Elhadji S. Cissé
Senior Executive | Technology Executive Partner | Executive Client Account Lead
Big 4 Practice Leader · Account P&L · Enterprise AI & Generative AI · Cloud & Modernization · Trusted C-Suite Advisor — Austin, Texas
Senior Executive-caliber technology executive with 25+ years originating, capturing, and delivering complex, multi-year transformation engagements for Fortune-500 enterprises, central banks, Tier-1 financial institutions, healthcare systems, and the public sector. Combines deep CTO/CIO technology authority — Enterprise AI, AI Factory delivery, cloud, cybersecurity, core-system modernization — with full account P&L, sales-target, and capture accountability built across IBM, the IBM–OCP joint venture (TEAL), and Accenture. Trusted advisor to CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, COOs, Boards, Deputy Governors, and Executive Committees on digital transformation, cloud strategy, digital business-model reinvention, and responsible-AI governance.
- Built three institutions from the ground up — Alinma Bank (KSA), Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (UAE) as Chief Enterprise Architect, and TEAL (Morocco) as Chief Digital Officer, scaling it to ~400 professionals.
- $200M transformation program directed for the largest North African organization, with a $20M operating budget and 100+ member delivery team.
- AI Factory blueprint for KSA Tier-1 banks — sovereign, regulator-compliant AI platform on Dell GPU + Google Distributed Cloud; agentic-AI products converted to multi-year sell-through.
- $400K → $12M account growth in two years, 3× sales-target overachievement; lifted a regulator-and-banking portfolio P&L from negative to 20%+ annual growth.
- $35.7M SAMA Instant Payments platform — world-record fastest national real-time-payments implementation; plus a $50M telecom transformation contract.
Professional Experience
ACCENTURE
2024 – Present
Technology Account Lead — Financial Services (Executive Partner)
- Own a Financial Services account portfolio across regulators and Tier-1 institutions: full account P&L, sales target, pipeline, pursuit leadership, and CXO relationship management.
- Captured and shaped the flagship AI Factory pursuit for KSA Tier-1 banks — a sovereign, SAMA-compliant AI platform on Dell GPU + Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) — positioning Accenture as the regulator-of-choice AI partner.
- Originated agentic-AI offerings (RM Copilot, BRD/SDLC Copilot, reusable agents) embedded with NIST AI RMF and Responsible-AI guardrails; converted into multi-year sell-through.
- Rebuilt executive trust on at-risk Saudi Central Bank, Insurance Authority, and Capital Market Authority accounts; lifted account P&L from negative to 20%+ annual growth.
IBM
2018 – 2024
Head of Core Banking & Payments — Middle East & Africa
- Owned MEA Core Banking & Payments portfolio P&L for a 90+ FTE practice across 12 countries; led origination, capture, and delivery — converted negative position to 20% annual growth.
- Captured and delivered the $35.7M SAMA Instant Payments platform; modernized RTGS, instant payments, and payment switches across Tier-1 banks and regulators.
- Built deep CXO and Deputy-Governor relationships across KSA, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa — driving multi-year, multi-deal expansion.
TEAL (IBM–OCP Joint Venture)
Morocco | 2017 – 2018
Chief Digital Officer
- Stood up the joint-venture digital practice from zero, scaling to ~400 professionals representing IBM Global Business Services across Africa — full responsibility for offering design, GTM, hiring, and P&L.
- Captured and led a $200M, multi-year transformation program (with a $20M operating budget and a 100+ member delivery team) for the largest North African organization.
- Stood up Digital Factory, Enterprise Architecture, Analytics, and ERP (SAP / Oracle) delivery competencies as productized offerings.
IBM
2014 – 2016
Executive Account Partner & Application Innovation Lead
- Revived IBM's Financial Services business in Saudi Arabia; grew revenue from $400K to $12M in two years; exceeded sales targets 3× while standing up a Factory Model that reduced delivery cost.
- Delivered a $23.5M platform and established a $7M annual recurring-revenue managed-services stream.
IBM
2010 – 2014
Chief Enterprise Architect
- Designed the end-to-end Service-Oriented Architecture for Alinma Bank — core accounts, cards, document management, internet banking, HR/payroll, GL — and governed vendor selection as Chief Solution Architect.
- Architected the enterprise technology foundation for Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi — the full healthcare technology landscape from the ground up.
- Designed and sold an e-Banking solution to Attijariwafa Bank — the first multimillion-dollar IBM project in Morocco.
Earlier Career Highlights: Senior IT Architect, IBM (USA) | Manager, IT Architecture, Dell, Texas | Technical Lead & IT Architect, Crowe Chizek Consulting, Indiana | earlier software-development roles (USA).