Publication
Digital Ledgers vs. Databases: Can Blockchain Optimize Your Supply Chain?
https://www.toptal.com/finance/blockchain/blockchain-supply-chain
Neil is available for hire
Hire NeilNeil Mann
Verified Expert in Finance
Management Consulting Expert
Location
Singapore, Singapore
Toptal Member Since
June 15, 2022
Neil is a versatile strategic digital leader with over 20 years of commercially focused multinational management experience across sectors, including financial services, natural resources, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and hospitality. He has extensive global expertise in driving digital innovations to deliver growth in a range of businesses across cultures. Neil joined Toptal as he enjoys the variety of new roles, projects, and companies.
Career Highlights
Corporate IT Director
Marina Bay Sands
Senior Management Consultant
Gartner
Education Highlights
Executive Education Diploma
Saïd Business School | University of Oxford
Bachelor of Science Degree
Robert Gordon University
Certification Highlights
Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP)
British Computer Society (BCS)
Chartered Engineer (CEng)
Engineering Council
Case Studies
Expertise
Work Experience
Founder
2022 - PRESENT
Future Horizon
- Developed educational material on emerging technologies for a learning and development platform.
- Created and delivered an innovation seminar for leaders of a blue-chip BPO organization.
- Ran interactive workshops to demystify disruptive digital technologies for a global executive network.
Focus areas: Advisory, Blockchain, Change Management, Crypto, Digital, IT, Risk, CEO, Due Diligence, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Fintech, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, MVP Design, Online Banking, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Board Advisor
2020 - 2023
LogChain
- Dispensed strategic advice for this logistics and supply chain blockchain startup.
- Served as a trusted advisor to the CEO and COO, both of whom are founders.
- Provided counsel, perspective, and challenge on crucial matters, such as risks, options, priorities, and issues.
- Acted as a bridge between the industry founders and key delivery partners.
- Designed and developed the Day-1 digital strategy blueprint for the platform.
- Supplied technical assurance for the critical initial MVP, which was essential to enable seed funding.
- Severed relations with an outsourced partner who was not delivering against agreed metrics.
Focus areas: Startups, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Strategy, Thought Leadership, Innovation, Know Your Customer (KYC), Product Management, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Fintech, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, Product Launch, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, MVP Design, APIs, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Digital Center of Excellence Manager
2021 - 2022
Kearney
- Provided expert knowledge and skills on how a digital center could be leveraged as a competitive differentiator to deliver business value.
- Served as a senior digital subject-matter expert, providing specialist and detailed digital knowledge to teams working on key global client projects.
- Led sales initiatives and billable engagements tenaciously, which included team management, client liaison, and ensuring quality on-time deliverables.
- Mentored junior consultants on digital knowledge and consulting skills.
- Founded a distributed ledger technology (DLT), a special interest group community to harvest and harness global intellectual capital from across the firm.
- Produced an industry 4.0 digital strategy for a leading ASEAN agri-commodity player, moving them away from traditional analog processes and making them more robust, efficient, and competitive.
- Generated multi-million annual cost savings for a global beverage client by undertaking a post-merger integration due-diligence exercise and recommending partners, contracts, and streamlining services.
Focus areas: Digital, Digital Transformation, Innovation, Change Management, Strategy, Due Diligence, Advisory, Thought Leadership, Mentorship, Know Your Customer (KYC), Product Management, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Fintech, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, Product Launch, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, MVP Design, Online Banking, APIs, Identity, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Technology
Principal Advisor for Digital Strategy and Transformation | Contract
2019 - 2021
Rio Tinto
- Served as chief digital officer appointee to bridge gaps between IT and commercial departments, including sales and marketing, marine and logistics, and procurement.
- Provided oversight and governance on digital change projects by challenging norms, assumptions, approaches, choices, and timelines and creating more fit-for-purpose solutions where necessary.
- Sought “win-win” collaboration proactively and used a results-focused mechanism to rebuild confidence in “how, when, and why” digital change projects were executed.
