Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based CIO’ operating in the Finance space. If you think a CIO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Shan Lee
Chief Information Security Officer of Wise
Shan Lee is the Head of Information Security at JUST EAT Plc where he is passionate about promoting a “Security Culture” in what is a fast moving and rapidly expanding, multinational environment. He has previously worked for a variety of organisations ranging from resellers to financial institutions and in his spare time is an insufferable Land Rover fanatic.
Follow Shan Lee:
About Wise: Wise is a money transfer service allowing private individuals and businesses to send money abroad without hidden charges.
Jonathan Kidd
Chief Information Security Officer of Hargreaves Lansdown
Jonathan has over 20 years of experience in finance, telecommunications, professional services and the public sector. Although the majority of this has been in technology roles, he has previously been a Head of Internal Audit and has a sound understanding of risk management along with its importance for the information security sector. He has held a wide range of technical and management roles during his career and is currently Chief Information Security Officer for Hargreaves Lansdown.
Follow Jonathan Kidd:
About Hargreaves Lansdown: Hargreaves Lansdown plc is a financial service company based in Bristol that sells funds and shares and related products.
Zishan Cheema
CIO of Apsara Capital
Zishan manages Apsara Capital’s investments in publicly listed water companies. Prior to joining Apsara, he spent 6 years at PineBridge Investments as an investment analyst covering utilities and technology, and 3 years at Global Wealth Allocator, an investment firm developing smart beta products. Zishan holds a BSc in Chemistry from UCL and MSc in operational research from Warwick University.
Follow Zishan Cheema:
About Apsara Capital: Apsara Capital is a UK-based investment firm with a focus on the water sector.
Gareth Jones
Chief Information Officer of Visa
Follow Gareth Jones:
About Visa: Visa is a multinational financial services company that facilitates electronic payment systems throughout the world.
Darryl West
Group CIO of HSBC
Darryl West is HSBC’s Group Chief Information Officer and Group General Manager, heading up the bank’s Technology function. He is leading the transformation of HSBC Technology to be the world’s leading financial services technology team, overseeing approximately 43,000 people spread across 53 locations. Darryl has more than 30 years’ experience in financial services, holding senior level positions with global organisations such as JP Morgan Chase, Accenture and National Australia Group Europe.
Follow Darryl West:
About HSBC: HSBC is a banking and financial services organization that offers a comprehensive range of services.
John Seglias
Chief Information Officer at National Grid Electricity Transmission of National Grid Partners
Follow John Seglias:
About National Grid Partners: National Grid Partners makes and manages strategically and financially attractive investments and leads company-wide innovation efforts.
James Carlyle
Chief Information Officer & Head of Production of R3
James is R3’s Chief Information Officer and is focused on defining a candidate architecture and building out a collaborative lab for experimentation. Previously, James was Chief Engineer within Corporate Banking at Barclays, where he designed and delivered the bank’s corporate internet channel, and the bank’s US banking and dollar clearing platforms. Before Barclays, James co-founded two start-ups and holds patents in mobile data search and directory technology. He is a Chartered Engineer and holds a degree in Engineering Science from University College, Durham.
Follow James Carlyle:
About R3: R3 is a financial innovation firm dedicated to the design and deployment of DLT to build the new operating system for financial services.
Robert Duncan
Chief Information Security Officer of Direct Line Insurance
Robert Duncan has been Chief Information Security Officer for Direct Line Group since December 2015. Direct Line Group is a FTSE 100 firm that is the UK’s largest retail general insurer, owning brands such as Direct Line Churchill and Green Flag. I am responsible for Cyber Security as well as Technology Risk teams. Prior to this Robert was the Chief Information Security Officer for Euronext, where Robert was responsible for overall Information Security Strategy along with the oversight of various core teams: Threat and Vulnerability Management, Security Architecture, Application Security, Security Operations, and Security Awareness, as well as managing the relationship with the five core European regulators in respect to the firm’s security posture. Robert has extensive international experience, having been based in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Australia. Prior to this he worked for ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia, where he was responsible for Technology Risk and Security for their International Global Markets division. He was also Head of Global Risk and Governance for Prudential plc PGDS division for many years, supporting the division globally with extensive travel of Asia and the USA. He holds an LLB in Law (London), MBA (Cranfield), and a post graduate qualification in Executive IT Management from Columbia University in New York.
