Finova has appointed three senior technology directors to its Manchester hub as the software provider continues to build out its engineering and product capability.
The company, which provides cloud-based mortgage, savings and lending software, said recruitment for the Manchester site was now 80% complete.
Hemant Kumar has joined as research and development director and will lead the development of Finova’s next-generation AI decision engine.
Kumar joins from Accenture and has more than two decades of experience in technology modernisation across financial services, the public sector and healthcare.
Pete Craven has been appointed director of DevOps and will lead the platform engineering team responsible for building the cloud infrastructure behind Finova’s next-generation platform.
Craven has more than 13 years’ experience in cloud transformation and has held senior roles at Slalom Build, Made Tech, Booking.com and IBM. His previous work includes platforms for organisations including the NHS, the Home Office, Sainsbury’s and Lloyds Bank.
Kelly Wilson joins as director of technical delivery, leading the teams responsible for technical delivery across Finova’s engineering-supported product suite.
Wilson has experience across financial services, consulting and education, most recently leading Salesforce programmes at London Stock Exchange Group. She previously spent almost 15 years across the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, working in IT and supporting global communications operations.
All three will report to David Espley, chief technology officer at Finova.
The appointments follow Finova’s recent partnership with Makers Academy, which brought eight early-career engineers into the business.
Gareth Richardson (pictured), chief executive of Finova, said: “Hemant, Pete and Kelly are exactly the calibre of leaders we need to support the next phase of Finova’s growth, and they join a highly talented engineering and product workforce that is already delivering exceptional work for our customers across Manchester, London, Cheltenham and India.
“These appointments are about strengthening the depth of expertise and leadership across our wider teams as we continue to scale our AI and platform capabilities.
“When we opened our Manchester hub, we said that AI-driven growth would create jobs and investment in talent, and these appointments are a reflection of that commitment.
“With such a strong team across the business, we are well positioned to continue building the next era of UK financial services technology.”
