Financial services leaders gathered in Cape Town for an executive roundtable hosted by Kurtosys in partnership with Snowflake and Datalab.
The session explored the challenges and opportunities facing the financial services sector as organisations modernise data platforms and prepare for AI-driven transformation.
From data foundations to AI adoption
Douglas Day from Datalab led an interactive session focused on the data and AI challenges facing financial services organisations.
Audience participation highlighted a clear theme: while AI is high on the executive agenda, many organisations are still focused on strengthening the data foundations required to deliver meaningful AI outcomes.
Key themes included:
- Data foundations
- AI readiness
- Customer experience transformation
- Governance
- Breaking down silos
- Operational efficiency
- Executive alignment
AI needs better data
Chris Boyd from Snowflake reminded the audience that data harmony is not a standalone project or technical fix, but something that needs to be embedded into company culture.
"AI is only as good as the fuel you feed it."
Ronald Du Toit from Allan Gray shared how Snowflake integration is transforming user experience by breaking down silos and enabling business users to ask more natural, complex questions of their data.
Rav Swamy from Pzena Investment Management shared lessons from managing complex transformations, showing that a North Star vision and tactical quick wins are not mutually exclusive.
Practical executive conversations
The discussion showed that many financial services organisations are facing similar challenges as they move from AI ambition to practical implementation.
For Datalab, roundtables like this are important because they create space for honest, practical conversations about what is needed to unlock value from data and AI.