Our Team

Finastra Representative

Ben Abbassi

VP Sales, Payments | NA & EMEA

Ben Abbassi is a Senior Executive in Payments with experience in leading global teams that drive value creation and transform business operations. His track record covers Large Banks, Financial Intermediaries and Retailers across EMEA and North America.

Prior to joining Finastra, Ben Abbassi spent more than 10 years with ACI Worldwide where he held executive positions as Global Head of Services and Head of Sales Europe.

Matthieu Andrieu

Corporate Banking - Solution Consulting Senior Director

As the Senior Director of the Solution Consulting Group, Matthieu Andrieu is responsible for ensuring Finastra provides the cutting-edge solutions to our clients with strong focus on corporate banking: trade finance, supply chain management, lending, liquidity, or cash management.

Matthieu has worked in the financial software industry for 25+ years building up a wealth of experience particularly in the channels applications around the corporate digital customer experience. Matthieu’ strong technical background and breadth of experience has enabled him to work across Finastra’ solution portfolio and with other vendors to help define and deliver solutions combining a variety of components. Prior to his current role, he has started is carrier with BNPParibas and funded a successful start-up named NEOMAlogic (2000-2006)

Computer Science Engineer – National School of Telecommunication (France) and Machine Learning - AI Diploma from Standford University (USA).

Andrew Bateman

EVP Lending

Andrew is responsible for the leadership and growth of Finastra’s Lending Business Unit.

With almost 30 years in financial services, he guides global teams in modernizing technologies through technical agility, supporting customers’ growth agendas. In addition, he is committed to promoting inclusion, diversity and sustainability within the industry, and strongly advocates for workplace wellbeing and open communication.

Previously Andrew has held positions across the globe with FIS and SunGard (later acquired by FIS). Most recently he was Head of Sales for Corporates and International Banking at FIS in London. In this role he oversaw the transformation of the sales organization, driving the growth of banking, payment and treasury solutions to banks, non-financial institutions and corporations. Prior to this he led the transformation of the Capital Markets division through the creation of a centralized Technology and Services function. He also served on the boards of Virtus Partners Fund Services in Ireland and Luxembourg; a credit-based alternatives fund solution provider acquired by FIS in 2020.

Andrew has also led several key businesses for FIS including the Capital Markets buy-side division, responsible for solutions advancing FIS’s asset management, alternatives, credit, insurance and corporate customers. While living in the US, he was President, Corporate Liquidity and Bank Treasury and prior to this was President of SunGard’s Energy business.

His career in financial technology began at Rolls-Royce plc, where the implementation of a new treasury system led to a role at GIS / KPMG Information Solutions (later acquired by SunGard). Andrew’s path has seen him live and work in Asia, South America, the US, and the UK.

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Nottingham and also has qualifications from the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He lives with his wife and daughter and, in his spare time, enjoys watching sports, classic cars, and traveling with family and friends.

Laura Bedborough

Director, Sales & Account Management, Financial Messaging - UK, Ireland & Nordics

Laura Bedborough is Director of Sales & Account Management for the UK, Ireland and Nordics within Finastra’s Financial Messaging business. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial technology industry, the last 10 years focusing on payments. Prior to joining Finastra, Laura was a Strategic Relationship Manager within Swift’s Global Partner team, where she was responsible for developing and strengthening key industry partnerships. She has also held partnership and business development roles at Apply Financial and AccessPay, helping financial institutions and fintechs modernize payments and connectivity services.

Sylvie Boucheron-Saunier

Chief Revenue Officer, Payments

Sylvie Boucheron-Saunier is the global Chief Revenue Officer for Finastra’s Payments organization.

An experienced senior executive with a knack for recruiting and coaching top talents around the world to drive accelerated revenue growth. She has a strong technology background and deep knowledge of the financial services & payments industry, from various perspectives – successively worked for a bank, a card vendor, a processor & merchant acquirer, and software providers.

Sylvie joined Finastra from real-time payments solutions company ACI Worldwide where she has been for ten years holding a variety of leadership roles; showcasing strengths in rebuilding regions that had been neglected, diverse and highly complex. Sylvie is a strong advocate for the leadership and growth of women in the payments industry and continually looks for ways to provide mentorship, empower, while seeking inclusion and diversity in all roles. She is also passionate about giving back and helping to reduce poverty and inequalities particularly in Africa where she gives her time to NanoBNK, a FinTech offering digital banking solutions for unbanked populations in Africa, as well as a Board Member of the Anglo-African Group, present in several countries in Africa.

