Aveni, a UK-based AI FinTech focused on compliance and regulatory solutions for financial services, has named Kent Mackenzie as its new chief commercial officer.
Mackenzie arrives with more than two decades of experience spanning senior positions at major banking institutions, management consultancy, and AI RegTech. His appointment is intended to drive Aveni’s commercial expansion across the banking sector, advance its assurance and compliance product offering, and pursue strategic partnerships alongside international growth opportunities.
His career includes ten years in senior roles at institutions including NatWest, Morgan Stanley, and Lloyds Banking Group, where he oversaw transformation programmes focused on risk, data, compliance, and disruptive technology. He subsequently spent a further decade at Deloitte leading significant portions of the firm’s risk analytics practice, applying machine learning and AI to compliance challenges at an institutional level.
During that period, he founded RegHub, an award-winning software platform that used data and AI to help firms evaluate and manage regulatory change. He grew RegHub into a multi-million pound revenue-generating business before it was acquired by Corlytics, where he then served as chief operating officer. Most recently, Mackenzie undertook research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on agentic AI and its enterprise implications, before establishing his own advisory firm.
Aveni develops AI-native tools for financial services firms navigating increasingly complex compliance obligations. Its products include FinLLM, described as the UK’s first large language model built specifically for financial services, alongside its Aveni Detect capability, both of which are designed to support compliance and assurance functions as the industry transitions toward agent-driven operational environments.
The hire comes as financial services organisations face mounting pressure to modernise compliance operations, with agentic AI seen as a significant factor reshaping how regulatory risk is managed and scrutinised.
Commenting on his appointment, Mackenzie said: “Aveni’s heritage and first-mover momentum in financial services AI are genuinely impressive. FinLLM, as the UK’s first LLM built for financial services, and the Aveni Detect capabilities are creating meaningful products on both sides of the execution boundary, and the company’s focus on assurance and compliance is squarely aligned with where the industry is heading. The opportunity to address the industry’s transformation into the agentic era, with Aveni at the forefront, is one I couldn’t pass up.”
Aveni CEO Joseph Twigg said: “The assurance landscape in financial services is undergoing a fundamental transformation with the introduction of AI agents predicted at scale. Kent’s combination of frontline banking experience, regulatory expertise, and a demonstrated ability to build and commercialise AI-driven platforms makes him uniquely placed to help Aveni lead that transformation. We’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”
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