Vice President · BNP Paribas Canada

Ghassen
Helali

VP — IHC/FRS Production Management  ·  Montreal, Canada

A trilingual production leader with 10+ years bridging banking technology, regulatory governance, and enterprise product delivery across Tier-1 financial institutions. Promoted to VP in February 2026, steering IHC and FRS production platforms for BNP Paribas Canada with a mandate to set the standard for operational excellence.

Role VP, Production Management
Company BNP Paribas Canada
Base Brossard, Québec
Experience 10+ years
Domains IHC · FRS · Regulatory
Languages French · English · Arabic
Education Dual Master's · Concordia & ENSI
LinkedIn ghassen-helali
10+ Years in Banking IT
2 Tier-1 Banks
3 Languages
VP Promoted Feb 2026
About

Who I Am

🏛️

The Leader

A Vice President who grew through every layer of banking production — from hands-on analyst to platform owner to executive governance leader. I don't manage from the sideline: I set the standard, own the outcome, and bring teams with me.

🔍

The Analyst

My foundation is dual Master's degrees in software and computer engineering. I think in systems, speak in data, and translate complexity into decisions. Whether it's a regulatory constraint or an architectural gap, I find the signal in the noise.

🌍

The Connector

Trilingual in French, English, and Arabic — I've built bridges across cultures, time zones, and disciplines. At BNP Paribas, that means aligning Montreal with Paris, business with IT, and today's operations with tomorrow's regulatory landscape.

🤖

The Innovator

Certified in AI Product Management and Data Analytics, I embed intelligence into operations — from Power BI dashboards that save teams hours daily, to AI-driven tooling strategies for the MENA fintech market. Innovation isn't a project; it's my operating mode.

Career

My Journey

Feb 2026
Present
VP — IHC/FRS Production Management Current
BNP Paribas · Montreal, Québec
  • Promoted to Vice President to lead IHC/FRS production governance for BNP Paribas Canada's critical financial reporting platforms.
  • Define and execute the strategic roadmap, aligning delivery priorities with regulatory mandates and enterprise risk frameworks.
  • Chair senior governance committees, presenting production KPIs and risk mitigation plans to C-suite leadership.
  • Drive enterprise operational resilience initiatives, establishing SLA frameworks and incident protocols across multi-system environments.
  • Champion cross-functional transformation programs coordinating business, IT, risk, and compliance teams.
Aug 2022
Feb 2026
IHC Product Owner — Senior Functional Analyst
BNP Paribas · Montreal, Québec
  • Directed end-to-end service delivery governance across IHC/FRS production environments.
  • Owned the product vision and KPI framework, presenting executive-level performance updates to senior stakeholders.
  • Spearheaded a Power BI production intelligence dashboard, reducing manual tracking by 1–2 hours daily.
  • Drove strategic definition and iteration of the IHC/FRS product roadmap aligned to regulatory constraints.
  • Acted as strategic interface between development, business, and senior management to accelerate cross-functional alignment.
2021
2022
Service Production Analyst
BNP Paribas · Montreal, Québec
  • Monitored and analyzed production systems to ensure optimal performance and identify operational improvement areas.
  • Led test plan development and regression testing across environments, mitigating risks during production migrations.
  • Implemented new processes to enhance system reliability and streamline workflows, reducing bottlenecks significantly.
2018
2021
Production Chapter Leader
MSC Société Générale · Montreal, Québec
  • Supervised a team of 10, spearheading automation initiatives to improve production efficiency and minimize overhead.
  • Developed a production health tool to automate issue tracking and regional handovers, eliminating missed email transfers within the FTS model.
  • Optimized production workflows and resource management while maintaining strict budget adherence.
2017
2018
Application Support / Production Analyst
MSC Société Générale · CGI Consultant
  • Managed incident resolution and release management, ensuring prompt resolution of technical and functional issues.
  • Collaborated with development teams on accurate financial reporting during month-end close cycles.
Expertise

Skills & Capabilities

Leadership

Production Governance Executive Reporting Strategic Roadmaps Change Management Team Development Stakeholder Management

Product & Analysis

Product Ownership Functional Analysis Business Requirements KPI Frameworks Process Optimisation ITIL V4

Technology

Power BI Python SQL Cloud (AWS/Azure) Hadoop / PeopleSoft JavaScript

AI & Data

AI Product Management Data Analytics ML Integration Dashboard Design Probabilistic Modelling

Banking & Regulatory

IHC/FRS Platforms Regulatory Reporting Risk Frameworks Month-End Close SLA Management

Languages

French — Fluent English — Fluent Arabic — Native German — Basic
Resilience

Challenges That Shaped Me

01

Cross-Border Career Building

Immigrating to Canada and rebuilding a professional reputation in a Tier-1 banking environment from the ground up — in a second language — across two different financial institutions and three distinct domains.

02

Navigating the Analyst-to-Leader Gap

The transition from deep technical contributor to strategic production leader required rebuilding how I communicate, influence, and prioritize — learning to manage ambiguity at scale rather than solve problems in isolation.

03

Regulatory Complexity at Pace

Operating in IHC/FRS production means zero tolerance for errors in regulatory reporting. Delivering stability and innovation simultaneously — under audit scrutiny — demanded a level of operational discipline that defines how I lead today.

04

Staying Relevant in an AI-First World

Pursuing AI Product Management and Data Analytics certifications while holding a demanding senior role reflects a conscious choice: technology is moving faster than any institution, and I intend to lead that change rather than react to it.

Vision

The Road Ahead

I believe the future of banking belongs to leaders who can hold two things at once: the discipline of operational excellence and the imagination to reimagine it. My path is to build systems that endure, teams that exceed, and a career that crosses borders.

🏦
Executive Leadership

Progressing from VP toward a Director-level mandate within BNP Paribas, with a focus on cross-regional production strategy and regulatory transformation at the AMER/EMEA level.

🤖
AI-Augmented Banking

Embedding AI and data intelligence into production management and regulatory reporting — reducing latency, improving accuracy, and building the infrastructure for predictive operational governance.

🌐
Global Mobility

Leveraging BNP Paribas internal mobility to extend my footprint internationally — whether through a Madrid assignment, MENA expansion, or cross-border fintech advisory — using trilingualism as a genuine differentiator.

Ambitions

Future Promotions & Goals

🎯

Director, Production & Platform Management

The natural next step: owning a broader production mandate across multiple platforms and geographies, shaping enterprise-level technology governance within a major banking group.

🌍

International Assignment (Madrid / EMEA)

Actively exploring BNP Paribas internal mobility opportunities in Europe, with Spain as a primary target — building a truly cross-border executive profile while deepening relationships in the EMEA network.

💡

Fractional AI Product Lead — MENA Fintech

Building a parallel advisory practice targeting MENA fintech and financial institutions — offering AI product strategy, data analytics architecture, and digital transformation consulting as a high-impact side mandate.

📚

Thought Leadership & Publication

Channelling experience in production management, AI integration, and cross-border career building into a published work and active LinkedIn voice — creating content that positions me as a go-to voice in banking technology leadership.

Credentials

Education & Certifications

Master's — Software EngineeringENSI, Tunisia · 2013
Bachelor's — Computer EngineeringConcordia University, Montréal · 2017
Bachelor's — Computer ScienceENSI, Tunisia · 2010
ITIL V4 FoundationsPeopleCert · 2025
AI Product ManagerUdacity · 2025
Data AnalystUdacity · 2025
Cloud 101BNP Paribas · 2024
Sustainability EssentialsUniversity of Cambridge · 2022
Contact

Let's Connect

Open to conversations about executive production management, AI in banking, international mobility, and advisory opportunities.