Sylvie has traveled the world and hold various degrees from her native country of France. She currently resides in Naples, FL where she pursues her passion of art and music. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting art exhibitions and going to rock concerts.

David Brown

Head Payments Solution Consulting, APAC

As the Head of Payments Consulting across APAC for Finastra, I work with banks, partners, and industry players such as central banks to help them understand the shifting landscape of payment technology and compliance.

Having spent more than 35 years in the payments industry, including 11 years at Colonial State Bank as Head of Trade Operations and 25 years in the vendor domain, I’ve worked in senior strategic roles advising banks including MUFG, Mizuho, BOC, Citibank, HSBC, Barclays and many other banks in this region such as Westpac, BBL, ANZ and BDO. I regularly speak and participate on panels at industry events and was on the Australian SWIFT User group for 10 years, as well as the RTGS industry group.

With multiple variable cross-border payment initiatives rolling out across the Asia Pacific region, the use cases for alternate rails and real-time cross border functionality are a reality. Requirements for complex world of payment, open APIs, stablecoins, CBDC and ISO compliant real-time infrastructures require a scalable, modular cloud-ready solution to futureproof for these APIs and microservices. Thus enabling banks to increase revenues, reduce time to market and achieve ISO 20022 compliance delivered out of the box.

Within my own team, I enjoy sharing ideas and supporting new approaches that enable us to lead our clients, and the sector more broadly, with payment solutions that facilitate emerging challenges. By liaising between customers, industry partners, and our in-house experts, I ensure all stakeholders have access to the most up-to-date advice.

Robert Downs

Global Head of Corporate and Syndicated Lending

As Chief Product Officer for the Corporate Lending business unit, Rob is responsible for Strategic product management for Finastra’s Corporate and Syndicated Lending, Trade Finance, Corporate Channels and Cash Management solutions. Rob leads the Corporate Product Management teams and is accountable for definition and execution of the strategic roadmap to ensure Corporate Lending products remain at the forefront of the market, continually evolving to meet the needs of our clients. Rob holds a degree in Computing from Leeds Beckett University and spent almost twenty years at Credit Suisse in various roles across Fixed Income and Lending Technology before joining Finastra in 2018.

Michael Dowthwaite

Chief Operating Officer, Lending

Chief Operating Officer, Lending at Finastra, responsible for bringing together product, cloud, delivery, and customer success into a seamless, integrated experience for our clients. The focus is simple: driving long term success and business value for all Lending customers. Michael has 25+ years of experience driving customer value across global SaaS and technology businesses.

Ryan Fetzer

Managing Director, Sales, Lending, Americas

Ryan Fetzer serves as Managing Director, Sales, Lending – Americas at Finastra, where he leads the sales and account management organization for the company's lending solutions, including Loan IQ and LaserPro. He is responsible for driving growth, strengthening strategic customer relationships, and helping financial institutions modernize their lending operations.

With more than 20 years of experience in financial technology and enterprise software, Ryan has built a reputation for developing high-performing teams, delivering customer-focused outcomes, and partnering with financial institutions on complex transformation initiatives. Prior to joining Finastra, he held senior leadership roles at FIS and other leading technology organizations.

Based in the Chicago area, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, exploring local farmers markets, and mentoring emerging leaders

Jennifer Flug

Senior Director, Cross-sell

I build and scale growth engines inside complex organizations—turning strategy into measurable revenue outcomes.

Over 14+ years at Finastra, I’ve led multiple enterprise transformations across Sales, Solution Consulting, and now Global Growth Strategy. My focus today is simple: unlock revenue from our installed base and partner ecosystem.

As Senior Director, Global Cross-Sell Strategy, I’ve built and operationalized Finastra’s enterprise-wide cross-sell program—uniting business units under the “OneFinastra” vision and driving measurable pipeline across Payments and Lending. This includes designing repeatable go-to-market motions, scaling outbound demand generation, and enabling sales teams with the structure, tools, and insights to execute consistently.

