Our Team
Driving Global Innovation in Financial Technology
Who We Are
The CFIT team brings together expertise from across all areas of finance, innovation and entrepreneurship. With a wealth of experience which includes founding and scaling fintech start-ups, running financial bodies and working within financial services and tech and academia, the CFIT team is perfectly positioned to bring together the financial services industry to unlock and scale the financial services tools of the future.
Our Board
- Charlotte Crosswell OBE - Chair
Charlotte has been involved in capital markets, fintech and technology throughout her career – as CEO, Chair, Board Advisor and Non-Executive Director. Prior to CFIT, Charlotte was Chair and Trustee of Open Banking and was also CEO of the fintech industry body, Innovate Finance. In this role, she supported the work of Ron Kalifa in delivering the strategic fintech review (The Kalifa Review).
She works closely with entrepreneurs, financial services firms, academia, government and regulators on fintech advocacy and strategy. Charlotte received an OBE for her contribution to financial services in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021. She believes firmly in a diversity and innovation-first approach.
- Ezechi Britton MBE - CEO
As a serial tech entrepreneur, Ez’s journey has taken him from Software Developer to Co-Founder and CTO to a Venture Capital Partner. Ez previously worked as the Principal and CTO in Residence at Impact X Capital Partners LLP, a venture fund focused on supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs. Ez also co-founded Code Untapped, a digital skills accelerator that helps companies find innovative-led solutions by providing them with access to a pool of diverse and underrepresented technologists. Ez’s work in providing opportunities for underrepresented communities saw him awarded an MBE for services to diversity and to young people in the New Year’s Honours List 2022.
Ez also co-founded Neyber, a multi-award-winning fintech firm focused on financial well-being, where he helped launch the company as the founding CTO and held numerous roles during his tenure, including brand ambassador and NED. Amongst other work, Ez is also a Trustee to the board of Crisis, which invests in, supports and creates ventures to end homelessness.
- Stephen Ingledew OBE - Non Executive Director
Stephen is the founder and Chairman of FinTech Scotland. He has also led the formation of the UK FinTech National Network.
Stephen is an influential advocate for building a more open and inclusive financial ecosystem and his years of experience in the financial industry include driving the implementation of customer-focused and technology-enabled initiatives, most notably in senior executive roles at companies such as Barclays and Standard Life as well as small innovative enterprises.
Stephen brings four decades of experience facilitating collaboration across all UK regional fintech clusters to CFIT. In addition to providing valuable advice on our operating model and strategic partnerships, he chairs our Remuneration and Nomination Committee, ensuring we achieve a suitable and diverse balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge across all our board members and executive directors.
- Alex Marsh - Non Executive Director
Alex has extensive leadership and Board experience in the banking, payments and fintech sectors, with a portfolio spanning board advisory, strategy consulting and NED roles. A strong advocate of digital innovation and cross sector collaboration, he previously served as the UK CEO of Klarna where he expanded the consumer base to over 18 million, whilst also navigating complex regulatory change. He has also been an active member of the UK Fintech Strategy Group and the International Fintech Group.
As a Chartered Accountant and former CFO, Alex draws on his extensive financial industry insights in his NED role at the CFIT, particularly as the chair of our Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee, which oversees all of CFIT’s financial reporting, risk management and compliance requirements.
He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our organisation, including first hand awareness of the common barriers that start-ups and scale-ups face and a rich understanding of how to effectively nurture talent and skills. Much of this owes to his strong commitment to social justice, having co-founded Charterpath to help connect non-profits with volunteer financial skills, and acting as an industry advisor to The 93% Club, a charity levelling the playing field for young people from state school backgrounds.
- Madush Gupta - Non Executive Director
Madush Gupta is the Policy Lead for Innovation and Technology at the City of London Corporation, where he is an elected Common Councillor. Beyond the Corporation, Madush is a Digital Innovation Product leader at Lloyds Banking Group. His influence and experience in innovation and product management enables him to tackle complex business challenges, driving strategic thinking, delivering sustainable results. Madush is a recognised diversity and inclusion leader and is a Lloyds Banking Group Ethnicity Role Model. Madush was diagnosed with Bipolar II in 2015.
In addition to his role as a non-exec director of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology, Madush is also Board Advisor to Fintech Trade Body, Innovate Finance, and Board Advisor to the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group.
