FinTech Trends Report: PE/VC

Perspectives from Boyden’s FinTech Experts

By Kare Hernandez, Paul Dennis, Dr. Dirk Friederich, Joost Goudsmit, Bryan Ignozzi, Sandra Mejia, Anita Pouplard, Nessrine Salah, Rick Wargo

Insights into Executive Talent

Lopez: With the emphasis on both growth and profitability in the fintech industry, how are organisations balancing the need for visionary, human-centric leadership with a focus on financial discipline when recruiting senior executives?

Kleppe (Norway): Organisations are redefining recruitment criteria to include cognitive diversity, emotional intelligence, and demonstrated change leadership alongside traditional metrics. This holistic approach ensures leaders drive innovation and employee engagement while maintaining financial discipline. Scenario-based evaluations assess candidates' ability to balance growth and risk, evaluating strategies for market entry and product launches. Aligning values and vision is crucial, ensuring executives are motivated by the company's mission and understand fintech's broader impact. This approach enables leaders to prioritize growth or profitability based on strategic goals.

Hernandez (U.S.): Fintechs are prioritizing candidates who demonstrate a unique blend of visionary thinking and financial prudence. Given the sector's shift towards B2B models for more stable revenue streams, executive recruitment focuses on individuals skilled at driving innovation while maintaining rigorous financial discipline. The ideal candidates are those who can navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving market, lead human-centric innovation, and adhere to strict financial controls to ensure sustainable growth and profitability.

Lopez: With the focus shifting towards profitability, how are executive search partners advising fintech clients on structuring their leadership teams to drive sustainable growth and achieve their financial objectives?

Hernandez (U.S.): We advise fintech clients to structure their leadership teams with a balanced mix of strategic, financial, and technological expertise. Emphasis is placed on recruiting leaders who have experience in managing through cycles of growth and consolidation, with a strong focus on operational efficiency and profitability. This includes roles with expertise in data analytics, AI, regulatory compliance, and customer experience, ensuring that leadership teams are well-equipped to drive sustainable growth while meeting financial objectives in a challenging economic landscape.

Kleppe (Norway): Executive search partners advocate for leadership teams blending disruptive innovation with operational prowess. This entails pairing a Chief Innovation Officer with a Chief Financial Officer for balanced focus. They suggest flexible leadership roles encouraging cross-functional collaboration for cohesive strategies. Performance metrics extend beyond financial targets to include customer satisfaction and innovation indices. Advisory boards, comprising industry experts, support prudent growth and compliance. Continuous leadership development ensures a dual focus on growth and profitability.

Lopez: What specific executive skill sets or expertise are in higher demand?

Hernandez (U.S.): There's a heightened demand for executives with expertise in AI and machine learning, particularly in application to underwriting, fraud prevention, and enhancing customer experience. Skills in managing B2B operations, regulatory compliance, especially in open banking and real-time payments, and strategic partnership development are also highly sought after. Leaders who can drive innovation while optimizing operational efficiency and navigating regulatory landscapes are in prime demand.

Wargo (U.S.): Reflecting on this question, I recall a CEO attributing his start-up’s success to an unconventional business model. He remarked, “unlike most tech start-ups beginning with engineers designing a product they believe is perfect, we started with salesmen who designed a product based on our target customer’s needs and then sought the engineer who could build it to spec.”

The lesson here is clear—the most sought-after executive skill set is an ability to understand the value proposition of their company’s product or service to their clients and then prioritize and focus their organisation’s efforts on consistently delivering and improving that value proposition. As technology rapidly transforms the financial industry, an unwavering focus on meeting customer needs in innovative ways is imperative across all functional departments of the most successful organisations.

Lopez: Is there growing consideration in leveraging Interim executives?

Kleppe (Norway): Indeed, leveraging interim executives is increasingly strategic for fintech firms during transitions, rapid growth, or significant challenges. Interim executives offer experience, flexibility, and specific skill sets crucial for short-term objectives or change management. Key trends and considerations include rapid scalability, specialized skill sets on demand, objective decision-making, cost-effectiveness, and mentorship. For instance, Ross McEwan's transition from interim CEO to Chairman at National Australia Bank exemplifies this trend, demonstrating confidence in his leadership. Integrating interim executives allows fintech firms to navigate change efficiently, leveraging expertise to achieve goals and prepare for future growth.