My work sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and alignment:

Building scalable cross-sell and expansion models across global teams
Driving pipeline creation through structured outbound and partner-led motions
Aligning Sales, Product, and Marketing around unified growth priorities
Activating partner ecosystems (SI, cloud, LOS platforms) to expand deal access and accelerate revenue

I’m particularly focused on the next phase of growth: partner-led expansion, SI-driven deal acceleration, and scaling “OneFinastra” into a repeatable global growth engine.

What energizes me most is turning vision into action—creating clarity, momentum, and measurable impact across teams.

Rick Foresta

Chief Product Officer, Lending

Rick Foresta is Chief Product Officer for the Lending business at Finastra, responsible for delivering high-quality solutions for customers, and driving strategic initiatives from the product organization, including technology modernization and accelerating product capabilities to open new markets.

Based in North Carolina, Rick brings nearly 30 years of experience in product and technology leadership. Most recently, he led the next-generation Modern Banking Platform at FIS, driving core platform transformation. Rick was also the lead client executive, overseeing commercial negotiations, product delivery, and client satisfaction for large-scale financial institutions.

Prior to FIS, Rick served as a Partner/Principal at Ernst & Young, where he led CIO/CTO consulting services for financial services clients, driving sustained practice growth. He managed multiple technology transformation initiatives across the US consumer banking and lending sector, and built strong alliances with leading technology vendors.

Rick began his career in systems development at Wachovia Bank, progressing through technology and operations leadership roles. He is known for organizational and team development, P&L ownership, and leading strategic transformation programs that delivered significant operational efficiencies and business value.

Rick holds an M.S. in Information Technology Management and a B.A. in Chemistry from North Carolina State University.

Kristian Hovden

Manish Joshi

VP, MAAP Sales & Partner Management, Corporate Lending

Manish B Joshi is the VP, MAAP Sales & Partner Management for Finastra’s Lending business unit.

He has been with Finastra for over 10 years, spread between Singapore and Dubai, and is responsible for overseeing the business unit strategy in the Asia Pacific and MEA regions, playing a pivotal role in the business’ expansion in these markets.

With over two decades of diverse experience in the financial technology industry, Manish worked with Oracle’s FSGBU business for over a decade before joining Finastra in Singapore in 2013. With deep understanding of the region and industry, he is very passionate about delivering excellent customer service and ensuring Finastra’s continued growth.

Manish holds a Master’s degree in Management. He loves driving in the country side in India and spending time with his wife and daughter.

Boaz Krelbaum

CTO, Payments

As CTO of Finastra Payments, Boaz leads the modernization and innovation of its payment and Financial Messaging solutions leveraging advanced technologies and practices. He has over 20 years of experience, leading and managing global cross-functional teams in development, product delivery, and operations. Before joining Finastra he was the General Manager of Cyber Fraud & Risk Management and CTO at Bottomline and before that, he was the founder of two start-ups that were acquired by large global companies.

Mohit Kumar

Director - Solution Consulting, EMEA & AMER, Payments

Mohit is a seasoned leader in the global payments industry, with nearly two decades of experience helping banks and financial institutions modernize and grow. Based in Amsterdam, Mohit currently heads strategic solution consulting at Finastra for EMEA and North AMerica, where he works closely with major banks to shape their digital transformation journeys. His focus is on building strong client relationships, simplifying complex challenges, and delivering impactful solutions that drive business success.

Throughout his career, including leadership roles at FIS Global and Tata Consultancy Services, Mohit has played a key role in launching innovative payment platforms, guiding banks through regulatory changes like ISO20022, and enabling seamless transitions to cloud-based services. He is also deeply involved in partner ecosystems, helping to build collaborative go-to-market strategies that expand reach and value.

Mohit brings the unique ability to connect technology with business outcomes, making him a trusted advisor to C-level executives and industry stakeholders. He frequently represents his organization at global forums and regulatory discussions, contributing to the future of payments infrastructure. He holds an MBA from Goethe Business School in Germany and is passionate about shaping the next generation of financial services.

Sarah Maleka

CTO, Lending

Sarah Maleka serves as Chief Technology Officer, Lending at Finastra, where she leads the technology organization responsible for technology strategy, operations and transformation across Finastra's Lending products.

