For Western Alliance Bank, Culture Is the ‘Secret Sauce’ (WSJ)
The Wall Street Journal and Deloitte sat down with Western Alliance Bank Chief Operating Officer Tim Boothe and Chief Information Officer Jeff Semonovich in early 2023 to do a deep dive into how the bank drives its culture of relentless innovation and high-touch service.
The answer? In a nutshell, Western Alliance relies on digital technology to enable human-focused innovation within IT and across the organization.
“Transformation is not just within IT or operations—it’s building a digital-forward mindset across the organization. The business lines can’t be successful today without a strong partnership with IT,” said Boothe.
The conversation also touches on the bank’s significant investments in foundational technology, including analytics, cybersecurity and product platforms, as well as hiring and retention strategies.
“Our industry is highly regulated, so we must balance our focus on risk management with continuing to cultivate our entrepreneurial culture,” said Semonovich. “Change management, goal setting, and performance management are all important steps toward that end; however, most important is for our leaders to model the behaviors we want to see in our people.”