Follow Robert Duncan:
About Direct Line Insurance: Direct Line Group is an organization with a clear mission: to make insurance much easier and better value for customers.
Anthony Woolley
UK CIO of Societe Generale
Anthony Woolley was appointed Head of Innovation for the UK, Societe Generale in September 2017. He previously served for 4 years as the UK Chief Information Officer for the bank and has over 20 years of management experience delivering technology solutions to the Corporate and Investment Banking Industry.
Follow Anthony Woolley:
About Global Digital Finance, Ownera, Societe Generale: Societe Generale is a French multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Paris, France.
Frederic Couderc
Co-CIO of Chenavari Investment Managers
Mr. Frederic Jean Sylvain Couderc is a Co-Chief Investment Officer at Chenavari Investment Managers LLP. Mr. Couderc is a Partner at Chenavari Credit Partners LLP. He is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director at RiverRock Securities Limited. Mr. Couderc is the Managing Director at Chenavari Financial Group Limited. Mr. Couderc was a Managing Director Principal at Bear Stearns. Prior to this, he was employed at Natixis, where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and distributing European structured credit products. Mr. Couderc holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Dauphine University.
Follow Frederic Couderc:
About Chenavari Investment Managers: A group of alternative investment management companies focused on a broad range of credit,structured finance, real estate and private debt
Loic Fery
CEO and Co-CIO of Chenavari Investment Managers
Follow Loic Fery:
About Chenavari Investment Managers: A group of alternative investment management companies focused on a broad range of credit,structured finance, real estate and private debt
Deborah Cassidy
Chief Information Officer of PRA Group
Deborah oversees all enterprise corporate systems for PRA Group in North America and Europe and reports to Kevin Stevenson, PRA’s president, chief administrative officer, and interim chief financial officer. She has more than 20 years of IT leadership experience across several industries, with the past 10 years in the financial services industry. Most recently, Deborah was senior vice president and business chief information officer for Genworth Financial, Inc. She previously served seven years with Allianz Assistance as vice president and chief information officer and 15 years with the Tredegar Corporation. She earned a Master of Science degree in management information technology from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and information systems from Mary Baldwin College.
Follow Deborah Cassidy:
About PRA Group: PRA Group offers the following broad range of debt buying solutions and business and government services.
Jeffrey B. Liles
Chief Information Officer of Harbert Growth Partners
Liles joined Harbert Management Corporation in February of 2011. He is responsible for global technology initiatives at HMC, including network Infrastructure, business continuity and disaster recovery, software support, mobility management, and telecommunications. Liles is an experienced Senior Information Technology Executive with over 27 years of corporate expertise, involving both domestic and international companies. Throughout his career, he has held numerous key management positions focusing on core computing competencies, process engineering, data architecture, security, and network operations within the manufacturing, logistics, and financial industries. Liles earned a BS degree in Health Care Management from the University of Alabama and a BS degree in Computer Science from Jacksonville State University.
Follow Jeffrey B. Liles:
About Harbert Growth Partners, Harbert Management Corporation: Harbert Growth Partners is an emerging growth stage investor in tech and healthcare companies.
Omid Shiraji
Interim CIO of oneSource
Follow Omid Shiraji:
About oneSource: OneSource improves councils and other public sector organizations by providing operational and strategic shared services.
Nigel Reynolds
Chief Information Officer of Mattioli Woods
Follow Nigel Reynolds:
About Mattioli Woods: Mattioli Woods is one of the UK’s providers of Wealth Management and Employee Benefit Services.
Robbie Lambert
CIO and COO of Bumper
Robbie Lambert is the CIO and COO at Bumper.
Follow Robbie Lambert:
About Bumper: Bumper is a payment platform for car dealerships.
Michel van Tol
CIO and Co-founder of Huddlestock
Michel is co-founder and CIO of Huddlestock, a financial technology company based in Oslo, Norway and London, United Kingdom. Michel has experience from working at Meditor Capital in London, and UBS O’Connor in Chicago.
Follow Michel van Tol:
About Huddlestock: SaaS, Fintech, Mobile App, Wealth Management, Asset Management, Trading, Investing