Sarah has extensive experience leading engineering organizations through large-scale transformation, modernization, and product innovation. She has built and led high-performing global teams across engineering, architecture, cloud operations, and product delivery, with a strong track record of delivering complex enterprise software solutions in the fintech industry. She is passionate about modernizing legacy platforms into scalable, cloud-native SaaS solutions while balancing the needs of long-standing enterprise customers with future-focused innovation. Her leadership spans technology strategy, AI adoption, engineering productivity, platform modernization, and organizational transformation, with a focus on aligning technology investments to measurable business outcomes. 

Known for her collaborative leadership style and strategic thinking, Sarah excels at bringing together engineering, product, and business leaders to execute ambitious roadmaps, accelerate delivery, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. She is particularly interested in applying AI and automation to improve software engineering effectiveness and create competitive advantage. 

Outside of work, Sarah values lifelong learning, travel, meaningful experiences with family, and finding inspiration in adventure, new perspectives, and memorable sunsets.

Vinay Mendonca

VP Product Management, Trade & Supply Chain Finance

Vinay is responsible for setting and executing Finastra’s strategy for Trade and Supply Chain Finance and Corporate Channels.

In a rapidly evolving environment, he is responsible for designing, developing and commercialising solutions for Banking clients, working with partners, to drive digitisation and enable profitable growth with robust risk management.

Vinay joined from HSBC, where he undertook several roles across trade and payments including leadership roles as the Chief Product Officer, Chief Growth Officer and leading Trade Transformation for their global trade business.

He was on the Board of R3 and has participated in trade sessions across the World Economic Forum, Bloomberg New Economy Forum, World Trade Organisation, ICC, BAFT, SIBOS, etc. and he was listed on the Forbes Blockchain 50 2021.

Vinay has worked closely with Banks and the wider trade ecosystem to digitise trade, make it a more investible asset class and drive embedded finance to improve access to trade working capital.

He has worked in the UK, HK, India and The Netherlands and with Reliance Industries Limited, BNP Paribas and Infosys Technologies Limited.

Julia Mueller Hermann

Jonathan Power

VP & MD Sales Lending, EMEA

Jonathan and his team are responsible for driving sales and account strategy in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa regions for the Lending business unit at Finastra. This covers Loan IQ, the world’s leading commercial lending platform and Trade Innovation, a front to bank solution for documentary trade and supply chain finance.

Jonathan brings over 25 years of experience in the fintech industry, in roles covering consulting, professional services, pre-sales, sales, sales leadership and P&L management. These positions have seen Jonathan work in the Middle East, Asia Pacific, continental Europe and the UK.

In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys supporting the sporting endeavors of his three children who play lacrosse, rugby and netball whilst enjoying the occasional game of golf

Ruchir Purwar

Head of Partnerships and Cross-sell

Ruchir was an integral part of driving AWS’ 10X +growth from $3B revenue run rate to $35B. Ruchir developed high performance teams and built a billion dollar+ Global System Integrator business. Ruchir also led specialist partner sales strategy and operations for the North America region. Since joining Google Cloud, Ruchir has been driving a similar 10X trajectory in a COO capacity across SMB, Partners and Start ups. Over his career, Ruchir developed a unique skill set of driving key decisions by influencing across and up to the C-Suite while leading field teams to operationalize key initiatives. Ruchir has leadership experience both at traditional tech business (Dell) and more recent Cloud and digital experience at Amazon and Google. Ruchir is passionate about helping companies transform from traditional legacy businesses to high margin, high growth digital and cloud businesses.

Barry Rodrigues

Executive Vice President, Payments

Barry is responsible for Finastra’s payments organization.

An experienced senior leader, he has a compelling track record of working in both early stage and growth businesses, spanning digital banking, credit cards, buy now pay later, merchant acquiring, corporate/virtual cards and networks.

Barry has built his 35-year career in financial services around the world in leading companies. Most recently he was a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer at Barclays Cards and Payments where he oversaw the digital banks and credit card divisions in the US and Germany, as well as merchant acquiring, corporate card and point of sale businesses in the UK. He brings deep payments knowledge and strong leadership expertise to his role at Finastra.

Previously, Barry oversaw all payments products for Citibank on the consumer side of the business, where he and his team enabled first of its kind digital payment solutions. He also spent 25 years in payments-focused leadership roles at American Express. These include EVP and GM of American Express Bank UK (corporate banking, treasury, private banking and correspondent banking), GM of the Merchant Acquiring business in Asia, and President of Amex Global Network Services.

