U.K.’s Clarus will be hiring for an R&D center while Compliance Science names a chairman for Europe. Speakerbus has a new CEO and Calpers promotes for a deputy executive post.
Clarus Financial Technology Opening Belfast R&D Center
Clarus Financial Technology, a London-based fintech company, is establishing a research and development center in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which it says will create 15 new jobs.
As part of the Belfast project, Invest Northern Ireland has made a £75,000 ($115,449.97) employment grant to Clarus.
“The 15 new jobs will pay above the Northern Ireland private sector median and offer technology and business analytics graduates the opportunity to gain excellent experience servicing top level companies,” Bill Scott, Invest NI’s executive director of international business, says in a statement.
Gary Kennedy, Clarus co-founder, will relocate from the London headquarters to head the Belfast office.
The 15 new positions, to be filled over the next three years, include a development manager, eight software engineers and six business analysts.
Clarus, founded in 2012, operates in international capital markets and provides data, analytics and research services to customers that include investment banks, hedge funds, regulators and brokers from the United States, Great Britain and Europe.
Compliance Science Names Chairman for Europe
Ronald Gould, chairman – Europe, Compliance Science
Compliance Science Ltd., a Manhattan- and London-based provider of governance, risk management and compliance solutions, reports the appointment of Ronald Gould as chairman – Europe, effective September 23, 2015.
In addition, Gould, a former senior advisor to the U.K’s Financial Services Authority, will join Compliance Science’s board.
“Pan-European regulations, including additions to the Market Abuse Directive and MIFID are set to come into effect in addition to the Senior Managers Regime faced by the U.K.,” says Mitchel Kraskin, CEO of CSI, in a statement. “These will have a direct impact on the compliance programs of U.K. and E.U.-based firms. As a result, we have seen a strong demand for regulatory and compliance expertise, as well as compliance automation technology.”
Prior to joining Compliance Science, Gould held management positions at BZW/Barclays Asset Management, officials say. He also served as CEO of Chi-X Asia Pacific, CEO of ABG Sundal Collier ASA, and managing director of AXA Investment Managers, according to the statement, which notes also that he “currently serves as a board member, partner and advisor to a number of established financial companies including One Re Insurance, J.P Morgan Asian Investment Trust PLC, ThinkAlliance Consulting, and Warfleet Partners. Compliance Science officials call Gould’s experience “instrumental in leading” the vendor’s European operations.
Speakerbus Names New CEO
Speakerbus, a privately held, UK-based provider of voice collaboration solutions for financial institutions — and for emergency and command infrastructure —reports that Patrick McCullough, a senior management veteran, has been named CEO.
McCullough, who has a “long track record of growing international communication and technology businesses,” according to a statement, joins Speakerbus with more than 25 years of experience “in senior management positions in New York, London and Paris, working for major companies, including Cisco, Avaya and AcmePacket,” including most recently CafeX Communications, where he was senior vice president of global sales and operations.
Andy Wodhams, who founded Speakerbus in 1984, moves from CEO to chief innovation officer, a new position within Speakerbus that will allow him to have “greater focus on technical development and innovation,” according to the statement.
Calling the McCullough appointment a “major change of gear for Speakerbus,” Wodhams says in the statement that “we already have a long-established record of developing and supporting some of the world’s largest financial institutions … Patrick’s insight and track-record of building technology businesses through strategic growth across multiple industry sectors is impressive and is exactly the foundation and expertise we were looking for.”
Speakerbus also reports that more than 250 financial institutions use its solutions and that it serves more than 50,000 users in over 60 countries.
CalPERS Promotes for Deputy Executive Officer
Brad W. Pacheco, deputy executive officer for communications and stakeholder relations, Calpers
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers) pension fund has promoted Brad W. Pacheco from chief of its public affairs office to deputy executive officer for communications and stakeholder relations, Calpers officials say.
Pacheco will provide “leadership and counsel” to the board and executive staff for Calpers functions of communications and stakeholder outreach, officials say.
His responsibilities will include oversight of external and internal communications, including the digital content and overall communications strategy for the main Calpers and my|Calpers websites, social media, video, visual design, and media relations, officials say. He will also direct activities that connect Calpers staff to leadership of key stakeholder groups, ensure the development and maintenance of strong stakeholder partnerships, and execute conferences and events. Pacheco will report to Anne Stausboll, Calpers CEO.
Pacheco “has served Calpers for nearly 20 years and is a well-seasoned communications professional,” says Stausboll in a statement. “We welcome him to our executive team and look forward to his leadership in the areas of communications and stakeholder relations that support our members, employers and our employees.”
Pacheco, who joined Calpers in 1995, has been serving as chief of its public affairs office for the last six years, and has also served in a number of other capacities including assistant chief of public affairs and media specialist for Calpers investments and corporate governance programs, officials say.
The Calpers pension fund serves more than 1.7 million members in the retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.4 million members and their families in our health program, making it the largest defined-benefit public pension system in the U.S. The total fund market value is approximately $295 billion, officials say.
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