Finastra names Simon Paris as Chief Executive Officer

London, UK and Toronto, Canada, June 4 2018 – 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.”

For further media information please contact:

Caroline Duff
Global Head of PR, Finastra
T: +44 (0)20 3320 5892
E: caroline.duff@finastra.com 
www.finastra.com

About Finastra

Finastra unlocks the potential of people and businesses in finance, creating a platform for open innovation. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, we provide the broadest portfolio of financial services software in the world today—spanning retail banking, transaction banking, lending, and treasury and capital markets. Our solutions enable customers to deploy mission critical technology on premises or in the cloud. Our scale and geographical reach means that we can serve customers effectively, regardless of their size or geographic location—from global financial institutions, to community banks and credit unions. Through our open, secure and reliable solutions, customers are empowered to accelerate growth, optimize cost, mitigate risk and continually evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers. 48 of the world’s top 50 banks use Finastra technology.
Please visit www.finastra.com.

About Vista Equity Partners

Vista Equity Partners, a U.S.-based investment firm with offices in Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, and Oakland with more than $31 billion in cumulative capital commitments, currently invests in software, data and technology-enabled organizations led by world-class management teams with long-term perspective. Vista is a value-added investor, contributing professional expertise and multi-level support towards companies realizing their full potential. Vista’s investment approach is anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions, and proven management techniques that yield flexibility and opportunity in private equity investing. For more information, please visit www.vistaequitypartners.com.

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