT risks and how they are managed, but it was no longer up to scratch. So we’ve developed and implemented a completely new model. The biggest change is that everything is now done based on real-time data. Whereas we used to look back, we now see what is happening right now. That gives a much more reliable and more complete picture.” 

‘Change always comes up against some resistance’ 

Change can be daunting. “Everyone is used to a certain way of working and understands their own responsibilities. The new model altered the roles and responsibilities for operations and for the first and second-line risk functions.” Wesley and his team knew all too well that this would come up against some resistance.  

‘Forget everything you’ve learned and everything you’ve done’ 

In anticipation of this, the team organised mindset reset training – one of the highlights of the change programme. “We trained all first and second-line risk leads worldwide simultaneously. It was a big deal and the perfect way to kick off our campaign. The message was ‘forget everything you’ve learned and everything you’ve done – this is the new way of working and thinking’. After the training, we held weekly presentations and kept the communication going. Another highlight was implementing the new reporting method, which received approval from 23 ING branches around the world in the space of just six weeks. That was a fantastic achievement.” 

‘I’m honoured to lead such an impactful project as a freelancer’ 

Board-level support 

The fact that the transformation programme is under the direct supervision of the ING board has also helped. It ensures the programme is prioritised by everyone involved. “I’m happy to have this support as a freelancer, and I’m honoured to lead such an impactful project. But it’s not my first; I’d already done several ambitious assignments for ING. These are exactly the kinds of projects that I thrive on: strategic, international, dynamic and with complex problems. Building something from nothing energises me. And I’ve always had the pleasure of working with driven, smart and, above all, friendly people. That makes me very happy.”