smartTrade Technologies Appoints Christophe Montane as Chief Commercial Officer to Drive Global Expansion

smartTrade Technologies has appointed Christophe Montane as Chief Commercial Officer, effective 1 July 2025. This move follows a recent strategic growth investment from TA Associates and reflects the company’s focus on accelerating international expansion and refining its customer-centric commercial strategy.

Based in New York, Montane will oversee global sales and marketing, aiming to strengthen smartTrade’s presence in key financial markets. With over 20 years of leadership experience at SS&C Intralinks, Fujifilm Business Innovation, and Xerox, he brings a solid track record in scaling global sales operations and driving revenue growth. His expertise will support smartTrade’s efforts to enhance its unified trading platform, aiming to improve front-office performance and reduce operational risk for clients.

NeoXam Names New Product Manager to Drive Asia Growth

Investment management technology provider NeoXam has appointed Parasuraman Nurani as its new product manager with responsibility for growing business across the Asia-Pacific region.

Parasu is based in the company’s Singapore office and has 20 years of experience in capital markets data and technology, NeoXam said.

Broadridge Appoints Munish Gautam as Global Head of Trading Platforms – Product Management

Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed Munish Gautam as Global Head of Trading Platforms – Product Management within its Broadridge Trading & Connectivity Solutions (BTCS) business. Based in London, Gautam will lead the integration of Broadridge’s trading platform suite and advance its multi-asset trading capabilities, reporting to Chief Product Officer Brian Pomraning.

Gautam brings over 15 years of experience from J.P. Morgan, where he was most recently Executive Director and Cash Equities Product Lead. His background includes driving transformation across client onboarding, execution, regulation, market structure, and risk management. This appointment reflects Broadridge’s ongoing investment in front office technology and follows a series of senior leadership hires across its BTCS division.

BridgePort Appoints Steven Bartfield as Chief Product Officer to Lead Product Innovation

BridgePort, a provider of institutional infrastructure for off-exchange crypto settlement, has named Steven Bartfield as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO). Bartfield will steer the company’s product strategy, focusing on enterprise integration, agentic AI development, and automation-led infrastructure tailored to institutional clients.

With nearly 15 years of experience in institutional trading, financial technology, and market structure, Bartfield brings a robust background in both front-office trading systems and back-end infrastructure. His previous roles include leading AI-driven product development and holding senior positions at Goldman Sachs and CME Group, where he developed trading solutions in fixed income and FX markets. Bartfield holds degrees from the Wharton School, the University of Chicago, and Loyola University Chicago, and is a CFA charterholder.

Tom Edwards Named Exec. Chair at Ubisecure

Ubisecure has named veteran fintech executive Tom Edwards as its new Executive Chair, a move designed to sharpen the company’s focus on RegTech, digital identity and global compliance services. The appointment takes effect immediately, positioning Edwards to steer Ubisecure’s strategic growth and deepen ties with banks, institutions and technology partners worldwide .

Drawing on his experience scaling CubeLogic where he doubled both revenue and the customer base as CEO, Edwards will work alongside Ubisecure’s leadership to streamline operations and accelerate go to market initiatives. His remit spans corporate strategy, operational excellence and enterprise sales execution, all within industries bound by strict regulatory demands.

“I’m excited to join Ubisecure at a pivotal moment of growth,” Edwards said. “Managing the opportunities presented in the RegTech market by Digital Identity, both Individual and Organisational, is essential in today’s landscape of expanding regulation, national identity initiatives, and ever rising fraud, especially in cross border transactions. The company is uniquely positioned to address some of the most pressing market challenges by enabling digital identity, to ensure regulatory compliance and foster digital trust.”

Ubisecure is already the world’s largest issuer of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) via its RapidLEI service and a leading European provider of digital identity solutions. Over the past year, the firm onboarded major global banks as validation agents for the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), reinforcing its role in the wider digital identity ecosystem.

Board Director Paul Tourret noted that Edwards’s operational insight will be “instrumental as we build on our position as the global number one accredited LEI Issuer and continue delivering mission critical Digital Identity enterprise solutions to the world’s most regulated industries.” Octopus Ventures partner and Ubisecure Non-Executive Director Paul Davidson added that Edwards’s track record “makes him the perfect addition” to drive the next phase of growth.

With compliance obligations growing ever more complex, and fraud risks rising in cross-border commerce, Ubisecure’s enhanced leadership line-up aims to meet market demand for robust, technology first identity and compliance platforms. The company’s suite of RegTech offerings helps enterprises simplify governance, reduce risk and stay ahead of evolving global regulations.

Gresham Names New Sales Director for Asian Growth Focus

Gresham has appointed Haley Zhu as sales director for the Asia-Pacific, where she will help lead growth in a region that is a strategic focus for the enterprise data automation technology provider amid greater regulatory complexity.

