Steve Monaghan

Originally a commercial pilot, Steve Monaghan has held senior corporate and banking roles in product, marketing, operations, innovation, and general management. He has worked for leading corporations and financial institutions, including Dell, Compaq, Citigroup, OCBC, Shinsei, DBS Bank, Riyad Bank, and AIA. Throughout his career, Steve Monaghan has specialised in introducing new business models, businesses, and products in all major Asian markets and has filed 6 patents in FinTech.

Monaghan was on the start-up team for Dell Computer, introducing Dell’s consumer business to Asia. Later, he developed and executed the branded manufacturing and retail model, catapulting Compaq to number one in the Indian consumer market. In banking, Monaghan developed and patented the first mobile payments platform for Citigroup, developed a Consumer Finance Division for OCBC, and led the retail bank turnaround of Shinsei Bank in Japan.

As founding Chief Innovation Officer for DBS Bank, Steve drove the innovation agenda focused on Payments (PayLah), SME (Business Class), GTS (Working Capital Advisory), AI, and Big Data, culminating in the $220+M investment of DBS in innovation projects, including DBS A*Star R&D Lab, DX transformation (dbs.com), Digital Onboarding, and DBS Digital Banking. DBS is now a global brand recognised as the world’s leading Digital Bank and SME Bank, founded on capabilities and platforms initiated during his tenure.

At AIA, Monaghan founded and led the Edge team, building Asia and Oceania’s leading corporate Accelerator, launching Hong Kong’s first Unicorn, pioneering the Insurance use of blockchain, pioneering Digital Health in Asia, and initiating the company’s journey into Artificial Intelligence. Monaghan created GenLife, a Silicon Valley-based start-up, in which AIA became the lead investor. GenLife was the world’s first AI underwriting company designed to transform insurance from protection to prevention.

Monaghan holds an EMBA with ‘first in class academic standing’ from the Helsinki School of Economics and has attended senior leadership courses at IMD and Wharton.