Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has appointed Mark Holloway as chief information and technology officer, as the international SME financier looks to combine technological innovation with its people-led approach to growth.

Holloway (pictured), a founder member of Ashman Bank, joins BFS with more than two decades of experience in financial services and technology. At Ashman, he was chief technology officer, overseeing the build and scale-up of the digital banking start-up from pre-seed stage through multiple funding rounds and the achievement of a UK banking licence.

Speaking about his appointment, Holloway said: “I am delighted to join BFS at such an exciting time in its evolution, and as we look to grow our support for SMEs around the world by empowering our people with best-in-class technology. BFS is a values-based organisation with a unique culture, centred on ensuring customers and colleagues thrive. I look forward to meeting many of them over the coming weeks.”

Prior to his time at Ashman, Holloway held senior technology roles at Maple Securities UK and Intelligent Financial Systems Limited, and worked in regulatory and strategic advisory roles for Strategic Insight’s LiquidMetrix service.

Richard Olver, chief operating officer at BFS, welcomed the appointment. “Our strategy is firmly focused on accelerating our growth by empowering our people with technology to deliver value to our customers, colleagues and communities,” he said. “Mark has a strong track record of building, optimising and leading high-performing teams to deliver significant IT and digital change initiatives, so we’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

The appointment comes as BFS continues to invest in digital transformation initiatives to expand its reach and enhance services to small and medium-sized businesses globally.