Barry holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from London Guildhall University, as well as an MBA from George Washington University.

Sunil G Shenoy

Managing Director, Global Partner Organization

Seasoned IT Professional with 20+ years experience
Strong executive leadership, communication and management skills to drive revenue growth
Well rounded and diverse in all areas of sales from Establishing Executive Relationships, Strategic Alliances, Business Development, Product Management and Product Marketing, Sales Evangelism and Channel Management.
Passionate about creating and executing initiatives into action whether it be technical, business, enablement (training), marketing, or establishing and building business and professional relationships.
Global Account Management for Pre-Sales, Post-Sales and Support activities
Diverse experience in the areas of security, cloud, information management, analytics, and data protection including different Applications (Custom and Packaged)

My strongest asset is my communication skills, which enables me to work with all levels of management and project team members, stakeholders and users. This combined with the adeptness in functional analysis and technical skills enables me to resolve business issues by providing the most manageable, efficient and business smart solutions. I have done numerous key presentations on different business and technical topics at several user groups and conferences.

Steven Silvers

Principal Solutions Consultant, Enterprise Lending

Steve has over 30 years of extensive experience in the Financial Sector including Accounting, Finance and Operations. He is a CPA and has held Senior positions at Ernst & Young and Lehman Brothers including the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy.

At Finastra, Steven is in the Global Solutions Consulting group for Enterprise Lending, covering all Finastra Lending Products including Loan IQ, Loan Portal, ESG, Latin American Lending, etc.

Steve resides in Long Island, New York with his wife and dog Kobe and occasionally his adult children. Outside of work, Steven enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends, traveling and the gym.

Madhav Soundalgekar

Principal Solutions Consultant, Lending

A banking technology domain specialist with more than 25 years of industry experience across retail and corporate banking. A passionate fintech advocate, I have been responsible for leading product and services sales, delivering innovative solutions through System Integrators and banking software providers for different kind of financial institutions - from Tier-1 global banks, Fintech providers to niche SME lenders in the UK. Previously having led global sales & delivery teams delivering transformational solutions, today as a Principal Solution Consultant and technology evangelist for Finastra, I focus on leading client propositions addressing complex business challenges using a combination of specialist solutions (Finastra platforms) and fintech partners of Finastra.

Mike Stawchansky

Chief Technology Officer

Mike is responsible for Finastra’s technology strategy and vision, ensuring a resilient and secure approach to the company’s technology stack, as well as driving innovation through new technologies including AI. Mike leads the Product Development, Security, Infrastructure, Data Office, and Enterprise IT areas.

He has over 25 years of experience in building modern technology stacks and cloud transformation. In particular, he is passionate about Gen AI and the innovative potential it holds for the financial services industry. At Finastra he is building on the success of the company’s comprehensive internal learning program to bring external, customer-facing solutions to market which encapsulate Gen AI benefits.

Mike previously worked at Collibra, a privately held Data Intelligence platform, where he was SVP of Platform and Production Engineering. Prior to Collibra he spent nearly eight years at Salesforce where he held various roles facilitating Public Cloud transformations for Pardot, Sales Cloud, and finally at MuleSoft as VP of Systems Engineering. Before his time at Salesforce, Mike managed multiple datacenter migrations and virtualization efforts at WebMD.

Mike has a B.S. in Information Technology, Magna Cum Laude, from Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta GA.

An avid sci-fi reader, he lives with his wife and their two cats, and together they enjoy road-tripping, theme parks and movies.

Radha Suvarna

Chief Product Officer, Payments

A Product and Business leader with over 27 years of diversified experience across Payments, Cards, and Consumer Lending for Consumer and Commercial client segments. Built and transformed various functions and businesses across multiple geographies including U.S. and Asia.

Currently the Head and Chief Product Officer responsible for end-to-end build-out of the BaaS/Embedded Finance business and Payments value-added-services (VAS) at Finastra with primary focus around payments and lending, with overall responsibility for Go-to-market, Product, and Engineering teams.

Prior to this, Radha was the EVP/Head of Enterprise Payments for Citizens bank, with responsibility for Enterprise Payment platforms, Consumer payment products, Treasury payments strategy, and Payments innovation. During this time, Radha was the Chair of Secure Token Exchange board at The Clearing House (TCH). Before joining Citizens, Radha spent over 20 years at Citi. He was the Head of Digital Payments & Lending for US Consumer bank at Citigroup, with responsibilities for end-to-end mobile/ web products for money movement, digital commerce, unsecured loans, and associated industry partnerships with big-tech and fintechs.

