Securing the Ambition Through Structured Strategy Recalibration and Joint Execution Alignment

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Financial Services

Case

A leading Swiss retail and payments bank was executing its strategy while facing significant shifts in external conditions — regulatory changes, developments in crypto and digital assets, evolving payment ecosystems and intensified competition. At the same time, transformation complexity and cross-unit dependencies created friction in implementation. Together with the executive board and decision committee, TTE conducted a structured strategy recalibration to secure the ambition. The goal was to (1) reassess changes in the strategic framework, (2) deep-dive twelve strategic focus topics and decide explicitly whether adjustments were required, and (3) define concrete changes to the strategy’s implementation where needed. The outcome was a sharpened, decision-ready strategy with improved execution mechanics and broad organizational ownership.

We drove - The Strategy Hattrick

Strategic Clarity
We started with a structured assessment of changes in strategic conditions, primarily external shifts such as regulation, crypto developments and payment system evolution. Based on this, twelve strategic focus topics were selected for deep-dive analysis, including Retail Banking, Payment Solutions, Digital Assets/Crypto, Open Banking and efficiency levers. For each focus topic, the core question was explicit: Does the strategy require adjustment — yes or no? Each topic was translated into a work package, implications were derived systematically, and clear decision framings were prepared for leadership.

Execution that sticks
The review explicitly connected strategic conclusions with implementation reality. Across the organization, 27 pain points in strategy execution were identified and translated into concrete improvement measures. Where strategic adjustments were required, we defined what needed to change in implementation — for example governance, ownership, sequencing and decision cadences. All insights and decisions were consolidated into a revised 50-page strategy document, aligned with the management team and CEO and formally adopted. This ensured a coherent update of both strategic direction and implementation setup.

Co-Creation for real buy-in
The process was designed as true co-creation. TTE project team and the client’s strategy team were set up as one integrated team. This joint-team setup ensured shared ownership across units and functions, rather than externally delivered recommendations.

Growth & Value

Our client achieved clearly prioritized strategic themes based on a structured reassessment of external developments and internal execution realities. Twelve strategic focus topics were rigorously analyzed and either confirmed or adjusted. Importantly, execution was recalibrated where necessary by addressing 27 concrete pain points with defined improvement measures.

The updated strategy strengthened positioning in critical future areas such as Digital Assets, Open Banking and Payment Solutions while improving implementation effectiveness and leadership alignment. With broad involvement and sprint-based co-creation, the strategy became a jointly owned agenda — increasing transparency, decision clarity and the organization’s ability to deliver against the EBIT ambition.

With These People

Jointly with the strategy team and a large number of key stakeholders across the organization (e.g., from Retail Banking, Payment Solutions, Digital First Banking, Finance/Controlling, IT/Operations), we ensured that strategic conclusions and implementation adjustments were understood, shaped and owned beyond the core strategy function to ensure project success and broad buy-in.