Ben Matthews joins Baringa as banking practice Partner

09 April 2018 Consultancy.uk

Former Deloitte Director Ben Matthews has joined Baringa as a Partner in its banking practice. As an ex-head of global change management for transaction banking operations with Dutch bank ABN AMRO, Matthews brings two decades of industrial and consulting experience to the role.

Ben Matthews was most recently a Managing Director for financial services advisory firm BCS Consulting. He spent three years with the London-based management consultancy, leading several key client relationships and taking responsibility for BCS’ Capital Markets, Corporate, and Transaction Banking businesses throughout the duration of his tenure.

Commenting on his previous role, Matthews outlined the skills that his new employers will hope he can bring to the table, stating, “I believe my experiences provide a great understanding of what clients expect from their consultants. Quality, trusted relationships and a deep understanding of their business are key, but so too is a grasp on what is happening in the industry and where these developments are relevant to a client and the businesses they lead.”

Ben Matthews, Banking Practice Partner - Baringa

With almost 20 years of experience at his command, Matthews has spent his entire professional life in the financial services sector. He commenced his career of choice in the era of Euro Conversion and Y2K, at the turn of the century, joining US-based global bank, CitiGroup, in September 1999. During his three years with the firm, he became an Assistant Vice President, before moving on to ABN AMRO in mid-2003. As a Programme Manager, Matthews was responsible for migrating operational activity for the Dutch-headquartered wholesale bank, from its branches in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2006, Matthews won a promotion to the role of Corporate Director at the bank, taking up the task of being Head of global change management for transaction banking operations (cash, payments and trade) until his exit from the organisation two years later.

Transitioning to the consulting industry, Matthews arrived at Big Four professional services firm Deloitte in 2008, amid the turmoil of the global financial crisis. Focusing on management consulting within the financial services industry, he was made a Director at Deloitte in 2011, with a remit in large scale restructuring, enterprise cost reduction, and corporate and transaction banking. He remained at Deloitte for a further three years, before leaving for BCS.

Now as Matthews commences life as a Partner with Baringa, his new role will see him lead the firm’s Transaction Banking and Payments business. He will lead efforts to grow the banking wing of the business, across the UK, Germany and the US, as well as working to further extend the firm’s capability in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Often referred to as Blockchain, DLT is an area of huge interest and innovation for the financial sector clients of consulting firms.

In a statement via the firm’s LinkedIn profile, Baringa said of the appointment, “We are delighted… that Ben Matthews has joined the Banking Partner team at Baringa. He brings a tremendous depth and breadth of Transaction Banking and Payments experience, that will supplement the wide range of work and experience we have in this space.”