(15 September 2026 – United Kingdom) NatWest has appointed Harsh Agarwal as its new managing director of customer experience and engagement.
Agarwal joins the UK bank from Ikea, where he has spent the past six years in various leadership roles. He joined the Swedish retail giant in November 2019 as vice president of product management, fulfilment domain before being promoted to global chief product officer (CPO) six months later. He served as CPO for over three years before taking on his most recent role as chief omnichannel officer.
Prior to his time at Ikea, Agarwal led engineering and product teams at Target, served as principal and e-commerce portfolio manager at Microchip Technology, and held various consulting and leadership roles in technology and e-commerce businesses across the US.
Speaking on the appointment, Solange Chamberlain, CEO of retail banking at NatWest, says: “Harsh’s global consumer experience and ability to turn insight into commercial value will help us deliver simpler, more personalised banking and grow deeper customer relationships.”
As head of the retail banking division’s customer experience and engagement team, Agarwal will be responsible for consolidating propositions, segment strategy, and digital experience capabilities across the bank’s mobile app and its digital products and services.
The appointment further builds out NatWest’s retail banking leadership team. Earlier this year, the bank appointed Tamara van den Ban as managing director of premier banking, Des McDaid as managing director of everyday banking, and Judith Curickshank as chief operating officer of retail banking.