GFT, the leading provider of business, design and technology consulting to 8 of the top 10 global banks, today announces that it is expanding its retail banking practice in the UK, supported by the appointment of senior hire Christian Ball, who joins as Head of Retail across the GFT Atlantic Region.

Building on the company’s extensive retail experience, GFT is responding to growing demand from clients to support them as it moves to rapidly evolve its capabilities and platforms to meet the challenges of the digital economy, which is driving a revolution in the sector.

GFT already works with many of the largest financial services companies across continental Europe and the Americas, spanning G-SIBS, emerging banks, FinTech firms and market service providers. Clients include the Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK, Banco Sabadell in Spain, SIA in Italy, and innovative new entrants such as Fidor Bank in Germany and Banco Original in Brazil.

New hire Christian Ball also brings extensive experience to spearhead the GFT Retail offering. Christian joins from Meniga, one of the top performing FinTech companies in Europe. His previous roles have seen him work with many of the leading banks to shape their digitisation strategies - including positions at Cap Gemini, Fiserv and Accenture, where he led Business Development for Accenture Software globally.

Christian will be working alongside Richard Kalas, Senior Solution Architect and Henry Chadwick, Senior Consultant, who have also both recently joined GFT.

Gareth Richardson, Managing Director at GFT commented: “GFT is the perfect change partner for retail banks, as we are able to combine the agile approach to innovation of a start-up, with the weighty know-how of an established FS player. We already have extensive experience in running successful retail banking projects across Europe, working with a range of both large and challenger banks, giving us a great footing to expand our retail operations in the UK.”

Christian Ball, Head of Retail at GFT added: “The UK retail banking sector is growing at a rapid pace, particularly as a host of new, innovative players enter the market. I’m looking forward to working alongside the global management team at GFT to advance the retail offering for the UK business, as well as driving the move into the US and Canada, building on the firm’s successful track record in this sector across other international markets.”