Paul Cobban

Paul is a renowned advocate of people‑driven transformation and co-founder of Transform Differently. From 2009 to January 2022, he served as Chief Transformation Officer - and later also as Chief Data Officer—at DBS Bank, where he led its remarkable shift from a slow, bureaucratic organisation to “World’s Best Digital Bank” (Euromoney 2016 & 2021) and “Best Bank in the World” (Global Finance, 2018 & 2022), culminating in recognition as one of Harvard Business Review’s top ten transformations of the decade .

As a speaker, advisor, coach—and yes, doodler—Paul combines storytelling, visual thinking, and hands‑on frameworks to help leaders embed innovation and AI into their organisational DNA. He co-authored the best-selling book Eat Sleep Innovate, published by Harvard Business Review Press and nominee for the Thinkers50 Award in 2021.

Paul has worked with over 100 organisations—blogging, speaking, and advising on transformation, coaching leaders to ignite movements and design cultures that thrive on experimentation and human-centred outcomes. Whether hiking the Scottish Highlands or guiding innovation in boardrooms, he believes transformation is a lived experience and not a project.