Neal Wells is EMEA Data Culture Lead at SMBC, bringing more than 35 years’ experience across retail and wholesale banking to his work in data, transformation and organisational change. His career spans relationship management, business performance leadership and large-scale strategic delivery, underpinned by a consistent focus on building high-performing, inclusive teams. Across his career, Neal has combined strategic clarity with practical execution to embed sustainable, data-driven change.
Neal is highly active in the DataIQ community and is a regular attendee and participant at events, discussions, masterclasses, peer exchanges, and more.
At SMBC, Neal leads the data culture agenda across the EMEA region, championing data literacy and the effective use of analytics to support better decision-making and long-term strategic goals. He is particularly focused on optimising data to generate meaningful insight, while improving working practices and capability across the workforce.
Prior to joining SMBC, Neal spent almost eight years at HSBC in a series of senior roles within the Chief Data and Analytics Office and Commercial Banking. As Head of Chapters and Vendor Strategy for Wholesale Data and Analytics, he established seven communities of practice supporting more than 800 professionals. He designed and launched tailored learning pathways to strengthen technical, foundational and interpersonal skills, significantly increasing engagement in structured learning compared with other business areas. He also led strategic vendor partnerships to enhance capability development and future talent pipelines.
Earlier roles included leading business performance functions for UK Commercial Banking and Large Corporate segments, providing insight and challenge to senior executives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he took on a senior operational leadership role in the Bounce Back Loan scheme, managing large virtual teams delivering at pace.