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Nico Barnard is the current COO at Prodigy Finance. Prior to this, Barnard served as Head of Digital Channels Operations for Standard Bank Group from August 2012 to September 2017. In this role, Barnard was responsible for leading the Digital Channels Operations team and overseeing all aspects of line management, strategy, finances, and execution of day-to-day operations. The team was composed of approximately thirty people with a combined budget of R500 million per annum.

Barnard was also responsible for ensuring that all digital channels were aligned with international trends and providing a class-leading strategy for customer experience and sales. This included oversight of customer care and driving the improvement of the sales and commercial performance of the digital business through continuous innovation on sales, security, and service management. Additionally, Barnard monitored and responded to customer complaints, as well as associated system fixes or enhancements that might be required to the digital channel. Nico also provided oversight to and governance of all projects and programs related to the digital channels, facilitated and managed the adoption of all changes to the digital channels, both by the internal staff as well as by the customers (including aspects such as training, communication, and marketing).

Nico Barnard's educational career includes a General Management Program from Harvard Business School, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from North-West University / Noordwes-Universiteit, and a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Industrial Sociology from the University of the Free State. Nico also has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of the Free State, and a Senior Certificate / Matric from Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool (High School). In addition, they are a Prince 2 Practitioner and an MSP Practitioner. Finally, they have a PMP (Project Management Professional) from the Project Management Institute, USA.

Some of their coworkers include Alastair Hops - Chief Risk Officer, Rajesh Rao - CFO, and Adam D'Arcy - Chief Product Officer. Their manager is Cameron Stevens, Co-Founder & CEO.