- Enacted right-sized governance mechanics to balance speed of solution delivery with strategic organizational considerations, i.e., supportability, affordability, integration, and standard compliance.
- Created clarity, consistency, and credibility for the pragmatic delivery of digital initiatives.
- Acted as an expert in delivering the initial releases of a key bespoke commodity trading and risk management platform, reimagining commodity trading for Rio Tinto across their products.
- Served as a thought leader for the commercial digital platform concept to drive business change by consolidating the application landscape, rationalizing data usage, and empowering business end users.
Focus areas: Blockchain, Trading, Strategy, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Risk, Procurement, Know Your Customer (KYC), Product Management, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, Product Launch, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, MVP Design, APIs, Identity, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Consultant for Trade and Transaction Reporting Operations | Contract
2018 - 2019
Morgan Stanley
- Tasked to rectify trade reporting inconsistencies identified during an audit. Had a middle office “change the bank” role.
- Remediated all outstanding over-the-counter (OTC) derivative obligations, including forex futures, equity, currency, and interest, for the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) regulatory compliance with frequent CFTC and DTCC interactions.
- Drove the team to resolve and deliver quality solutions for all prioritized items using Agile and refinement of operational processes to reduce future risk.
- Partnered with trading, operations, and technology teams across multiple jurisdictions, including HKMA, ASIC, and MAS, to regularly share best practices and align on consistent ways of working.
Focus areas: Compliance, Risk, Governance, Regulations, Trading, Derivatives, Process Improvement, Know Your Customer (KYC), Financials, Fintech, International Finance, Web Platforms, Online Banking, APIs, Identity, International Data Privacy Regulations, Consulting, Technology
Global Enterprise Architect
2018 - 2018
NGDATA
- Incentivized greater and more frequent credit card spending for a notable global bank by delivering a flexible real-time personalized customer-centric solution that involved increasing return on investment (ROI) from the use of big data.
- Increased the customer engagement and share of wallet for a large multi-brand Thai retail conglomerate with a weighted and trigger-based omni-channel cloud-based marketing capability.
- Built new partnerships, owned the pre-sales cycle, and created solutions for clients worldwide.
Focus areas: Partnerships, Presales, Technical Analysis, Design, Thought Leadership, Solution Architecture, Product Management, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Fintech, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, Product Launch, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, MVP Design, APIs, Identity, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Corporate IT Director
2013 - 2017
Marina Bay Sands
- Managed and was held accountable for initiatives across complex integrated resorts worldwide, including Singapore, Macau, Las Vegas, and Pennsylvania.
- Led the team to deliver the first enterprise-grade anti-money laundering (AML) implementation within a casino by adapting a leading AML product to meet the unique regulatory requirements.
- Drove the cross-functional team to achieve fast implementation of industry-level obfuscation software for the correct balance between representative data for testing and ensuring regulatory compliance.
- Delivered an ERP solution to remove manual processing and increase inventory availability. Collaborated with global cross-cultural teams and varied technical disciplines.
Focus areas: Projects, Strategy, Gaming, Costs, Digital Transformation, Compliance, Risk, Governance, Advisory, Change Management, Profit & Loss (P&L), Budgeting, Know Your Customer (KYC), Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Fintech, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, Online Banking, APIs, Biometrics, Identity, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Technology
Program Manager of Wealth Management IT | Contract
2012 - 2013
UBS
- Delivered all the “change the bank” digital workbooks for UBS Wealth Management Taiwan.
- Improved visibility for business stakeholders on critical metrics, such as budget, timelines, risks, and variance.
- Identified synergy opportunities for Taiwan to leverage existing solutions from Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Created a bespoke China strategy for UBS Group Technology.
- Met a challenging OpEx-reduction target for APAC commercial vendor sourcing.
- Delivered consistent pre-contract due-diligence oversight across the matrixed organization.
