Our Team

Our Board

• Chris Pond

  Chair 

  Chris Pond - Chair

  Chris Pond has held a range of senior roles across financial services, academia and politics. A former MP and Work and Pensions Minister in the Blair government, he has served as Director of Financial Capability at the Financial Services Authority and Chair of the Financial Inclusion Commission and the Lending Standards Board. He is also currently Chair of the FCA Consumer Panel, TrustMark and Gamstop, as well as the Advisory Board of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.

• Stephen Ingledew OBE

  Senior Independent Director 

  Stephen Ingledew OBE - Senior Independent 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.

• Sushil Saluja

  Non-Executive Director 

  Sushil Saluja - Non-Executive Director

  Sushil is an international business leader/CEO/Board Member, with deep experience in financial services, technology and education. He retired from Accenture after 30+ years as Senior Partner covering UK, Europe/EMEA and Asia over his career; and is former Executive Director / Head of Technology at the Bank of England.

  Sushil is Alderman in the City of London; chairs Heart of the City; Board member for The British Council, Board member at the CISI and Board member of LINK (which runs the UK ATM network), as well as Senior Advisor to multiple firms globally.

• 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.

• Nausicaa Delfas

  Non-Executive Director 

  Nausicaa Delfas - Non-Executive Director

  Nausicaa Delfas has been Chief Executive of The Pensions Regulator since April 2023. Before that, she held a number of senior roles at the Financial Conduct Authority, including Executive Director of International, responsible for the FCA’s international and Brexit strategy and delivery, Executive Director of Governance and Chief Operating Officer. She was also interim Chief Executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service. A qualified solicitor, Nausicaa began her career at the law firm Freshfields.

• Viviene Artz OBE

  Non-Executive Director 

  Viviene Artz OBE - Non-Executive Director

  Vivienne Artz is Chief Executive of the FTSE Women Leaders Review and holds a number of board and advisory roles supporting businesses in their data, privacy, ED&I and digital transformation strategies. She was previously Managing Director and Chief Privacy Officer for London Stock Exchange Group, Chief Privacy Officer at Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters and CEO of Women in Banking and Finance. In 2021, Vivienne was awarded an OBE for services to Financial Services and Gender Diversity.

Our Team

• Anna Wallace

  CEO 

  Anna Wallace - CEO

  Anna Wallace is Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), where she leads efforts to advance the UK’s role in shaping the future of global financial systems. She brings over two decades of experience across government, regulation and international development. At the UK Financial Conduct Authority, she founded and led the world’s first regulatory sandbox and helped establish the Global Financial Innovation Network, setting new standards for cross-border regulatory collaboration. She later contributed to global investment strategies in financial inclusion and regulatory technology, including through work with the Gates Foundation. She is recognised for combining deep technical expertise with policy leadership to drive systemic innovation in financial services.

• Clare Black

  COO 

  Clare Black - COO

  Clare is an accomplished leader with over 30 years’ experience in global financial services, spanning general management, strategy, transformation, communications, consultancy, and corporate affairs. She is Chief Operating Officer at CFIT, which unites government, industry, and regulators to address systemic challenges to scaling financial innovation.

  Previously, Clare was Managing Director at Streets Consulting, leading strategy and growth in financial services and technology, and Director of Corporate Affairs & Communications at fintech trade body Innovate Finance. Her earlier career includes senior roles at wholesale derivatives markets consultancy Contango Markets and Reuters.

  Passionate about inclusion, Clare has served as a Trustee and Board Director for charities supporting people with visual impairments, including Guide Dogs UK, and volunteers with Founders4Schools and Project Nemo to promote diversity and accessibility in fintech.

• 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.

• Ravi Shukla

  Co-Head, Coalitions 

  Ravi Shukla - Co-Head, Coalitions

  Ravi leads CFIT coalitions, building the case for change and aligning key stakeholders across financial institutions, fintechs, regulators and government to remove structural barriers and drive systemic innovation. He bridges policy, innovation and industry best practice to translate complex challenges into scalable solutions across the end-to-end innovation lifecycle.

  Alongside coalition delivery, he helps shape CFIT’s strategic direction and evolve our operating model – including our value proposition, governance, funding and delivery infrastructure to deliver impact at scale.

  Ravi brings 15+ years’ experience across product, innovation and entrepreneurship. Prior to CFIT, he held key roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Tech Nation and Deloitte, where he led strategic initiatives, built fintech ecosystems and experimented with emerging technologies.

• 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.

• Rob Haslingden

  Co-Head, Coalitions 

  Rob Haslingden - Co-Head, Coalitions

  Rob is Co-Head of Coalitions, working closely with Leon, Ravi and James 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.
• Nicole Sandler

  Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs 

  Nicole Sandler - Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs
• James McGreevy

  Manager, Coalitions 

  James McGreevy - Manager, Coalitions

  James plays a critical role in the strategic planning, delivery and execution of our Coalitions.

  With experience supporting economic development and emerging technologies in Kenya and the UK, he works on developing Coalition workflows and sourcing data to support increased operational efficiencies across CFIT.

  Beyond his work in technology, James co-founded the King’s Growth and Development Foundation, a youth empowerment, leadership development, and education initiative using rugby as a medium to uplift hundreds of lives. The Academy has created pathways for young people to transform their potential into progress, with many of the players receiving scholarships to top national schools in Kenya.

  Recognised for his commitment to both innovation and community, James continues to champion solutions that bridge technology and opportunity, most recently the successful launch of the Digi-Ai-Bus.

• Ryan Wu

  Public Affair Executive 

  Ryan Wu - Public Affair Executive

  Ryan supports the public affairs and policy agenda across CFIT’s Coalition work, helping to shape and communicate the strategic case for reform across our workstreams. Working closely with government departments, regulators and industry partners, he contributes to consultation responses, ministerial engagement and the development of policy recommendations that translate Coalition research into actionable outcomes.

  With an MPhil from the University of Oxford and previous research experience across think tanks and academic institutions, including the Royal United Services Institute, Ryan brings an analytical, research-led approach to policy development and a facility for stakeholder engagement and strategic communications across government and industry.

  At its core, Ryan’s role is about ensuring that good evidence leads to good policy. He works to make sure CFIT’s research reaches the right audiences and that our Coalitions’ recommendations gain traction with the decision-makers who can act on them.

• Sajni Shah

  Operations Executive 

  Sajni Shah - Operations Executive

  Sajni is the Operations Executive within CFIT’s Coalitions team, supporting the seamless and efficient delivery of coalition activity. She works across multiple functions, from coordinating events and liaising with stakeholders, to bringing a creative lens to presentations, always ensuring high‑quality execution across CFIT’s work.

  She recently graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in Chemistry, bringing a research‑focused, analytical mindset to the organisation. Sajni has previously worked as a researcher at Kew Gardens, an experience that strengthens her detail‑oriented approach and passion for delivering high impact work.