Independent advice for the decisions that shape a financial institution
I work with a small number of clients at a time, usually when a technology decision has become a board decision. Every engagement is led by me personally, with a senior team from the firm.
No vendor commissions
I don’t take referral fees, reseller margins or partnership payments from technology vendors. The only party paying for my advice is you.
Senior-led, start to finish
I lead every engagement personally. The people who win the work are the people who do it, from the first interview to the handover.
Accountable for outcomes
Every engagement has measures agreed at the start. If we miss them, we say so first, and we fix it.
Practice areas
Each area combines deep knowledge of how financial institutions work with hands-on experience of the technology that runs them.
Core banking and platform modernization
Replacing or re-architecting the systems that hold the ledger, in stages that keep customers, staff and regulators on side throughout.
Questions I’m asked
- Should we replace, wrap or rebuild?
- How do we migrate without a cutover weekend?
- What does an honest business case look like?
Payments and digital money
Real-time rails, ISO 20022 and cross-border flows, and the operating changes they force on fraud, liquidity and customer support.
Questions I’m asked
- Are we ready for instant payments at scale?
- What does ISO 20022 change beyond messaging?
- Should we build, partner or buy?
Risk, regulation and compliance technology
Building controls into systems rather than bolting reviews on afterwards, so compliance gets cheaper as you grow rather than more expensive.
Questions I’m asked
- Which manual controls can we safely automate?
- How do we evidence control to a supervisor?
- Where is our regulatory reporting fragile?
Data and AI in financial services
Getting models into production with governance a board can stand behind and a supervisor can follow, without slowing the teams who build them.
Questions I’m asked
- Which models are we actually running?
- Who is accountable when a model is wrong?
- How should the board oversee AI risk?
Transformation leadership
Interim and advisory leadership for programs that have stalled, or are about to start and can’t afford to.
Questions I’m asked
- Is this program recoverable?
- Do we have the right leadership in place?
- What should we stop doing?
Technology due diligence
Independent assessment of technology, data and delivery risk for acquirers and investors in financial services, priced so it can shape the deal.
Questions I’m asked
- What will this platform cost to keep running?
- Where is the hidden remediation spend?
- What should the first 100 days look like?
How an engagement runs
Four stages. Each one ends with something you can use, even if we stop there.
Diagnose
Interviews, system reviews and data. You get an honest written view of where you stand, including what’s working.
2 to 4 weeks
Decide
Options laid out with costs, risks and trade-offs, in a form your board can act on and defend.
2 to 6 weeks
Deliver
Hands-on leadership or independent assurance, with risk reported monthly to the people accountable for it.
6 to 24 months
Hand over
Your team runs what we built. We step back once they’re ready, not before and not long after.
Planned from day one
Ways to work together
| Format | Typical length | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Board advisory | Ongoing retainer | Boards and committees facing technology, payments or AI decisions they need to own and explain. |
| Independent review | 4 to 8 weeks | Programs that are off track, over budget, or about to start and need a second opinion before money is committed. |
| Program leadership | 6 to 24 months | Core modernization and payments programs that need senior, accountable leadership through delivery. |
| Technology due diligence | 2 to 6 weeks | Acquirers and investors in financial services and fintech who need to know what they are really buying. |
Who I work with
- Retail and commercial banks
- Insurers and reinsurers
- Payment companies and networks
- Asset and wealth managers
- Market infrastructure providers
- Investors in financial technology
Questions clients ask first
If yours isn’t here, ask it in your first message. Straight answers are part of the service.
Mostly regulated institutions, from regional banks to multinational insurers, and the investors who back them. I also take a small number of growth-stage fintech mandates each year where the regulatory stakes are high.
Fixed fees for reviews and due diligence, agreed before we start. Monthly fees for program leadership and board advisory. There are no success fees tied to vendor choices, so the advice stays independent.
Yes. I lead every engagement personally and I’m in the room for the conversations that matter. A small senior team from the firm works alongside me, never instead of me.
Reviews and due diligence can usually start within two weeks. Longer engagements typically begin within a month, once scope and measures are agreed.
I work with vendors on behalf of clients, in selection, negotiation and delivery. I never accept payment from them, and I declare any past relationship before an engagement starts.
Always. I’m happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we talk in detail, and client names are never shared without written permission.
Start a conversation
A program that has stalled, a board decision ahead, or an event you’re planning. The first call is a conversation, not a pitch.