Dive Brief:
- Jason Strle will take over as CIO at Discover Financial Services, the company announced Wednesday. Strle will also join the company’s executive committee as an EVP on July 18, Discover said.
- Strle comes to Discover from Wells Fargo, where he served as EVP and group CIO of payments, virtual solutions, innovation and community banking business units for nearly six years. He spent nearly 13 years at JPMorgan Chase as CTO and managing director of global technologies prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Strle helped Wells Fargo launch a digital banking platform and implement Agile practices during his tenure with the company. “Jason’s vast experience with a product-centric model and agile way of working will help grow, improve and expand our digital banking and payments capabilities,” Discover CEO Roger Hochschild said in the announcement.
Dive Insight:
Strle succeeds Amir Arooni, who notified Discover he would be leaving his CIO post in February, a company spokesperson said.
Discover recruited Arooni in 2020 from NN Group, where he led the company’s technology and security operations. At the time, CFO John Greene emphasized the credit and financial services company’s investments in robotic process automation and advanced analytics.
Arooni forged a product-based IT development process at Wells Fargo and implemented an internal tech academy, initiatives he detailed in a 2021 Medium post. In February, Discover launched an open source software development website.
“Arooni led his team to implement programs like the Discover Technology Academy, which allow Discover technologists to learn, network, share knowledge and upskill,” the announcement said.
Tech investments have driven revenue for Discover.
The company reported Q1 2023 net income of $1 billion during an April earnings call for the three-month period ending March 31. Hochschild characterized it as “an all-time record quarter in terms of consumer deposit inflows,” a development he attributed to customer-facing digital enhancements.
“Technology is the foundation of every element of our digital banking and payments strategy, allowing us to provide innovative solutions and a superior customer experience,” Hochschild said in Wednesday’s announcement.
Wells Fargo reconfigured its tech leadership team in April, choosing Saul Van Beurden, the San Francisco-based bank’s then head of technology, to succeed Mary Mack, who retired as CEO of Consumer and Small Business Banking.
Tracy Kerrins, then head of consumer technology at Wells Fargo, was tapped to succeed Van Beurden as the bank’s head of technology.
