Marcel Klaassen
Senior Executive, banking innovator, and Change Agent in South Africa and beyond
Marcel is formally educated in finance and holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg. He has 15+ years experience in commercial banking and business support, and is passionate about the impact of disruptive technology on customer reach and experience in the financial services industry.
In 2006 he assumed an executive role as co-founder of a SME support platform owned by the First Rand Group, called Biznetwork. During this time he launched a first to market web-platform dubbed by the media as “the Facebook for small business". This was followed by a successful career in First National Bank's Commercial leadership. It was here where he learnt the true value of business innovation at scale, and gained invaluable insight into go-to-market strategy development and execution in Africa, India and the United Kingdom.
With Marcel leading sales, service and channel strategies over the last decade, the FNB Business Bank has seen unprecedented customer growth and market share leadership across all market segments. The organisation also holds the much coveted title of Best Business Banking Brand for 7 consecutive years, as well as “Best SME Bank in the World”.
Marcel is a member of the global Young Presidents Organization (YPO) as well as the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) SME Committee. He remains involved in several local fintech initiatives and is an active contributor in the media.
On the lighter side: Marcel enjoys collecting wine; is a competitive mountain-biker and lifetime student of the classic guitar.
"Always keen to put my banking experience and networks to good use! You can click the button above to view my portfolio. If you’d like to get in touch, please contact me via the form below, or join my world on one of the popular social platforms"