Hicham DDANI
For over two decades I have been at the heart of transformation journeys, from the rise of cloud to the era of Open Banking and AI. My passion is turning complex technology into secure and scalable ecosystems that deliver real business impact. What defines me is not just strategy but a leadership style built on clarity, trust and execution — values that empower teams and make innovation sustainable.
Writing
My latest blog posts and opinion articles.
4 results
The 3 Values That Turn IT Leaders into Change MakersSep 30, 2025At the peak of one of our most ambitious digital transformations — a sweeping cloud migration spanning multiple banks across Africa — I was asked to step in and take command. Deadlines had slipped, complexity had grown, and momentum was fading.
LeadershipValuesClarityTrustExecution
Why Africa Needs Open Banking Regulation NowJul 28, 2025More than 370 million African adults remain unbanked—yet mobile money penetration is among the highest globally. Open Banking is the missing bridge: a catalyst for inclusive economic growth and innovation across the continent.
OpenBankingFinancialInclusionAfricaTechAPIDPI
How Cloud, APIs, and AI Separate Banking’s Leaders from LaggardsMay 27, 2025Banking is undergoing a fundamental shift. Systems that once delivered stability and scale are now limiting the speed, agility, and intelligence today's customers and markets demand.
Open BankingCloudAILeadership
CIO Diary
In this comic series, we meet Samir Tek, the fictional CIO of UnityBank — a character I created to spotlight real-world IT leadership challenges.
Episode #11 — From Chaos to CadenceOct 14, 2025🎙️ In this episode, Samir Tek — CIO of UnityBank — faces a familiar challenge: keeping up with security updates across a growing landscape of servers and applications.
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Episode #10 — When Cloud Costs Bite BackSep 23, 2025🎙️ In this episode, Samir Tek — CIO of UnityBank — faces the cloud bill nobody wants to open.
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Episode #9 — The Open Source DilemmaSep 16, 2025🎙️ In this episode, Samir Tek — CIO of UnityBank — tackles the open source dilemma in enterprise IT.
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Biography
I am a strategic technology leader with over two decades of experience driving digital transformation, enterprise cloud strategy, and platform innovation across diverse industries.
As Head of the Open Banking Center of Excellence at Société Générale, I lead cloud transformation programs and API-driven innovation across 13 African banks, aligning technology with business growth, regulatory compliance, and inclusion. My leadership has delivered measurable outcomes: reduced infrastructure costs by 20%, increased partner adoption by 30%, and enabled new digital revenue streams.
Recognized as an industry thought leader, I have spoken at the Arab-Afro Digital Payment Symposium and the MoneyCore Open Banking Panel, and I regularly publish insights on technology, innovation, and leadership. My expertise spans cloud-native architecture, API ecosystems, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and digital platforms.
Guided by the values of clarity, trust, and execution, I empower teams to deliver innovation at scale and build technology ecosystems that are secure, resilient, and inclusive. I am passionate about leveraging AI and modern paradigms like composable services to shape the future of digital transformation in financial services and beyond.