Appointment of Anna Wallace as new CEO at CFIT announced
New CEO Announced for Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT)
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has announced that Anna Wallace will be taking over as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective from September 1, 2025. Wallace succeeds Ezechi Britton MBE, CFIT’s inaugural CEO.
Anna Wallace brings over 20 years of industry experience to her new role. She has held significant leadership positions at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where she was head of innovation, and most recently, she served as Senior Program Officer for Consumer Protection and RegTech at the Gates Foundation since 2020.
Wallace's background also includes investing in scaling fintech technology companies focused on customer complaints, fraud, and regulatory reporting. She is an early-stage backer of FNA, Proto, and Regnology, three companies addressing these issues respectively.
Founded in 2023, CFIT is a UK-based private-sector-led body that promotes innovation and growth within UK fintech. Under Wallace’s leadership, the organization will advance its newly adopted hybrid model, managing both publicly and privately funded innovation coalitions—industry-wide groupings intended to foster collaboration and drive fintech innovation across sectors.
While specific plans have not been detailed extensively, CFIT’s mission and Wallace’s experience suggest a continued focus on collaboration between regulators, fintech innovators, and investors to spur technology development and industry-wide progress. This collaboration is expected to extend to addressing challenges such as AI, tokenization, and digital assets.
Madush Gupta, acting chair of CFIT, believes Anna Wallace is the ideal candidate to lead CFIT through its next chapter. Wallace's role at CFIT will involve delivering prototype solutions, roadmaps, and policy proposals.
In addition to her work at CFIT, Wallace has co-founded and funded the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance's SupTech Lab, which helps regulators and the private sector spin out new minimum viable products.
In March, CFIT published a blueprint for fighting economic crime through the introduction of Digital Company ID. Three industry-led working groups are currently building a prototype Digital Company ID, identifying use cases, and setting trust and governance standards. CFIT's next industry-wide coalition, including Mastercard, Lloyds Banking Group, and HSBC, will develop tech solutions to close the UK’s SME credit gap.
Wallace will lead CFIT's efforts to unite government, industry, and regulators to tackle the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the UK’s financial ecosystem.
For those interested in learning more, CFIT has recently published an article titled "CFIT reveals how next coalition intends to tackle SME lending" [1].
[1] CFIT reveals how next coalition intends to tackle SME lending. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cfit.uk/news/cfit-reveals-how-next-coalition-intends-to-tackle-sme-lending
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- Anna Wallace, the new CEO of CFIT, brings over 20 years of industry experience, having held leadership positions at the Financial Conduct Authority and the Gates Foundation.
- CFIT, under Wallace’s leadership, will advance its hybrid model, managing both publicly and privately funded innovation coalitions, aiming to foster collaboration and drive fintech innovation across sectors.
- Wallace's role at CFIT will involve delivering prototype solutions, roadmaps, and policy proposals, in addition to co-founding and funding the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance's SupTech Lab.
- CFIT's next industry-wide coalition, including Mastercard, Lloyds Banking Group, and HSBC, will develop tech solutions to close the UK’s SME credit gap.
- The new CEO's focus is expected to include collaboration between regulators, fintech innovators, and investors to spur technology development and industry-wide progress, addressing challenges such as AI, tokenization, and digital assets.
- Through her work at CFIT, Wallace aims to unite government, industry, and regulators to tackle the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the UK’s financial ecosystem.