Radha held number of diversified roles prior to that, including P&L ownership for Credit Cards/Loans/Merchant Acquiring portfolio for Citibank Singapore, Citi Asia Network relationship lead with Visa/ MC, and Credit Risk Manager at Citibank US.

Carlos Teixeira

Head of Business Development & Strategy

As Head of Business Development and Strategy at Finastra, Carlos leads the company’s strategic growth initiatives and global go-to-market efforts across Lending. He partners with financial institutions worldwide to shape transformative strategies that drive innovation, unlock new revenue streams, and accelerate digital adoption.

With over 25 years of experience in Corporate Banking, Carlos brings a unique blend of industry insight and technology expertise. Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Industry Principal, advising C-level executives on market trends, digital transformation, and platform modernization across global markets.

Carlos began his career in transaction banking with leading European banks before joining Finastra in 2005. Since then, he has spearheaded major trade finance implementations across India, the Middle East, and Africa, and has been instrumental in shaping Finastra’s digital solutions strategy.

A passionate advocate for innovation, Carlos closely follows developments in AI, machine learning, Ecosystems and blockchain, with a focus on how these technologies can enable sustainable finance and scalable, cost-effective transformation for clients.

Nitesh Uppal

Head of APAC, Lending Business Unit

Nitesh Uppal leads Finastra's Lending business across Asia Pacific, helping banks modernize corporate lending operations and accelerate growth through digital transformation, AI and cloud technologies. Based in Singapore, he brings more than 20 years of experience partnering with financial institutions across APAC and Europe to deliver large-scale business and technology transformation.

Prior to Finastra, Nitesh led Financial Services for Southeast Asia at Google Cloud, where he worked closely with CEOs, business executives and technology leaders to define and execute AI, GenAI and digital transformation strategies. Before Google, he held a similar leadership role at Amazon Web Services, helping banks accelerate innovation through cloud and emerging technologies.

Throughout his career, Nitesh has held leadership positions across consulting, technology and financial services ecosystems, including Cognizant, Capgemini and Infosys. He is passionate about helping banks navigate industry change, unlock new growth opportunities and deliver measurable business value through technology-led transformation.

Orlando Vanin

Senior MD Sales Americas, Payments

Orlando Vanin is a seasoned sales and technology executive with over three decades of experience in the financial services industry. He has led transformative initiatives across North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. His deep expertise across ACH, Wires, Immediate Payments, as well as Cash Management and Treasury systems, along with a leadership defined by authenticity, innovation, empathy, and commitment to excellence, make him a trusted advisor in complex financial technology environments.

His career includes pivotal roles at CGI, FIS and Fundtech Corporation, where he managed geographically dispersed teams and delivered innovative solutions to major institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank, Wells Fargo, and Comerica. Earlier in his career, Orlando worked at EDS Japan managing the relationship and the delivery of then Fundtech’s cash management solutions between Fundtech and four of the major Japanese financial institutions. Prior to that, while at NTT International in Tokyo, Orlando played a key role in designing Thailand’s BAHTNET RTGS system, collaborating with the Central Bank of Thailand to modernize the country’s payment infrastructure.

Chris Walters

Chief Executive Officer

Chris Walters is Chief Executive Officer of Finastra, leading the company’s strategy, growth, and transformation.

He is focused on strengthening Finastra's role as a mission-critical partner to financial institutions worldwide, helping them modernize core systems, drive innovation, and compete with confidence in a rapidly evolving market.
A growth-oriented leader with deep expertise across technology, data, and financial services, Chris has built his career scaling businesses, sharpening customer focus, and delivering durable financial performance. He is known for aligning clear strategy with disciplined execution, bringing together product innovation, operational rigor, and commercial focus to create lasting impact. His leadership emphasizes customer centricity, accountability, strong culture, and building organizations designed to adapt and win over time.

Chris brings extensive experience leading both public and private equity-backed companies through periods of transformation and growth. Prior to joining Finastra, Chris served as CEO of Pluralsight, a leading workforce development platform. He was also CEO of Avantax, where he led a period of strategic and financial transformation, culminating in its acquisition by Cetera Financial Group. During his tenure, Avantax was recognized as a Great Place to Work in 2023.

