Mobey Forum, the global industry association empowering banks and other financial institutions to lead the future of digital financial services, today announces the appointment of Maikki Frisk to the position of Executive Director, effective from 1st February 2017.

Maikki Frisk brings a wealth of digitalisation skills and experience to Mobey Forum, specialising in sector disruption, digital service and change design, cloud, IoT and mobile technology. A holder of both an MA and MBA, Maikki Frisk built an extensive international career over a 16-year period at Microsoft, Nokia Corporation and Line Ltd., in strategic, executive business development and program and product management, holding both team leadership and partnership positions.

In 2015, Maikki Frisk co-founded Tribula, a consultancy firm to which she was appointed CEO, which provided an environment in which she could steer the digital transformation programmes of a variety of clients and assume leadership positions in digital and data analytics start-ups.

“Mobey Forum has a proven format that creates a unique quality of interaction and insight for its members,” comments Maikki Frisk. “My experience comes from helping companies adapt to the digital age and design a digital user experience that will keep them ahead of the curve. Thanks to the advent of digital services the financial sector is undergoing huge and rapid change. These are testing times for banks and financial institutions but they are also filled with opportunity; the fields of data analytics and artificial intelligence, in particular, have incredible potential. I’m delighted to have the chance to play my part at Mobey Forum and am very excited about what we can achieve together.”

The change of leadership at Mobey Forum comes at an exciting time in the association’s evolution, explains Jordi Guaus, Chair of Mobey Forum: “We are very excited to welcome fresh leadership to Mobey Forum and look forward to continuing our journey with Maikki at the helm. 2016 was a watershed year for Mobey Forum. We have expanded the association’s focus beyond mobile to analyse digital financial services. As a result, our work groups have diversified significantly and are attracting more engagement from our members than ever before. Our work in North America has continued to expand and was consolidated by the launch of Mobey Day Toronto in November. The association also attracted a record eighteen new members in 2016.”

In 2017, Mobey Forum moves forward with five international work groups, addressing a range of topics from banking disruption to measuring the use of predictive analytics in finance. Each work group examines the trends, technologies, innovations and business models that will ultimately combine to deliver a better user experience in digital financial services.

Maikki Frisk’s appointment follows the recent resignation of Sirpa Nordlund, who will leave the Executive Director post at the end of January to assume another senior role within the payments industry.

“It is important that we acknowledge the tremendous contribution that Sirpa Nordlund has made to Mobey Forum’s transformation,” adds Jordi Guaus. “Her tireless positive energy, enthusiasm for changes in the industry and constant drive to deliver value for our members will be missed. We wish her every success in her new role.”

Sirpa Nordlund departs from Mobey Forum after six years in the Executive Director role. “This has been a remarkable period in my career,” she says. “The pace of change has been electric and it has been fantastic to follow the industry’s evolution from a position with an excellent view! I have had the privilege of gaining insights from many leading companies and made friends with amazing people. In Maikki’s hands, Mobey’s future is looking very bright. I look forward to watching its continued success from close by.”