Zhu has worked for more than 15 years in FinTech on sell-side and buy-side platforms, enterprise data and regulatory technologies, Gresham said.

Napier AI Appoints Kenneth Paqvalén as Chief Financial Officer

Napier AI has appointed Kenneth Paqvalén as Chief Financial Officer as the RegTech firm prepares for its next phase of international growth. His arrival follows the company’s recent acquisition by private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners, a move that signals increased momentum behind Napier AI’s push to scale its anti-money laundering (AML) technology across global markets.

Paqvalén brings over two decades of financial leadership experience, including senior roles at Nokia, MariaDB, and most recently as CFO at Matillion. During his three-year tenure at Matillion, he played a key role in growing the business from $150 million to $1.5 billion. His background includes embedding scalable financial systems and leading high-growth companies through complex international expansions.

At Napier AI, his focus will be on building financial infrastructure to support sustained growth. This includes reinforcing existing systems to help scale the company’s core platform—Napier AI Continuum—as demand for financial crime prevention technology continues to rise.

Expansion into the US and Asia-Pacific regions is a key part of that strategy. Paqvalén will lead efforts to strengthen Napier AI’s presence in these markets by building local teams and ensuring operational readiness to support a broader customer base.

In discussing his new role, Paqvalén said: “What drew me to Napier AI was the opportunity to contribute to something that has real ethical weight. Financial crime is a complex and ever-evolving challenge and being able to play even a small part in tackling it feels genuinely meaningful. It’s an exciting time to be joining the company and I’m very much looking forward to what’s ahead.”

He added: “For companies like Napier AI, while the sophistication of criminals in their use of AI continues to become more innovative, this rapidly evolving issue provides huge opportunity for businesses to address demand and make significant strides to preventing financial crime.”

The backing from Marlin Equity Partners is expected to accelerate platform development and support a more global operating model. Marlin is known for its collaborative approach and long-term investment philosophy, particularly in software and data-driven businesses.

Napier AI CEO Greg Watson noted: “We are thrilled to welcome Kenneth on board as our new CFO at such a pivotal moment in Napier’s journey. His expertise will be key as we continue to scale operations, strengthen our financial foundations and continue investing in the evolution of our platform. With global expansion already underway, his leadership will ensure we continue to grow in a sustainable and strategic way and his deep financial acumen will undoubtedly make him an invaluable addition to our leadership team as we navigate this next stage of growth.”

Duco Appoints New COO

Data automation provider Duco has appointed Anthony Northam as its new Chief Operating Officer.

Formerly group head of customer strategy and solutions at LSEG, Northam has more than 25 years of experience in the data industry and also held down senior positions at Thomson Reuters.

“Anthony’s proven track record in scaling operations and driving strategic growth at leading financial data and technology organisations will benefit Duco as we rapidly expand our footprint across the capital markets ecosystem,” said Michael Chin, Chief Executive Officer at Duco.

Kaizen Appoints Michael Leach Chief Revenue Officer

Kaizen has appointed Michael Leach as its new Chief Revenue Officer. Leach joins from the London Stock Exchange Group, where he was instrumental in building UnaVista—now LSEG Regulatory Reporting Solutions—into a global brand. As one of UnaVista’s original founders, he brings deep expertise in regulatory reporting and sales leadership. In his new role, Leach will lead Kaizen’s sales strategy and business development to drive revenue growth and support market expansion.

On taking up his new appointment, Leach commented: “I’m excited to join the Kaizen team and contribute to the company’s continued growth. I’ve seen firsthand the value and innovation the company brings to the regulatory reporting and compliance space. I look forward to working with the talented team here to accelerate our market presence and deliver exceptional value to our clients.”

Dario Crispini, CEO of Kaizen, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Mike to our executive team. His extensive background at LSEG, combined with his deep understanding of our industry and proven track record in building successful sales organisations, makes him the ideal leader to drive our revenue growth strategy. Mike’s leadership and industry expertise will be instrumental in helping us achieve our ambitious growth and market expansion goals.”

This appointment comes as Kaizen continues to broaden its presence in the regulatory compliance market.

Liquidnet Bolsters Americas Equities Franchise with Senior Hires

Liquidnet has announced a trio of senior appointments aimed at accelerating the growth of its Equities business in the Americas. The hires support the firm’s strategy to broaden its regional presence, diversify trading capabilities, and strengthen client relationships.

Mark Turner joins as Co-Head of Equities Sales and Trading for the Americas, bringing 30 years of industry experience, including a senior role at Instinet. Hillary Budds takes on the role of Head of US Crossing, leveraging her background in block trading and venue development. David Ramirez also joins as a senior member of the High-Touch/Program Trading team, recognised for his revenue performance at Instinet. These appointments mark a significant step in Liquidnet’s commitment to expanding its equities franchise.