Backbase appoints Roland Booijen as Chief Product Officer

Backbase has appointed Roland Booijen as Chief Product Officer, Agentic Banking, expanding its leadership team as it pushes further into AI-based banking tools.

Booijen will lead product strategy for agentic banking across conversational banking, relationship intelligence and customer operations. He will set the roadmap for AI agents designed to handle routine banking requests from start to finish, alongside bank staff on frontline operations.

The appointment follows Backbase's launch of its AI-native Banking OS and its acquisition of Kasisto, a specialist in conversational and agentic AI for banking. Booijen will continue to report to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jouk Pleiter.

The role places Booijen at the centre of Backbase's shift from digital banking software to an AI-focused operating system designed to unify frontline banking work. The system links front-office and back-office activity across the customer lifecycle.

Booijen has held several senior product and banking technology roles over more than a decade. Most recently, he was General Manager for Ecosystems at Backbase, where he led the company's marketplace and connector product, technology and commercial strategy.

He is also known as the founder of Dutch payments app Tikkie. Earlier in his career, he held several director roles at ABN AMRO.

AI focus

The appointment comes as banks increase AI spending after earlier pilot projects. Backbase cited Salesforce figures showing adoption of AI agents in customer service organisations rose 1.7 times from 2025 to 2026, while 70% of organisations using AI agents reported measurable value within 60 days of deployment.

That broader industry trend has prompted banking technology suppliers to sharpen their offerings around automation, digital service and staff support tools. For Backbase, Booijen's new role signals that conversational interfaces and AI-assisted customer operations are becoming a core part of its strategy rather than a side project.

The company serves more than 120 banks worldwide across retail, small business, commercial, private banking and wealth management. It is based in Amsterdam and operates across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Announcing the appointment, Pleiter described Booijen as a longstanding architect of the company's product direction.

"Roland has spent years building the products that took us from digital banking to agentic banking. Giving him this mandate now reflects our dedication to leading the charge in this space. He's the right person to take our agents to the frontline to serve millions of people around the world," said Jouk Pleiter, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Backbase.

Booijen said consumer expectations of banks were shifting toward more conversational, outcome-driven interactions.

"The next generation of bank users won't know a branch, and they won't type an account number into a five-step form. They'll talk to their bank the way they talk to Claude or ChatGPT, and expect outcomes. Inside the bank, employees will work hand in hand with agents to deliver them. It's an honour to have a role at a company that's actively shaping that future," Booijen said.