Tag Archives: Regtech

News

Napier welcomes industry leader Julian Clarke to lead its global corporate development

Napier, a global end-to-end intelligent compliance platform and provider of advanced financial crime risk management solutions, has announced the appointment of Julian Clarke as its new Global Head of Corporate Development.

In his new role, Clarke is set to work closely with Napier’s CEO, Greg Watson, to develop a robust strategy for the firm’s global third-party distribution, including partnerships and alliances.

Clarke’s addition to the Napier team brings considerable expertise in corporate development, gained from over 20 years at the likes of Capgemini, Sopra Steria and, most recently, as Fenergo’s Vice President and Head of Global Partners and Alliances.

Continuing the award-winning RegTech’s trajectory of aggressive expansion, corporate development under Clarke will form a key pillar of Napier’s growth strategy over the next several years, with a view to solidify its presence in existing markets and expand its global footprint.

“It is tremendously exciting to join Napier at this point of its expansion. As a market-leading vendor offering exceptional technology to combat financial crime, Napier is in an excellent position to build upon and foster new relationships to create a world-class distribution network to deliver the best services and new opportunities for our clients,” said Clarke.

This key hire signals the next phase of the firm’s already thriving partners programme, which has been built and is overseen by Napier’s Global Head of Partnerships, Melissa Warren. Securing partnerships and third-party alliances worldwide, the UK-headquartered SaaS provider will leverage the expertise of regional networks to deliver its solutions with greater customisation to the requirements of local regulations, implementation needs, risk landscapes and cultural nuances.

 

“As Napier continues to grow, partnerships and alliances will form a key part of our strategy in delivering a superior customer experience and help our clients build the most effective financial crime risk management ecosystem. We are thrilled to have Julian oversee this drive which will broaden our offering by complementing our highly flexible technology with strategically-chosen partners, products and services,” said Greg Watson, CEO at Napier.

With presence in key financial markets across the globe such as North America, the Middle East, the UK, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, Napier serves over 200 enterprise clients globally including banks, payment providers, asset managers, FX, gaming, crypto exchanges and other financial institutions.

Appointments, News

Greg Watson takes the helm as CEO of Napier

Former CEO Julian Dixon moves to a full-time role as Founder and Board Member

Napier, a global end-to-end intelligent compliance platform and provider of advanced financial crime risk management solutions, has announced that its current Chief Operations Officer Greg Watson, is to take the helm as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect, as former CEO Julian Dixon moves into a full-time role as Founder and Board Member.

Greg’s tenure at Napier as well his wealth of experience in operational management and business strategy, gained at the likes of Fenergo, HSBC and UBS, makes him the ideal choice to lead Napier into its next phase of growth, building on the past several successful years of rapid expansion for the flourishing company.

“Greg’s an outstanding candidate for the position. His experience and understanding of our products and clients is exemplary, as is his commitment to making Napier the pre-eminent provider of AI-enhanced financial crime risk management software. I’m looking forward to seeing him take the company from strength to strength,” said Julian Dixon.

Since joining the award-winning company in 2020, Greg has worked closely with Julian and the executive team at Napier to put in place a robust operating model to support Napier’s rapid growth.

Greg Watson said: “I am proud to be taking the mantle from Julian. Since founding Napier in 2015, Julian has built a world-class tech company from the ground up, steering it through a period of exceptional and rapid growth into the leading financial crime risk management business that it is. Filling Julian’s boots will be no easy task, but this change is very much about evolution, rather than revolution. My job now is to take Napier to even greater heights, as we continue to innovate and to deliver increasingly higher levels of customer satisfaction.”

Following a period of aggressive expansion, Napier has presence in key financial hubs across the globe including North America, UK, Europe and APAC. As provider of choice to over 200 enterprise clients including banks, payment providers, asset managers, FX, gaming, crypto exchanges and other financial institutions, Napier doubled its annual revenues in 2021 by providing its award-winning AI-enhanced platform for intelligent AML and financial crime compliance.

Napier’s Board of Directors also includes Andy Maguire, Chair of Global Banking and Managing Director and Senior Partner in the London office of The Boston Consulting Group. Other Board Directors include senior partners from Big Ideas Group, Rosa Howard and its founder Sebastian Gray, while Wall Street veteran John Neary and ex-PwC partner John Barnsley sit in global advisory roles.

About Napier

Napier is a new breed of financial crime compliance technology specialist. Our intelligent compliance platform is transforming compliance from legal obligation to competitive edge. All Napier products are built using cutting-edge technology, and the platform can be delivered via public cloud, private cloud or on-premise. (https://www.napier.ai/)

News

How the Fintech Sector in The UK Is Grappling with New Challenges?

The UK is one of the leading global hubs for the fintech sector, reinforced by its access to an international talent pool, solid investment, and growth, thus leading to a thriving ecosystem. UK-based fintech companies raised about US$ 4.1 billion in funding in 2020 and were one of the prominent sub-sectors driving growth in the broader financial sector in the UK.

The traditional financial sector in the UK is currently facing a dual pressure of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. In addition to these headwinds, traditional legacy banks and financial institutions have also been grappling with rising operating costs, changing customer behavior, regulatory challenges, and new technology.

Future of fintech

Despite the challenges faced by the broader economy due to the onset of the pandemic and Brexit, the use of innovation and technology helped startups in the fintech sector weather the storm.

And for the sector to continue to be a key driver of growth for the UK economy, it should focus on innovation in RegTech, which can target the ever-changing and evolving regulatory landscape and identifying new business models such as partnerships for developing the ecosystem further.

RegTech

As new players join the financial sector and provide users with greater access to banking services, there has been a rising need for financial services companies to tackle a very large amount of data and in ensuring compliance in a seamless manner. Building robust backend processes to address regulatory technology is the next big frontier for fintech firms.

Recently, the UK government has also made significant headway in terms of shaping a new regulatory framework for the financial sector due to Brexit. The Financial Services Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April and was converted into the Financial Services Act 2021. This act aims to develop a regulatory environment that allows for the advancement of technology and innovation.

Partnerships

There has been a small but growing number of legacy financial services companies and banks collaborating with nimbler fintech startups to identify ways to better adapt to the constantly changing business environment. According to consultancy firm Mckinsey, fintech companies with B2B offerings and services increased by 16 percent from 2011 to 2016, thus indicating a rise in partnerships.

The collaborative partnership model between fintech companies and traditional financial services organizations is mutually beneficial as the traditional banks and firms can develop useful tools such as financial money management tools and apps for depositing money for customers. On the other hand, startups benefit by being able to provide services to a larger client base and network. Moreover, partnerships have the ability to be more adaptable to customer behavior and can be scaled up or down depending on their response.

What’s next?

As the pandemic continues into the second year and is expected to persist for few more months, senior management and leaders in the financial sector are increasingly seeking flexible and responsive technology that can be deployed and adjusted to an everchanging business climate in the face of uncertainty. Thus, the next generation of fintech firms will have an even more focus on automation and streamlining processes, which can adapt quickly and effectively while primarily focusing on regulatory and compliance challenges and new business models.

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Group