My name is Ariadna Busquets and I studied Economics. As often happens, I decided to study something that would offer job opportunities. During my degree, I pictured myself working at a bank, helping people improve their investments and manage their money, but in the end that idea was put on hold and I chose a different path after university. By coincidence, I now find myself working at N26, a digital bank.
After graduating, I did an internship in the Logistics Department at Privalia. I experienced the transition to Agile methodologies and we learned to collaborate closely with the technology teams. This change sparked my interest and, when my internship ended, I was offered a permanent position as Product Owner, where I spent three and a half years working with the IT team developing logistics solutions. There I focused, among other things, on optimising delivery times for online orders, which we managed to reduce to 5 days, coordinating everything from the warehouse to delivery to the customer, improving incident management, email communications and situations when the customer wasn't at home.
After that, I worked at Vueling for four years, initially in the Fleet Department, collaborating on the creation of internal tools to manage the annual aircraft requirements, and later leading projects related to chatbots and Artificial Intelligence.
And finally, in January 2022, I joined N26, where I started working in the Subscriptions Department as Product Manager.
The role of Product Owner or Product Manager requires a comprehensive understanding of how technology can improve and transform the customer experience in both environments, online and offline.
N26 is an online bank with no physical branches. Through its mobile app, you can open a free bank account in less than 8 minutes. They offer a basic free plan with its own advantages, plus several monthly subscription plans with different benefits ranging from €4.90 to €16.90 per month. For example, the most expensive subscription includes travel insurance, protection and coverage for card purchases, among other benefits. Since joining, I've focused on improving our subscriptions to attract more customers, evaluating how to structure payments and what benefits to offer at each level, ensuring profitability.
Since last month, I've been working with the Savings Accounts team, where we manage savings accounts in Spain, Germany and other European countries. We're working on how to improve these accounts and offer attractive features to our customers.
No, since I immersed myself in the world of Product and Technology, I couldn't see myself working in a more conventional sector, like a traditional bank. But what we do at N26 is completely different; there's a different philosophy, constant innovations and many challenges that make this environment very stimulating and dynamic.
The work of a Product Owner or Product Manager varies significantly depending on the company and team in which they work. In general, they are responsible for leading the development and evolution of a specific product. For example, in my current role as one of the Product Managers for Savings Accounts at N26, my job involves identifying how we can improve and advance this product, working closely with the technology team to implement solutions. This role primarily focuses on the digital side, although it sometimes involves physical aspects that need to be integrated with technology.
At Vueling, for example, part of the physical experience is the actual flight, so there's a team dedicated to Onboarding to ensure that the digital and technological experience translates into a satisfying physical experience for the customer. At Privalia, it was also about integrating the online shopping experience with the physical delivery process to the customer's home. This work requires a comprehensive understanding of how technology can improve and transform the customer experience in both environments, online and offline.
Empathy is required to understand the customer experience and their needs, but also to establish effective relationships with all the team members you collaborate with.
Yes, it's definitely a very cross-functional role. One of the key skills for this position is empathy. Empathy is required to understand the customer experience and their needs, but also to establish effective relationships with all the team members you collaborate with. Without building strong and positive relationships with the other team members, it's hard to do satisfying work. In my role, collaboration and teamwork are fundamental; it would make no sense without a well-cohesive and motivated team behind me.
Banking behaviour varies considerably across the different European countries in which we operate and all this quantitative data allows us to identify areas for improvement or problems to solve.
Yes, our decisions are grounded in data. We have a department dedicated exclusively to data management, which is crucial for us. N26 was created to solve a common problem: the tedious experience of opening a bank account physically, with endless paperwork and wasted time. Our app eliminates this barrier. Therefore, we have a large amount of data that helps us identify problem areas or changes in user behaviour with the app.
We also observe that banking behaviour varies considerably across the different European countries in which we operate. All this quantitative data allows us to identify areas for improvement or problems to solve. We then focus on those specific aspects and seek to obtain qualitative information through direct interactions with customers for a deeper understanding of their needs and expectations.
That's right, we work with both types of data at N26. We have a dedicated UX Research team that focuses on prioritising and analysing customer data, as it's essential to optimise the time spent on this process. I believe we're making the most of all this available information. We also receive valuable input and ideas from other teams within the company who may be unaware of our specific processes, which enriches our perspective. In summary, we have a large amount of both quantitative and qualitative information that helps us make efficient decisions and continuously improve our services.
Any programme or tool that can automate tedious manual processes and free up time for more strategic and productive activities not only benefits the employee, but also contributes to the overall success of the company.
Yes, I remember my early days when everything was done in Excel and data analysis teams were much smaller in comparison. Over time, I've seen how data usage has increased and how AI has started to become an important presence in companies.
A personal example that illustrates this progress is my first work experience, where I spent eight hours a day reviewing invoices on a computer, checking amounts and data. I spent several months doing this repetitive task, which was not the most efficient use of my skills.
Any programme or tool that can automate tedious manual processes and free up time for more strategic and productive activities not only benefits the employee, but also contributes to the overall success of the company.
Completely. One key aspect that some companies are prioritising is adequately training and educating employees to use AI effectively. Personally, I've received specific training at the companies I've worked for on how to use and harness AI productively, and I believe this training is essential to making the most of these advanced tools.
Furthermore, another important aspect that is gaining attention is the security of the data and business information shared with AI systems. Regulation around AI is still developing. Critical questions are being raised, such as what happens to a company's private data when it's used in AI systems. This topic is being addressed at a regulatory level, both at the European level and nationally, and it's crucial to consider regulation around data security and privacy in the context of artificial intelligence in companies.
AI has the potential to free workers from mundane tasks and allow them to focus on activities that add greater value to the company and personal fulfilment.
I hope AI helps us optimise the most manual and repetitive tasks, as I mentioned before, and that it might perhaps contribute to the widespread implementation of a 4-day working week.
I believe that by carrying out more qualitative and meaningful tasks on a day-to-day basis, employees feel more motivated, produce higher quality results and do so in less time. AI has the potential to free workers from mundane tasks and allow them to focus on activities that add greater value to the company and personal fulfilment.
There may be companies that decide to ban the use of AI, but I think the most effective approach is not prohibition, but proper regulation of its use. AI is a technology that's here to stay and can be a valuable tool if implemented correctly. Rather than banning its use, it's essential to train employees on how to use AI effectively and ethically. Equally, it's important to establish clear and ethical regulations around the use of AI in the workplace and business environment.
The evolution in the textile industry, for example, is not seen as something negative, but as an advance that allowed working conditions to improve and production to increase. Similarly, I see AI as a natural evolution.
Yes, definitely. I don't think AI will destroy jobs; it's possible that some types of work will cease to exist but evolve or transform into other areas. This is something we've seen with all technological evolutions throughout history. For example, there was a boom in the textile industry where textile machines were implemented that changed the way clothing was produced. This evolution in the textile industry is not seen as something negative, but as an advance that allowed working conditions to improve and production to increase.
Similarly, I see AI as a natural evolution. AI won't eliminate jobs, but will allow people to use their time more efficiently and develop their skills in other areas. The goal shouldn't be to carry out manual and tedious tasks at work, like manually reviewing invoices for eight hours a day, as this doesn't add much value to a company.
As a closing thought, recently I came across an article or video about the impact of AI on graphic design, which mentioned that AI image generators could reduce demand for designers. However, I agree with a comment I read on this: a person who simply needs a quick logo might turn to AI, but that person probably wouldn't have been a profitable client for a designer anyway. Therefore, with AI, designers might find themselves working on more meaningful and differentiated projects that could even be more rewarding for them.
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