Raiffeisen Bank International streamlines board meetings with Sherpany

 

Weekly board meetings are critical to decision-making at Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI). But preparing these meetings relied heavily on manual work, from agenda creation to document handling. With Sherpany, that effort has shifted to a single, secure, end-to-end board process. 

Henri Hagen, who works in the Group Executive Office at RBI, describes how embedded this rhythm is in their work. “My team and I in the Group Executive use Sherpany weekly for the preparation, execution, and follow-up of board meetings.” What used to be a fragmented and manual process has become a single, continuous flow. 

The challenge: Too much manual work behind the scenes 

Before Sherpany, preparing weekly board meetings required a high level of manual coordination. Agendas were created in Word, documents were uploaded and renumbered by hand, and even small changes triggered a chain reaction of formatting tasks. 

As Henri explains, “Before working with Sherpany the processes were significantly more manual. We did things like creating the agenda in Word, which led to lengthy formatting of the agenda, many small adjustment steps, and also documents that had to be renumbered manually.” 

These inefficiencies were not a governance risk, RBI is a highly regulated organisation with established structures, but they absorbed time that could have been better spent elsewhere. “We needed significantly more time to prepare the weekly board meetings, especially due to many manual tasks, like creating the agenda and renumbering documents,” Henri recalls. 

The outcome was clear: the job was done properly, but it demanded more effort than necessary. 

The solution: One secure platform for the entire board cycle 

When RBI evaluated solutions, the goal was not to digitise isolated steps, but to support the full board process from start to finish. Sherpany stood out on several levels. 

“There are a few reasons why we ultimately decided to go with Sherpany,” Henri says. “First, it offered all the features that are important to us for our end-to-end board meeting processes.” 

Security and independence played an equally important role. As a bank, RBI handles highly sensitive information and operates under strict regulatory requirements. Sherpany’s Swiss roots and security architecture aligned with those expectations. “We wanted to avoid dependency on large U.S. tech corporations,” Henri explains, adding that 

Today, Sherpany supports the entire lifecycle of board meetings at RBI. Agendas are created in the platform, documents are shared securely with board members, meetings are conducted digitally, and minutes are prepared and sent out for digital signature. “We most frequently use Sherpany for the board meeting process, starting with creating the agenda, sending it out to the board members, sharing the meeting documents, and later also sending out the minutes via Sherpany for digital signature,” Henri notes. 

The results: Efficiency, transparency, and focus on what matters 

The most immediate impact of Sherpany was a noticeable shift in how time is spent within the Executive Office. Manual formatting and document handling have faded into the background. 

“Preparation has become significantly more efficient,” Henri explains. Instead of focusing on administrative details, the team can now direct its attention to substance. “We spend way less time on stuff like formatting an agenda, renumbering documents, but instead we can focus on the content.” 

Sherpany has also changed how decisions and follow-ups are handled. Tasks and resolutions are no longer scattered across emails or documents, but tracked centrally. “Tracking follow-ups, meaning tasks and decisions, has become much easier,” Henri says. “These can be tracked very smoothly in Sherpany, allowing us to maintain an overview and follow up accordingly.” 

This structure proves especially valuable when time is short. “Even for short-notice decisions and circular resolutions, it’s possible to quickly inform the board, provide all necessary documents, allow the board to vote transparently, and immediately record the decision,” Henri explains. From a governance perspective, this clarity brings confidence and speed in equal measure. 

A partnership beyond the product 

Alongside the platform itself, RBI emphasises the quality of collaboration with the Sherpany team. From onboarding through to day-to-day use, support has been consistent and responsive. 

“The Sherpany team was extremely helpful throughout the entire onboarding and implementation process,” Henri says. “They were always very professional and responded to our questions very quickly.” 

One element stands out in particular: support accessibility. “The online chat always connects you with a real person who responds within two to four minutes at any time of day or night,” Henri adds. “That’s a unique feature I really want to highlight.” 

As Sherpany has expanded beyond the Group Executive Office into committees and supervisory boards across the RBI network, this experience has remained consistent. “Our experience has been consistently positive,” Henri reflects. “Our questions have always been answered quickly, our concerns have always been acknowledged, very professionally, kindly, and with a clear focus.” 

Looking ahead 

With Sherpany firmly embedded in weekly routines, RBI has gained more than operational efficiency. The platform has created space to concentrate on the topics that truly matter at board level. 

What began as a solution for board meetings in Vienna is now used across the group. “It is now used across the entire group, not just here in Vienna, but also in committees and supervisory board meetings in the network banks.” 

This group-wide adoption reflects a shared need for clarity, speed, and secure collaboration across different governance bodies, while maintaining the regulatory standards expected of a leading international bank. 

With a secure, end-to-end meeting process in place, Raiffeisen Bank International continues to strengthen how decisions are prepared, taken, and documented, week after week.