Umar Farooq

Building the AI-first bank | Global Head of Digital Acquisition, Mobile Experience & Engagement, Wealth & Retail Banking

Singapore, Singapore

About

I lead digital acquisition, mobile experience, and engagement for Standard Chartered's Wealth and Retail Banking business. My focus across all of it is making the mobile bank AI-first. I came up through software and network engineering before moving into digital leadership, so I sit between strategy and execution and build reusable systems rather than one-off campaigns. Twenty years across banking, social media, travel, and telecom taught me to judge digital work by commercial outcomes. If you are working on AI in banking, conversational and agentic experiences, or staying visible as search shifts to generative engines, I am happy to compare notes.

Experience

  • Standard Chartered Bank (On-site)
    • Executive Director, Global Lead, Digital Acquisition
      Jun 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 2 mos

    • Executive Director, Head of Global Web & DX
      Jun 2022 - Sep 2023 · 1 yr 4 mos

      Grew customer acquisition double digits year on year, organically, by turning sc.com into the primary digital acquisition channel through SEO. Owned the public website estate across 29 consumer, private, and business banking markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Led the enterprise-wide digital sales and marketing transformation to a leaner, more agile operating model. Implemented a new headless CMS and digital experience platform, delivering personalised, mobile-first experiences across web and app. Drove conversion through a test-and-learn practice: A/B testing, targeting and personalisation, and user research across the journeys.

  • Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore)
    • Head, Global Web Management, Group Digital Banking
      Jan 2017 - Apr 2022 · 5 yrs 4 mos

    • Director, Global Web & platform Management
      Sep 2016 - Jan 2017 · 5 mos

    • Digital Banking Manager
      Sep 2015 - Sep 2016 · 1 yr 1 mo

  • Assistant Vice President at Barclays PLC
    Jun 2013 - Jun 2015 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Held multiple roles across the product: product owner, solution engineer, and UX researcher. Shipped digital initiatives across web and mobile that grew mobile adoption. Contributed to global digital programs with multi-million-dollar business cases. Built native mobile and web capabilities into the product across the development lifecycle. Introduced agile and lean ways of working and automated the development pipeline.

  • Lead Developer Mobile Applications at YuuZoo Corporation Pty Ltd
    Jun 2011 - Jun 2013 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    Established and led a mobile development factory, shipping multiple cross-platform social-networking apps on iOS and Android. Set the strategy and doubled as technical lead, product owner, and UX lead. Led and coached the engineering team on mobile development. Owned the full app lifecycle: design, build, test, deployment, change management, and support. Partnered with web and architecture teams to build the shared framework behind all the apps.

  • Sr Web/Mobile Applications Engineer at Net Gecko Pte Ltd Singapore
    Jun 2008 - Jun 2011 · 3 yrs 1 mo

    Built and launched an omnichannel publishing platform that let travel writers publish guides across web and mobile from one place. Designed the UX and UI across the user journeys. Used data and analytics to cut friction and lift engagement and conversion.