Nationwide Building Society
Building a Culture of Innovation
When I joined Nationwide Building Society, there wasn’t a dedicated team focused on future experiences, emerging technology or customer-centred innovation. I was brought in to help change that.
Innovation
Leadership
Transformation
From scattered conversations to a shared environment for discovery, future thinking and customer-centred innovation.
The Challenge
Nationwide had talented teams across the organisation, but no dedicated function bringing together design, research, technology and innovation to explore future opportunities. Customer needs, business challenges and emerging technologies often existed in separate conversations. The opportunity was to create a space where those conversations could come together.
Building more than a team. Creating a new way of working.
I designed the physical innovation space.
Built the innovation team.
Established collaborative ways of working.
Introduced customer-led discovery.
Brought together design, technology and business thinking.
Empty room
Workshop table
Collaboration hub
Working across the business
The innovation function partnered with teams across Nationwide to facilitate workshops, explore opportunities and solve strategic challenges.
CEO
Executive Leadership
Product
Innovation Team
Strategy · discovery · future experiences
Digital
Customer Experience
Technology
Operations
Marketing
Branch Network
Research
How we worked
The capability gave teams a repeatable way to turn evidence into decisions — moving from ambiguity to shared direction without losing sight of the customer.
Discovery Workshops
Structured sessions helped cross-functional groups surface assumptions, align around opportunities and move from opinion to evidence.
Customer Research
Research connected internal ambition with real customer behaviour, needs and moments of friction.
Problem Definition
Teams were encouraged to define the problem before jumping to solutions, creating sharper briefs and better decisions.
Service Design
Customer journeys helped connect channels, operations and digital moments into one shared view of the experience.
Future Concepts
Concept work translated emerging opportunities into tangible stories that leadership and delivery teams could evaluate.
Rapid Validation
Early prototypes and evidence loops helped teams make decisions sooner, with less risk and more confidence.
Executive partnership
Working closely with senior leadership, including the CEO, helped ensure innovation wasn’t isolated from the business. Every initiative was grounded in genuine customer needs while supporting Nationwide’s long-term strategic objectives. Innovation became a shared capability rather than a standalone team.
My role
01 · Established the innovation capability.
02 · Designed the innovation workspace.
03 · Recruited and developed the team.
04 · Facilitated organisation-wide workshops.
05 · Introduced customer-centred discovery.
06 · Led concept development and future experience thinking.
07 · Worked alongside executive leadership.
08 · Connected business strategy with customer insight.
09 · Helped shape future digital experiences.
What we focused on
Future Banking
Emerging Technology
Customer Experience
Financial Wellbeing
Mobile Services
Service Design
AI & Automation
Digital Innovation
Product Strategy
The impact
The value was organisational: a dedicated capability, shared language and repeatable ways of working that helped innovation become part of how teams explored the future.
One dedicated capability
A clear function was established to explore future experiences, emerging technology and customer-centred innovation.
Collaboration embedded
Cross-functional teams had a shared space and process for exploring opportunities together.
Colleagues engaged
Workshops brought hundreds of colleagues into customer-led exploration and strategic problem solving.
Executive sponsorship
Senior backing helped innovation connect to strategic priorities rather than sit at the edge of the organisation.
Customer thinking embedded
Customer evidence became a practical input into innovation choices, not a late-stage validation exercise.
Strategic concepts explored
Multiple business areas could examine future propositions before committing to major delivery paths.
“Innovation isn’t about having the best ideas. It’s about creating the environment where the best ideas can emerge.”
Edward Whatton · Nationwide innovation leadership