Focus areas: Wealth Management, Vendor Management, Program Management, Profit & Loss (P&L), Change Management, Digital Transformation, Sourcing, Strategy, Know Your Customer (KYC), Financials, Fintech, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, Online Banking, APIs, International Data Privacy Regulations, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Technical Architect | Contract
2011 - 2012
BHP Group
- Served as an expert for an innovative geospatial collaboration platform for mineral exploration.
- Created a strategic digital roadmap, including a first approval to evaluate the use of the cloud within the company.
- Led the analysis, evaluation, and selection of vendors during the sourcing process.
- Delivered a conceptual design and proofs of concept before the handover to the implementation partner.
Focus areas: Design, Strategy, Budgeting, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Advisory, Sourcing, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, APIs, International Data Privacy Regulations, Consulting, Technology
Senior Management Consultant
2006 - 2010
Gartner
- Provided objective and independent recommendations to clients on different topics, such as strategy, sourcing, audit review, best practice, and go-to-market.
- Advised throughout all stages of the project lifecycle from direction setting to critical delivery of initiatives at c-suite executive levels.
- Led the team formulating the IT strategy for a Pan-European blue-chip retailer owned by private equity with a turnover of around £900 million. Got my recommendations accepted and an eight-figure budget for the transformation approved.
- Delivered a due-diligence market scan and analysis exercise on a proposed future security technology architecture for the UK government.
- Devised an IT strategy for a transportation client that included a £40 million cost model, a strategic roadmap, and direct recommendations.
Focus areas: Strategy, Advisory, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Change Management, Costs, Risk, Remediation, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Data Privacy, Financials, Go-to-market Strategy, International Finance, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, Online Banking, APIs, International Data Privacy Regulations, Websites, Consulting, Growth Strategy, Technology
Management Consultant
2005 - 2006
Accenture
- Led the business case formulation for a J.P. Morgan data optimization initiative, reducing significantly line-of-business (LOB) costs and improving business continuity capabilities.
- Served as a migration manager for the high-profile RBS data center consolidation program, delivered ahead of schedule and under budget.
- Headed the ABN AMRO global application classification project and reduced costs by millions by enabling less critical data to be moved to lower-cost tiers.
Focus areas: Change Management, Digital Transformation, Risk, Advisory, Costs, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, APIs, Consulting, Technology
Technical Consultant
2003 - 2005
Schlumberger
- Designed a modular, scalable, and robust process framework for all projects' effective and efficient migration to the business-as-usual operational support managed service.
- Led a desktop migration for British American Tobacco (BAT), achieving 125% of the agreed deliverables on time and under budget by six figures.
- Got assigned as a consultant to an insurer at their headquarters, assisting in their digital transformation for their 3,500 staff across the United Kingdom.
Focus areas: Advisory, Digital Transformation, Costs, Change Management, Risk, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Market Research & Analysis, System Integration, Vendor Selection, Web Platforms, APIs, Consulting, Technology
System Engineer
2000 - 2001
BT Group
- Participated in a twelve-month industrial placement undertaken in order to complete the third year of a university course. Contributed to a web-hosting platform with a user base of a few million.
- Managed manual testing by planning test schedules, preparing test scripts from documentation, executing tests, reporting problems, tracking resolutions, changing requests, testing regression, and creating test reports.
- Assumed responsibility for testing the primary credit card billing system Geneva, the new email system, and the FRIACO software.
- Worked in a pressurized environment with tight deadlines in a small team.
- Seconded to another team as an advisor before the high-profile multi-million-pound FRIACO product was introduced into the live environment. Found numerous complications.
Focus areas: Networks, Testing, Market Research & Analysis, Web Platforms, Websites, Consulting, Technology
Other Experience
Education
2022 - 2022
Executive Education Diploma in Blockchain Strategy Program
Saïd Business School | University of Oxford - Oxford, United Kingdom
1998 - 2003
Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science
Robert Gordon University - Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
Certifications
JUNE 2016 - JUNE 2026
Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP)
British Computer Society (BCS)
JULY 2009 - PRESENT
Chartered Engineer (CEng)
Engineering Council