David Perry Chief Technology Officer, Ethos Ethical Banking
Previously
Board Advisor, ZigluInterim CTO, Ziglu
Chief Technology Officer, DANIEL
Company
Across the globe, customers increasingly choose products, services and brands that reflect their values. Yet in financial services, we’re often forced to compromise by choosing providers that act in ways contrary to our values or beliefs.
Ethos Ventures was set up to enable individuals, families, and companies access financial products that eliminate the need to compromise. They use cutting edge technology to deliver truly ethical financial solutions that are fair, transparent and create positive social impacts.
Search Background
Ethos Ventures is building a number of financial services businesses. One of these is a UK bank. The bank will: (i) offer exceptional financial products including retail banking, savings, mortgages etc; and (ii) help customers purchase their home and build wealth in ways that comply with their ethical values and religious beliefs.
Erevena worked with Shahzad Enver (CEO of Ethos Ethical Banking UK) to find a Chief Technology Officer. The team needed a Technology Leader at the launch phase of the business, who would create a scalable platform that could be deployed globally. This person would be responsible for building an amazing digital product, building the core technology function and tech stack in a highly regulated environment, as well as partner with, and build on top of, core banking platforms.
Requirements
The ideal CTO for Ethos Ethical Banking UK would be someone who has led the technology function in a company as they launched a financial product (ideally with a banking licence) from scratch. This person would need to be pragmatic around what technology to build versus what to buy given the early stage of the business and size of the engineering team. Equally important is the ability to build a core tech stack that would enable growth in the UK and rapid international expansion. This person should have empathy for the end-user and an excitement to build and launch a new proposition into the space.
Result
Erevena conducted a search prioritizing engineering leaders with experience in FinTech and specifically companies that have been through the process of getting a banking licence in the UK. We needed to identify someone who ideally would be based in London, who could work closely with a team across multiple disciplines and be the hands-on leader with strategic vision. Erevena introduced Ethos to David Perry. David is an award-winning London based FinTech CTO, with exceptional experience in building the technology functions in FinTech businesses from scratch including Starling, and as the Founding CTO at Ziglu.
Shahzad Enver
CEO
This was a tricky search, where we asked Erevena to find a candidate who has the technological skills to build a cloud based neo-bank, has experience and appreciates the complexities of operating in a highly regulated industry and has the empathy and values to be a true leader of the business. Not only were Erevena successful in finding, in David, someone who meets all those skills and qualities, what we enjoyed is how they engaged with us. Leigh and Jonnie took the time to get to know us, figure out what we really wanted and were patient (yet firm) in dissuading us away from our not so useful suggested paths and, by doing that, gaining our total trust.
