Deko are both pioneers and market leaders in Embedded Finance. With heritage dating back to 2010 for powering checkout and POS lending, our platform is now on its fourth generation of technology which supports all types of pay later offering (instalments, digital credit, BNPL) and connects to an integrated network of 15+ lenders, supporting diverse payment use cases from £100 to £20,000.Deko is at its very best when we are connecting partners to the embedded finance opportunity. For merchant servicing software platforms, PSPs and acquirers we can rapidly deploy an integrated pay later capability with broad, future proofed lending coverage. For large banks and other lenders we deliver the end to end consumer and merchant proposition with best in class user experience.Deko was named as Card & Payments Awards 2023 "Best Technology Initiative", beating Worldpay and NatWest. During 2023 we scoped and started delivery of a Tier 1 UK bank's embedded finance market entry, which will become a major new 'Pay Later" brand in 2024. Not for the first time Deko's technology and teams are leading another consumer finance journey and end to end merchant proposition.

Created a wide-ranging clothing label to represent my neighbourhood in the UK - great entrepreneurial hobby, first hand experience of ecommerce, payments, and marketing. See more at southbristol.com

Tink built Europe's biggest and most robust Open Banking technology platform. Worked with senior stakeholders and staff across the organisation just prior to acquisition by Visa - to single-handedly define, document, present and plan Tink's go-to-market payments strategy and offering, identifying external solution partners and supporting product delivery with teams. Included comprehensive external qualification and procurement exercise across 10-20 vendors and extensive proposition development and ratification with C-suite members.

Pay2Z specialise in strategic payments consulting with the widest possible coverage of all aspects of building or repositioning a payments or FinTech business. This includes a focus on business strategy, product roadmap and development, market proposition, and innovation. Our partners range from FinTech startups to large corporations - all need hands on, detailed assessment of future strategic options, including geographic and commercial considerations. Also assessments of product/platform strategies pre and post acquisition.Clients included Vocalink, RBS, Endava, Paysafe, Nexi, Yoyo Wallet, SagePay (Opayo), FingoPay, 4Stop

Pay2Z specialise in strategic payments consulting with the widest possible coverage of all aspects of building or repositioning a payments or FinTech business. This includes a focus on business strategy, product roadmap and development, market proposition, and innovation. Our partners range from FinTech startups to large corporations - all need hands on, detailed assessment of future strategic options, including geographic and commercial considerations. Also assessments of product/platform strategies pre and post acquisition.Clients included Tink, Vocalink, Mastercard, NatWest Tyl / Pollinate, Endava, Paysafe, Nexi, Yoyo Wallet, SagePay (Opayo) and others including several private equity funds.

Built from scratch for Clearcourse and its investors - ClearAccept are specialists in integrated payments acceptance for software companies. Created and executed a detailed strategy and business plan to build and deliver new full stack Payment Facilitator platform to market rapidly; recruited talented small team and live within 7 months; devised and founded ClearAccept business, brand and positioning; led detailed application to FCA to be Authorised Payments Institution; identified and negotiated all supplier partners; strengthened team for commercial objectives and to secure first clients; directed further strategy to expand into POS with full multi-channel PayFac offering within less than 18 months of conception.

Acquiring and merchant services are being disrupted by SaaS business software platforms (ISVs) and the role of the traditional Payment Gateway is under threat. ClearCourse is leading this transition by acquiring (M&A) and empowering smart software companies to become payments specialists.Advised ClearCourse from early 2019 on full end to end strategy to enter payments, agreed to join as partner to build team, brand, business and platform to address opportunity in accelerated approach which delivered a PCI DSS Level 1 gateway in 6 months. Also supported platform due diligence and strategy on multiple ISV acquisitions.

Working with a new NatWest Group subsidiary to re-enter merchant card acquiring in the UK market following end to prior agreement with WorldPay (Tyl by NatWest). Developed a detailed long term strategy for UK Ecommerce market (online and mobile merchants), through comprehensive market review of merchant trends and segmentation, and creation of wide-ranging product road map to address competitive positioning as well as longer term innovation agenda. Coordinated review of technology and solution partners, and produced and managed release plans working with First Data International.

Developing a comprehensive market, product, and commercial strategy for Request To Pay oriented mobile payments in the bill payments market, working with key industry stakeholders and users. Also exploring OpenBanking opportunities, building combined international commercial propositions and pricing models, and supporting bids. Included short interim period leading mobile Product team during transition into Mastercard organisation.

Helped secure FCA authorised status as a Payment Institution, then launched and established WePay in the UK, a first market outside North America, heading up a new UK office and responsible for all local activities. Worked cross-functionally with US staff to manage the UK operation. Supported major commerce platforms by providing thought leadership on launching a winning local payments proposition. Developed a detailed international strategy and model for expansion for WePay, as well as building their initial UK sales pipeline. Left following the conclusion of WePay Inc sale to JP Morgan Chase in November 2017.

