Finova, the UK’s largest provider of cloud-based mortgage, savings and lending software, has bolstered its Manchester hub with the appointment of three senior directors as it prepares for the next chapter of its growth strategy.
The company has brought on Hemant Kumar as research and development director, Pete Craven as director of DevOps, and Kelly Wilson as director of technical delivery. The three appointments signal Finova’s intent to deepen its engineering capability and accelerate the development of its AI-driven platform. Recruitment at the Manchester site is now 80% complete.
Kumar arrives from Accenture and carries more than two decades of experience leading technology transformation across financial services, the public sector and healthcare. He will head up the development of Finova’s next-generation AI decision engine, a product the company regards as central to its offering over the coming decade, with a background in scaling full-stack and data engineering teams and converting strategic vision into delivered product.
Craven steps into the DevOps director role with over 13 years spent driving large-scale cloud transformations. He will oversee the platform engineering team charged with constructing the secure, scalable cloud infrastructure supporting Finova’s next-generation platform. His previous positions span Slalom Build, Made Tech, Booking.com and IBM, and he has architected mission-critical systems for organisations including the NHS, the Home Office, Sainsbury’s and Lloyds Bank.
Wilson joins as director of technical delivery, taking charge of teams responsible for technical delivery across Finova’s engineering-supported product portfolio. Her background spans financial services, consulting and education, with her most recent role involving the leadership of Salesforce programmes at London Stock Exchange Group. Before moving into the private sector, she dedicated nearly 15 years to service across the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, where she worked in IT and supported global communications operations.
All three report to chief technology officer David Espley. The trio joins a workforce spanning Manchester, London, Cheltenham and India. The hires coincide with Finova’s recently announced partnership with Makers Academy, through which eight early-career engineers have joined the business, reflecting an approach to talent development that stretches from entry level to senior leadership.
Finova CEO Gareth Richardson said, “Hemant, Pete and Kelly are exactly the calibre of leaders we need to support the next phase of Finova’s growth, and they join a highly talented engineering and product workforce that is already delivering exceptional work for our customers across Manchester, London, Cheltenham and India. These appointments are about strengthening the depth of expertise and leadership across our wider teams as we continue to scale our AI and platform capabilities.
“When we opened our Manchester hub, we said that AI-driven growth would create jobs and investment in talent, and these appointments are a reflection of that commitment. With such a strong team across the business, we are well positioned to continue building the next era of UK financial services technology.”
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