Lopez: How do you see the evolving fintech landscape influencing the demand for senior executives with specific expertise in areas like generative AI, open banking, and real-time payments?

Wargo (U.S.): Each new technology platform, the latest being generative AI, opens new and exciting ways to innovate financial services. The need to integrate these new technologies into bullet-proof services in the financial industry is both a great opportunity and challenge. Financial services are, for good reason, highly regulated, and new technologies like generative AI create new and sophisticated avenues for fraud. We see a need and a significant challenge in blending the need for regulatory compliance with the adoption and integration of these new technologies into future open banking and real-time payment solutions.

Hernandez (U.S.): Companies are seeking leaders who not only understand these technologies but can also integrate them into strategic plans to enhance service delivery, drive efficiency, and create new revenue streams. Executives with experience in leveraging AI for product innovation, navigating open banking regulations, and implementing real-time payment solutions are particularly valuable as fintechs adapt to and shape market trends.

About the Authors

Kare Hernandez

Partner, United States

Kare Hernandez led a successful career in HR which spanned the Americas and ignited her dedication to executive search. Working across borders and industries, Kare’s multicultural background gives her a broad strategic perspective in candidate sourcing. Additional expertise in talent development enhances her ability to identify leaders who will benefit client organizations as a whole.

Paul Dennis

Partner, United States
Global Regional Co-Leader, AI, Cloud & Software
Global Regional Co-Leader, Digital Transformation Leadership

Paul Dennis has 20 years’ experience advising CFOs and C-suite technology and business leaders at Fortune 1000 companies on issues related to strategy, technology, and transformation. With a background in professional services at global firms, he has extensive experience working with leadership teams in different regions and across multiple industries to achieve critical business outcomes.

Dr. Dirk Friederich

Managing Partner, Germany

Dirk Friederich is a highly regarded search professional. As a Managing Partner in our Frankfurt office, he regularly leads and participates in searches for C-level candidates with vision and authority in a range of organisational functions and industries. He is also involved in recruiting for key management roles within the industrial, financial services, consumer/retail and healthcare sectors.

Joost Goudsmit

Managing Partner, Netherlands

Joost Goudsmit, Managing Partner of Boyden Netherlands, has had an extensive career working in several leadership roles in the financial and professional services sector. Dedicated to executive search for nearly 20 years, Joost has earned an excellent reputation for completing major assignments in the financial and professional services industries, and is also active in (non-executive) board search and evaluation.

Bryan Ignozzi

Partner, United States

Bryan Ignozzi is an executive leader across many fields with over 25 years of experience in professional services, automotive, and financial services. He combines business expertise with a passion for solving organizational challenges by connecting and developing people, helping clients realize the transformative value of human resources through leadership development and strategic recruitment.

Sandra Mejia

Principal, United States

Sandra Mejia has nearly 15 years of experience in the executive search industry, with a strong focus on international and cross-cultural assignments globally. She joined Boyden Spain more than a decade ago, and is now an integral part of our Miami team.

Anita Pouplard

Managing Partner, France
Global Regional Leader, Private Equity & Venture Capital

A trusted advisor to C-suite executives and boards, Anita Pouplard has completed numerous international search assignments over the past 20 years. She thrives on challenging, ambitious and complex assignments, and has a track record of recruiting world-class leadership that impacts business results. Anita focuses primarily on the technology sector, applying her expertise in digital technology.

Nessrine Salah

Managing Partner, MENA
Global Regional Leader, Financial & Sovereign Institutions
Global Regional Co-Leader, Financial Services

Nessrine Salah is a seasoned consulting and human capital expert with over 20 years of global experience advising financial institutions, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds and holding companies across Europe and the Middle East. Leveraging her tenure and credentials as a Certified Corporate Director and Coach, Nessrine brings deep expertise in guiding boards, shareholders, and executives through strategic planning, organizational development, and leadership growth. She is also a dedicated mentor to youth and entrepreneurs around the world and an angel investor in purpose-driven startups, reflecting her commitment to impactful and inclusive innovation.

Rick Wargo

Managing Partner, United States
Global Regional Co-Leader, Technology

Rick Wargo combines extensive executive search experience with a decades-long career in technology as an executive and entrepreneur. This background gives him an in-depth understanding of leadership demands and team dynamics in the hypercompetitive technology industry. He possesses exceptional ability to make nuanced, fact-based assessments of candidates for senior-level and director roles.