Responsible for broad strategy definition / planning; entrepreneurial/lean startup payments product mgmt; launch of market-leading Advanced Payments platform; significant cross-Plc influence; and a year coordinating documentation, presentation and sale of the PayPoint.net business and platforms (sold to Capita Plc, rebranded as Pay360, and since sold to Access Group in 2022).* Building a rich market strategy for PayPoint Mobile and Online, a combined business unit comprising PayPoint.net and PayByPhone; Creating market analysis and strategic overview material to secure full board-level and enterprise-wide support for our goals; Defining new strategic initiatives and markets; * Directing a talented London-based Product Management team across Mobile and Online Payments, Reporting & MI, Risk Management & Optimization. Overseeing vision, road maps, and competitive and market analysis; coaching a close team of entrepreneurial Lean Startup oriented product leaders;* Leading go-to-market of Advanced Payments, innovative new market-leading enterprise payments platform which I envisioned, built business case for, and led the delivery of; Driving key messaging and presentation of the platform including leading London-based market launch;* Contributing to key PayPoint Plc cross-Group strategic initiatives, including Group-wide development of a market leading multi-channel payment solution for the national Smart Metering roll-out; Thought-leader and market expert on payments innovation for blue-chip energy suppliers;* Coordinating sale by PayPoint of digital payments business (PayPoint.net) and the new Advanced Payments platform, creating detailed business documentation; producing and leading business and product presentation to buyers; securing sale to Capita Plc (since sold as Pay360 to Access Group);

Defining a vision through deep market insight; informing and shaping the strategy of an established international payments business with significant web and mobile intentions, creating documentation and visual cues to our strategic aims, communicated up to FTSE-250 board level. Owned a complex and significantly developing product portfolio and multi-year road map. Defining disruptive concepts and innovative solutions, and led a team of agile product owners in execution of vision.Startup mentality, developed highly motivated team with significantly leaner product resource than equivalent payments organisations. Provided detailed product direction and thought leadership as well as actionable PSP, tech, and startup market insight; created strategies and translated into innovative product and feature goals; identified, shortlisted, and contracted diverse, often disruptive solution partners; led talented team in expressing and managing vision from development to market.

Responsible for the entire product portfolio and road map of the UK's largest independent Payment Services Provider, in addition to leading new projects, analysis, development and delivery, heading up the business' core technical and project function. Managing broad range of contacts and partnerships and with a central face-to-face and written role in key Large Merchant sales and tenders, driving major new business and revenue. Included scaling the development function from 10 to nearly 25 heads and overseeing a major office re-location and expansion.

Evolved and innovated key value add products and features of a top UK Payments Services business including identifying, championing and developing the PSP market's leading reporting and fraud services, the latter single-handedly transformed into one of the firm's most significant revenue and margin generators. Ownership and subject matter expert for all products and directly supporting sales and new business.

Having developed products and established the business' general and technical support functions and implemented its' website and marketing programmes, driving toward a major multi-million acquisition by a leading UK Plc, handing over responsibilities to newly formed functions in the growing business and placing specific focus on product ownership and development.

Broad range of responsibilities for a startup but fast evolving payments business including developing all product front-ends, user interfaces and product materials, personally implementing and growing the firm's entire support function (including creation of online and IVR services), and taking responsibility for Merchant Services, client liaison, marketing and communication programmes during a period of significant growth for the business. From a strong technical background, developing unique mix of cross-functional and entrepreneurial skills with core focus on products and customers.

Joined startup (2-5 employees) micropayments business that was originally focused on producing embedded multi payment method propositions for content monetization and content delivery for blue-chip client list including every major music label (Polydor, Sony, Island, etc) and using diverse "bleeding edge" payment features such as quick card checkout, SMS short code and local country by country IVR payment and PIN based redemption. Managed the "99p" release-day download before iTunes success and personally responsible for all published web products and design and delivery of solutions provided to clients for propositions used to support leading artists such as 50 Cent, Girls Aloud, Busted, Mariah Carey.

Conceived, designed, created and ran a sports (football) website during University that received 150,000 to 200,000 visits a month and as a result was bought by a heavily invested American Sports media network which launched into the UK and allowed me to run the site as a regular income stream. Leading web design, produced material quoted by local media, and "mini business owner" with invaluable experience managing and reinvesting revenues in marketing and user development. Among the most successful and sustainable sites on the media network resulting in offer from a football club chairman to create and run official website.

Joined team responsible for developing the web based intranet software and applications used by all Orange customer service representatives in dealing with customer queries. Quickly promoted to senior status in the team with particular responsibility for conceiving, designing, building and perfecting user experience of new interactive web applications used by thousands of call centre staff to deliver support to customers during period of successive JD Power awards for best customer satisfaction. Personally wrote key software including store locator, internal directory and worked with product managers to build interactive "pick and mix" tailored proposition builder to support market-changing "Your Plan" launch.

University Placement. Successful in IBM intern selection process (and later also offered Graduate Role). Working to support programme office for global hardware division headquartered out of San Jose, California. Useful if nothing else to know how Big Blue operates!