For Yudhvir Seetharam, Chief Analytics Officer at FNB, data science is not about models. It’s not about algorithms. And it’s certainly not about technology for technology’s sake.
“Ours is a holistic approach focusing on the customer,” he explains. “Understanding the context of each customer journey and then using that context so that when we interact with you, we’re able to drive the right conversation with the right customer, at the right time, through the right channel and for the right reason. These ‘five rights’ make our interactions with clients more impactful than a spray and pray approach.”
That philosophy – contextual, human-centred, execution-driven – has shaped Yudhvir’s 14-year rise within FNB and underpins one of the most distinctive analytics strategies in commercial banking today.
Monetising Data in Commercial Banking
As Chief Analytics Officer for FNB’s commercial segment, Yudhvir is responsible for data monetisation across small, medium, large business clients – including public sector organisations.
His team’s mandate is clear: use data science methodologies to drive measurable business outcomes.
That includes:
- Acquiring non-bank businesses and switching them to FNB
- Cross-selling to existing business clients
- Optimising customer behaviour
- Measuring and improving customer experience interactions
“We try to use methodologies from data science to either drive acquisition… or to cross sell… or to optimise their behaviour by measuring their interactions,” he says.
The objective is precision and relevance – not mass targeting. Context replaces conjecture. Impact replaces volume.
Curiosity as a Competitive Weapon
If there is a defining trait in Yudhvir’s leadership, it is curiosity. “Curiosity is a big driving force for me,” he says. “I would get very bored if this were repetitive.”
Banking, he argues, is not a formula. It cannot be reduced to price competition. “A price war is not the answer because it’s a downward spiral to zero. So, what is the answer?”
The complexity of collaboration and competition – particularly in initiatives like real‑time clearing across South African banks – fascinates him.
“If we look at the South African context, enabling real‑time clearing required alignment at an industry infrastructure level in order to allow real‑time clearing to work between the banks. This kind of progress typically begins with shared technical standards and interoperability, not around products or pricing, but around the rails that allow the broader ecosystem to function effectively.
“For me, that complexity of how you stay competitive is one of the most interesting challenges in modern banking. It’s not in the ideas. Anybody can come up with ideas… It’s in the execution of those ideas. Execution, not invention, creates advantage.”