Our Team
- Ezechi Britton MBE - CEO
As a serial tech entrepreneur, Ez’s journey has taken him from Software Developer to Co-Founder and CTO to a Venture Capital Partner. Ez previously worked as the Principal and CTO in Residence at Impact X Capital Partners LLP, a venture fund focused on supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs. Ez also co-founded Code Untapped, a digital skills accelerator that helps companies find innovative-led solutions by providing them with access to a pool of diverse and underrepresented technologists. Ez’s work in providing opportunities for underrepresented communities saw him awarded an MBE for services to diversity and to young people in the New Year’s Honours List 2022.
Ez also co-founded Neyber, a multi-award-winning fintech firm focused on financial well-being, where he helped launch the company as the founding CTO and held numerous roles during his tenure, including brand ambassador and NED. Amongst other work, Ez is also a Trustee to the board of Crisis, which invests in, supports and creates ventures to end homelessness.
- Ksenia Grant - Director of Ecosystem and Partnerships
Ksenia is responsible for growing relationships and identifying national and regional collaboration opportunities. Working with the CEO, her focus is to build new strategic partnerships and a future funding model for CFIT from industry, the philanthropic sector, and other sources. Ksenia champions our efforts across the industry, working across multiple ecosystem partners and leads her team to deliver our communications and skills strategies. As a member of the leadership team, she also guides the long-term objectives to meet CFIT business requirements.
Ksenia draws on extensive experience developing high-profile, long-term, multimillion partnerships on innovation and skills with prominent financial services and fintech companies at the University of Edinburgh, as well as a background in strategic business development, and leading marketing and communications.
With a passion for innovation and collaboration in the financial services and fintech sector, and an interest in advancing growth of regional fintech hubs, Ksenia’s work is integral to CFIT’s development.
- Leon Ifayemi - Director of Coalitions and Research
Leon leads the all-important design and implementation of CFIT’s Coalitions, coalescing stakeholders in government, academia, industry and the third sector around key industry issues and driving forward the collaborative, strategic and research-led work of our Coalition partners.
He sits on the board of Digital Leaders and is a former founder himself, with experience in private equity at Edmond de Rothschild. With a background spanning digital innovation, entrepreneurship, and financial services, he brings a wealth of diverse technical and creative expertise to CFIT.
Underpinning Leon’s role is the idea of driving transformation: creating the conditions to inspire innovation and reshape a more inclusive financial ecosystem that benefits the full spectrum of consumers and SMEs.
- Andrew Farman - Head of Finance and Reporting
Andy is integral to the smooth running of CFIT’s critical finance function, which encapsulates all areas of financial control and reporting, in addition to building out our financial models to aid forecasting and planning.
He is a qualified accountant with experience in the fintech and challenger bank space that is complementary to CFIT’s own mandate, having previously held roles in both Financial Control and Financial Planning & Analysis.
As CFIT grows in its scale and impact, Andy plays a crucial role in actively sourcing the financial support that will allow us to continue our mission of driving change within the fintech ecosystem beyond our very first Coalition.
- Houssein El Sayed - Head of Coalition Delivery
Houssein oversees the design and implementation of our Coalitions, working closely with Leon to facilitate and gather key insights from our partners on major industry issues.
Houssein was guided to CFIT by his passion for technology and experience leading complex projects at the intersection of government, industry, investment and academia, alongside a deep appreciation for cultural diversity in the workplace. At CFIT, he leverages his past work in industry and stakeholder management to lead on the design and delivery of Coalition programmes, gathering insights from partners and incorporating them to deliver meaningful outcomes.
One of the key aspects of Houssein’s role is creating the conditions for coordination amongst the most innovative businesses nationwide.
- James McGreevy - Coalitions Analyst
James plays a critical role in supporting the strategic planning and execution of our Coalitions.
With experience supporting economic development, market research and technology businesses in Kenya and the UK, he works on streamlining our Coalition workflows and sourcing data to support increased functional efficiencies across CFIT. This is an important contribution for ensuring our team is operationally effective and therefore able to coordinate change across the wider industry.
Outside of work, James is also the co-founder of the Kings Rugby Development Academy, a testament to his passion for the sport which has seen him represent Kenya on an international stage and now play for a London-based team.
- Teresa Lam - Head of Programmes and Policy
Teresa oversees the development and execution of CFIT’s coalition programmes and policy matters, drawing on her extensive experience working with central banks, regulators and policy makers in multiple jurisdictions.
With a background in financial regulations and financial services, Teresa is passionate about innovation and technology that promote inclusion and deliver positive outcomes for consumers and businesses. She believes that with the right balance, regulations can create an environment that nurtures and supports innovation.
Teresa’s expertise is key to building world-class coalitions that brings together ecosystem stakeholders to develop tangible assets that can unblock barriers and drive growth.
Powered by green energy