In a time when technology moves faster than decision-making can keep up, the role of executives is shifting at its core. AI is not only a technological development here — it's first and foremost a leadership question. At ICS, the largest credit card issuer in the Netherlands, CEO David Minderhoud sits right in the middle of that dynamic. His experience shows that steering AI means making choices before all the numbers are in, and trusting direction over certainty.
From technology to a leadership question
When Minderhoud joined ICS just over three years ago, AI wasn't yet central to the agenda. The first period was dominated by compliance and regulation, typical for the financial sector. But that changed about two years ago.
A first pilot, built around a voicebot in the contact center, brought AI into the boardroom. What began as an experiment grew into a strategic question: how do you steer an organization on a technology that's still very much in motion? The core question shifted from "what can AI do?" to "how do we, as a board, take responsibility for this?"
Start small, think big
ICS deliberately chose not to move fast at any cost. Instead, it committed to controlled experiments, with room to learn without taking on unnecessary risk.
That approach fits the nature of the organization: a financial institution where trust is the foundation of everything. Innovation and compliance have to stay in balance, continuously. Still, caution doesn't mean a lack of ambition. Choosing to introduce a voicebot relatively early — in direct contact with customers — was, in that sense, a bold move. The difference isn't whether risk is taken, but how consciously it happens.
AI as part of the core
Where many organizations apply AI internally first, ICS chose to start close to the customer instead. The contact center, handling roughly 80,000 to 90,000 calls a month, turned out to be the logical place.
The challenge was clear: a large part of every interaction went into identification and clarifying the question, while the real value lies in helping the customer. By placing AI in that first step, employees gained room to focus on what actually matters. This choice points to something important: AI delivers the most value where it's applied where the difference is biggest, not where it's easiest.
Customer, employee, and return: a triangle in balance
For ICS, AI isn't a goal in itself. It's applied from three connected perspectives: a better customer experience with less friction and fewer unnecessary questions, more enjoyment at work for employees through less repetitive tasks, and a sustainable business case through lower costs and more efficient processes.
This triangle forms the basis of every decision. Without value for the customer, there's no reason to exist. Without engaged employees, there's no execution. And without financial perspective, there's no continuity.
Trust as the absolute floor
In the financial sector, one principle leads: trust. For Minderhoud, that's not an abstract idea but a concrete test for every application of AI.
If the outcome of AI can't be explained to a customer, then that application simply shouldn't exist. Executives can't hide behind technology — "the computer says no" is not an answer. That makes AI, at its core, a governance question: not just what's possible, but what's responsible.
"Executives can't hide behind technology — 'the computer says no' is not an answer."
Focus above all: the power of "no"
One of the most important choices ICS makes is where it doesn't invest. In a time when the possibilities seem endless, focus matters most.
Doing everything at once leads to a loss of control, weaker monitoring, and ultimately bigger risks. By setting priorities deliberately, the organization stays both agile and manageable. For many executives, this will sound familiar: the hardest part isn't speeding up innovation, it's deciding where to point it.
Learning by doing, and daring to stop
Experimenting matters, but it isn't unconditional. At ICS, a pilot is only worth running if you're also willing to stop it when it doesn't work.
Interestingly, the signal to stop usually doesn't come from the boardroom, but from the floor. Employees who work with an application every day are the first to recognize when it has no future. That requires a culture where listening matters more than pushing through, and where failure isn't a defeat but part of learning.
Investing in people, not just technology
Even though AI technology is widely available, the real difference comes from the people using it. ICS deliberately invests in skills and understanding across the organization.
By actively involving employees, and by having the management team itself schedule weekly knowledge-sharing sessions, momentum builds. Not because everyone masters everything perfectly, but because learning becomes visible and shared.
"You can buy technology; you can't buy direction and application."
The trap of convenience
The rise of AI brings a new risk along with it: dependency. When employees rely too heavily on system output without questioning it, a false sense of certainty takes hold. In a sector where precision and reliability matter this much, that's a real danger.
That's why ICS invests not only in technology but also in checks: documentation, risk analysis, and the principle that outcomes must always remain explainable. The lesson is simple, but essential.
"AI can support, but it should never replace judgment."
Looking ahead into uncertainty
The development of AI can't be planned the way traditional innovation can. Its speed, impact, and unpredictability call for a different kind of leadership.
At ICS, that means implementing step by step, choosing deliberately where to make an impact, and constantly balancing innovation against responsibility. Maybe that's the core of modern leadership: giving direction without full certainty, but with clear principles.