Our Team

Our Board

• Charlotte Crosswell OBE

  Chair 

  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.

• Stephen Ingledew OBE

  Non Executive Director 

  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 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 - 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

• Leon Ifayemi

  Director of Coalitions and Research 

  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 

  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.

• James McGreevy

  Coalitions Analyst 

  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 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.

• Rob Haslingden

  Head of Impact Assessment and Engagement 

  Rob Haslingden - Head of Impact Assessment and Engagement

  Rob is Head of Impact Assessment and Engagement, working closely with Leon and Teresa he is tasked with collaborating with Coalition Partners and Subject Matter Experts to gather insight and drive CFIT’S coalition to deliver successful and meaningful outcomes.

  Rob has spent most of his working life associated with the commercial use of data, helping consumers and businesses understand the value and power of data for good. As former Head of Propositions and Product Marketing for Experian’s UK consumer and commercial credit bureau, and Open Banking SME he has a strong track record of co-ordinating multi-disciplinary teams to deliver successful, customer-focussed services. His work has involved the development and delivery of a variety of reciprocal, as well as Smart Data sharing initiatives. These include the rollout of Buy Now, Pay Later data sharing, creation of Experian’s UK Open Banking services, implementation of the UK’s first digital payroll exchange and delivery of the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) insolvency risk score.