A life at the heart of global finance: the inspiring journey of Jérôme Boutors

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Trained by JP Morgan, HSBC, and now Chief Operating Officer at Arendt in Luxembourg, Jérôme Boutors has navigated the world and crises by combining technological expertise and strategic vision. A look back at an international career marked by major changes in the financial sector and strong beliefs about the future of personal finance.

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The engineer who became a market strategist

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Trained at INSA in Lyon as a network engineer, Jérôme began his career in New York, before joining finance at Crédit Commercial de France, bought by HSBC. Very quickly, he specialized in computer systems in trading rooms. His appetite for complexity led him to Hong Kong, where he takes charge of teams trading derivatives, especially on the Delta One desk, known for its very technology-intensive market arbitrations.

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JP Morgan: a technology bank above all

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At JP Morgan, he became Chief of Staff for tech teams in equity products. In this transversal role, he embodies a strong conviction: innovation is not a cosmetic layer but a strategic lever. From AI to blockchain to quantum computing, American banking is developing a culture where technology is not at the service of business, it is the heart of it.

He insists: “The future belongs to structures that know how to make the border between IT and business disappear.”

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Blockchain and AI: between hype and real usefulness

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Although blockchain has long been, according to him, “a solution in search of a problem”, it is now relevant in concrete cases, in particular international payments. Likewise, artificial intelligence should not be seen as a magic wand, but as a powerful assistant to be intelligently integrated into uses. The example of the Microsoft co-pilot, which he is currently implementing, illustrates this pragmatic approach well.

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Financial education as a priority

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One of Jérôme's clearest messages concerns the need to democratize financial education. It alerts on the exposure of young people to consumption from an early age, between social networks and online games. According to him, learning to manage a budget, postpone a bonus or understand a quality-price ratio should be part of the educational base, starting at primary school.

He deplores the fact that schools and banks are not taking up this mission head-on enough, which leaves room for alternative actors (peer-to-peer lending, fintechs, savings applications) that fill the loopholes left by traditional institutions.

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Towards a redefinition of banking

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For Jérôme, banks are not going to disappear, but will change radically. The rise of new services such as Wero — which allows transfers without an IBAN via telephone number — or even microfinance models and decentralized platforms will coexist with historical institutions. Financial inclusion will require this hybridization, but also through better listening to the specific needs of individuals, who have long been overlooked.

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The human factor, again and again

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Finally, the human being remains at the heart of this transformation. Soft skills are essential for him, including in financial management. The quality of a customer relationship is not measured by performance, but by the detailed understanding of life projects. This personalization — now reserved for private banking — should gradually be extended to as many people as possible.