Umpqua Bank recruited a Citibank technology executive to be its first head of innovation.
Käthe Anchel is expected to help Umpqua push forward the bank’s recent focus on what it calls the “human-digital” banking experience.
She comes to the Portland, Ore.-based bank from Citi FinTech, where she served as the director of product management for the innovation and experimentation division of Citibank.
“Umpqua believes that human relationships and expertise are central to the best banking relationships, which is why Käthe is a terrific fit to help us advance our human-digital banking strategy,” Rilla Delorier, Umpqua’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer, said in a press release.
“Käthe’s career at some of the country’s most innovative companies has focused on building more human, transformative customer experiences through technology.”
Umpqua, the banking unit of the $26.5 billion-asset Umpqua Holdings, late last year revealed a strategy to use technology to make banking a more personal experience for its customers.
Umpqua in September launched the
Go-To is one part of Umpqua’s renewed focus on providing a human element to the digital banking relationship.
The bank said Anchel will focus on “building internal innovation practices and external partnerships” for Umpqua.