Earlier in his career, Chris held senior leadership roles including Chief Operating Officer of Bloomberg’s Industry Verticals Group, Chief Operating Officer of The Weather Company, and CEO of Encompass Digital Media. He began his career in consulting, serving as a Partner at McKinsey & Company and later as a Senior Partner at Activate Consulting, advising technology, data, and investment firms on growth strategy and M&A.

Chris holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Vermont.

Chris and wife, Kati, have two children. Outside of work, he enjoys travel, live music, and sports - especially Boston teams.ading the company’s strategy, growth, and transformation.

Chris Weddell

Senior Director, Partner EcoSystem, Universal Banking

Chris leads the Universal Banking Partner function at Finastra. His focus is on establishing enduring partnerships with companies that enhance the delivery, scope and value of Finastra’s solutions to clients around the globe. He has worked across the financial software industry for over 25 years building up a wealth of experience with deep expertise in Core Banking and Payments. Starting out in product development, he progressed to work extensively on implementation projects and sales engagements enabling him to establish himself as a trusted adviser.

Prior to his current role, Chris has held senior roles in Pre-Sales, Professional Services, Product Management and Development.

Press, Analyst Relations and Communications

Michael Doheny

Director, Analyst Relations

As Director, Analyst Relations for Corporate Marketing, Michael is responsible for the company’s industry analyst relations strategy and program partnering with analyst firms such as Gartner, IDC, Celent, Datos, and others.

Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in business/economics - and European history from Oneonta University, and a master’s degree in marketing management from DePaul University. Michael has spent more than 20 years managing analyst relations programs at companies such as Motorola, Yahoo, and Salesforce.

Caroline Duff

Global PR Director

Caroline looks after global public relations (PR), delivering high-impact communications and narratives that enhance Finastra’s profile.

With 20 years of experience in the financial services and technology sectors, she is passionate about storytelling, building meaningful relationships and generating measurable PR results that help to drive business growth.

She enjoys working with diverse teams across the world. Her approach blends thoughtful content and consistent engagement across media and key stakeholders, with a calm, tactful and collaborative style.

She is proud to drive innovative campaigns such as the annual Finastra Financial Services State of the Nation research, which brings together insights from 1,000+ industry experts to shape conversations around transformation in financial services.

Caroline is a Chartered PR practitioner with the CIPR and holds a degree in English and Film from the University of East Anglia.

James McKenna

Senior PR Manager, Americas & Europe

James McKenna is Senior PR Manager at Finastra, where he oversees public relations strategy and execution for the Americas and Europe regions. By positioning the company as a global thought leader in financial technology innovation and modernization, he helps connect complex technology stories to real-world outcomes, translating financial software concepts into narratives that resonate with media, customers, and stakeholders.

With more than 15 years of experience, James previously led PR and communications for Tompkins Community Bank in New York and held various marketing and communications roles at national foodservice and travel companies. He is also an adjunct professor at Marist University and SUNY New Paltz, teaching various courses in communications, PR, and marketing. James holds a Bachelor's Degree from SUNY Plattsburgh and a Master's Degree in integrated marketing communication from Marist University.

Shirley Powell

Head of Strategic Communications

Shirley Powell is a dynamic communications strategist and trusted advisor with deep experience in corporate communications, executive advisory and business transformation. As part of the Office of the CEO at Finastra, she works closely with the CEO and executive team to drive effective internal and external communications to ensure clear and connected strategic messaging for all Finastra stakeholders.

Over the course of her career, Shirley has led communications for some of the biggest names in media and tech, including Cox Automotive, The Weather Company, Turner Broadcasting, NBC Entertainment, and the Disney Channel. She's managed high-stakes issues, guided companies through major transformations, developed trusted communications strategies for senior leaders, and helped shape internal cultures for teams to thrive. Before joining Finastra, she ran her own consulting practice, advising companies during times of transition and growth.

An engaged community leader, Shirley serves on the boards of Temple University’s Klein College, Introships, and Open Hand Atlanta, where she is past board president. A proud Temple grad, she’s been honored for her work in media and leadership.

She lives in Atlanta with her husband and two kids, loves the theater, and always has a book nearby.

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