Finastra today announced the appointment of Simon Paris as Chief Executive Officer. Paris, who currently serves as Finastra’s Deputy CEO, will take over as CEO from Nadeem Syed as a part of a planned succession process. The company’s strong performance during its first year has been driven by double-digit bookings growth and the integration of Misys and D+H.

“A once-in-a-generation transformation is taking place in the financial services industry and Simon has the vision, leadership and experience to lead Finastra through this evolution,” said Robert Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. “Over the past six years, Nadeem has built the company into a leading player in the Fintech industry, and Simon, with his understanding of how open platform technology can change the face of financial services, will take Finastra to the next level as a true platform company.” 

In his role as Deputy CEO, Paris has been responsible for driving all of Finastra’s go-to-market operations including sales, marketing, and partner relations and has overseen significant growth in Finastra’s market traction and global footprint. He advocated the shift to a cloud-based model for all Finastra solutions and is spearheading the company’s transformation from a solution to a platform organization.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved at Finastra,” said Syed. “The breadth and depth of our solution portfolio is unparalleled in the industry and our leading-edge solutions are underpinned by an immensely scalable operational platform. Simon is a dynamic leader whose vision for the future of financial services is exactly what Finastra needs and I am confident that the company will continue to flourish under his leadership.”

During Syed’s tenure, he has more than doubled the company’s revenue, led the successful merger with D+H and increased the customer base from 2,000 to more than 9,000 globally. He was recently recognized as a winner in the 2018 CEO Today Europe Awards. Syed is joining Vista Equity Partners as an Operating Principal, and will continue to serve on Finastra’s Board of Directors providing guidance and counsel to Paris and the Finastra leadership team.

“Finastra is in a unique position in the Fintech industry. We are changing the way in which financial software is developed, deployed and consumed in financial services and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company through the next stage of this incredible transformation,” said Paris. “The opportunity ahead is huge and with our board’s support, I’m looking forward to taking our employees, our customers and our partners on this journey.”