Spotlight On: Kevin Walker, Head of Credit Suisse Raleigh, Credit Suisse

Spotlight On: Kevin Walker, Head of Credit Suisse Raleigh, Credit Suisse

2022-12-28T14:56:51-05:00November 15th, 2022|Banking & Finance, Raleigh-Durham, Spotlight On|

2 min read November 2022 With the mix of companies moving to the Raleigh-Durham region and the infrastructure investments that are needed going forward, Credit Suisse sees a lot of business opportunities for the bank in the coming years, Kevin Walker, managing director and head of the bank in Raleigh said in an interview with Invest:. 

Can you give us your perspective on the last decade’s growth in the region? 

We have seen and continue to see a lot of growth within the Triangle region. A lot of companies have moved here from around the country, so certainly quite a lot of activity. And the same with people moving to the area in search of the quality of life the region offers. We are at roughly over 60+ people moving into our county daily, so I would consider that a boom. 

What are the highlights and milestones for your company in the last year?

Number one was our return to the office. Coming back to the office and seeing our employees energized and collaborating was a big win for us as well as everyone else. 

From a diversity, equity and inclusion perspective, we’ve done a lot with our core partners within the Triangle region. Last year we committed over $1.2 million to establish a Credit Suisse Scholars’ program which helps funding for students’ tuition and expenses across three HBCU colleges based in North Carolina. 

In Raleigh, we are a strong supporter and partner of Wake Tech. We have found quite a lot of talent coming in from there. We’ve also supported their Wake Works Apprenticeship Program by providing annual grants that help to fund program expansion as well as barrier removal funding to encourage student persistence. We’ve hired a good amount over the last several months. I’m very proud of the work we’re doing.

What is your assessment of the talent pool in the triangle region?

The pool is strong, but regardless, we need to have a hands-on approach. If you look at all the core universities, including the HBCUs and the community colleges, we need to play an active role in cultivating that talent.

The talent pool is certainly expanding due to the population influx within the Raleigh region. We see that as a good thing. Whereas we may have had in the past a hard time finding particular skills, the diversity of talent we are now seeing is helping us with our hiring needs. The talent is there, no doubt, but you still need to roll up your sleeves and put in the work.

Have you seen a shift in demand for the services that you’re offering? 

We are a global bank; we are a global location. We have over ten business divisions here at the site and provide support to Credit Suisse offices around the world and across multiple businesses. We have been growing for some time now and we expect that to continue. 

I would expect us to increase the core capabilities that we’re providing to support the bank. We have a lot of initiatives that we’re working on currently and in the pipeline, many to do with diversity and inclusion, and building up our culture. I see nothing but growth within the region to help the broader bank. I want us to continue to lead, drive and support the bank.

What was the main challenge for your company in the last two years?

Working from home was a challenge for most companies. We opened the doors back in February and promoted a hybrid working environment. We’re proud of that. We think a hybrid working environment certainly works to provide meaningful connections and culture but also flexibility. 

How good has the Raleigh market been for your operations?

In the last couple of years our region has been in the top five across every magazine in terms of growth and the quality of the region in terms of life and work. We’re leveraging that, our business is aware of that. We continue to invest in the site. We continue to look for top talent within the region. From a Raleigh perspective, economically, I believe the growth of the region is in good shape. So, what that means for us is it just widens the net in terms of the talent pool and business opportunities for the bank.

How is the bank working in digitization initiatives?

We’re doing a lot from an innovation perspective focusing on topics such as robotics and automation. Here in Raleigh, we have data scientists and linguists building a lot of artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. These capabilities alleviate manual processes and allow us to automate where it makes the most sense. They make up some of our key digitization initiatives.   

What is your outlook for the bank in the Raleigh region over the next three to five years?

My hope is we continue to grow our footprint and capabilities in the region. But there is a lot of infrastructure that needs improvement, like the airport, to sustain the growth. I do think from a regional perspective with all these companies coming in, we do need to invest in our roads, our airports and our infrastructure. I think at the end of the day we will see more growth within not only our company but with a lot of companies here in RTP. 

For more information, visit: 

https://www.credit-suisse.com/us/en.html 

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