FinGo, the biometric identity authentication solutions provider, has made several key hires within the fintech space, including the appointment of Katie Brownridge as Chief Operations Officer and Andy Horton as Chief Technology Officer.

As COO, Brownridge will drive the delivery of company strategy, design and implement FinGo’s target operating model and oversee day-to-day business operations. She will play a key role as FinGo extends the applications of its vein ID technology, which captures user’s unique vein pattern to enable secure, identity-enabled transactions. Brownridge joins FinGo having spent over 20 years with financial service companies, most recently as COO at WorldFirst, an international payments company owned by Ant Group, the world’s largest fintech group.

Brought in as CTO, Horton is responsible for extending FinGo’s range of identity products and delivering the technology roadmap to support the company’s business strategy. Horton has extensive experience in delivering commerce and fintech enterprise platforms. Prior to joining FinGo he took Edge Petrol from idea to concept, and was founding CTO at Yoyo Wallet where he designed the infrastructure at the core of Yoyo’s e-Money network.  

Further strengthening the technical team is the appointment of Stephen Alale as Head of Engineering, responsible for the development and integration of identity services into the user journey.  Alale brings extensive knowledge of PSD2, Open Banking and payments, from his previous roles at 118 118 Money and CashPlus Bank. The new hires will join FinGo’s teams in its Manchester and London offices.

In additional moves within the company, Dan Cox has also been named Chief Financial Officer, accountable for the company’s administrative, financial, and risk management operations. Simon Binns takes the position of Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for all commercial sales and marketing strategies to drive new business.

The appointments are the latest developments in an exciting period of growth for the award-winning company.  In early 2021, the company announced a care homes trial of biometric certification for COVID testing, and the technology is also currently being assessed for use in national and regional identity schemes, including work with the Egyptian government to apply biometric technology across their healthcare, food subsidy and housing programmes. In Greater Manchester, Mayor Andy Burnham recently initiated a working group to explore using Vein ID biometrics for the region’s transport, education and healthcare networks.

Commenting on the appointments, Nick Dryden, CEO at FinGo, said: “Katie, Andy and Stephen are integral additions to the company, and the wealth of fintech experience they bring with them is invaluable to us at this crucial stage of growth. We couldn’t be more excited to have them on board, and their expertise will help to bolster the great work already being done at FinGo, at home and globally.”