Listening, learning and strategising, Chris Walters, Chief Executive Officer, Finastra

By Robin Amlot

Finastra CEO Chris Walters has been on a journey of discovery since his appointment in January – here he shares what he has learned from the company’s customers.

Chris Walters’ appointment as CEO of Finastra was announced on 6 January 2025. Throughout H1 2025 he travelled round the world meeting Finastra customers – so what have they been telling him?

“It’s been an energising first year. I’ve spent time with customers across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. These conversations have been candid, thoughtful, and consistent in their themes.

“What I’ve heard – loud and clear – is that our customers are under immense pressure to modernise their technology while remaining compliant, secure, and efficient. They’re navigating increasingly complex regulatory environments, rapidly shifting customer expectations, and accelerating innovation cycles. Many of them are looking for partners who understand their business challenges and can help them deliver results now, not years down the line. In addition, there’s extraordinary interest in understanding how AI can be utilised for their businesses.

“Importantly, they’ve also expressed a desire for simplicity and speed. They want technology that’s easier to implement, scale, and integrate – without sacrificing reliability. Our most satisfied customers are those who see Finastra not just as a vendor, but as a strategic ally invested in their long-term success.”

How is what you learned informing your strategy?

“Customer input is at the heart of how we’re shaping Finastra’s future. These conversations – as well as extensive customer research we conducted as part of our strategy refresh process – have validated and sharpened our strategy in three critical ways.

“First, we’re doubling down on our core strengths – mission-critical software in lending, payments, and core banking. These are areas where we are already supported the delivery of great business outcomes and long-term value at scale. We also see the opportunity to do much more aligned to our customers’ highest priority needs.

“Second, we’re pushing ourselves to be easier to work with. That means simplified contracting models, faster implementation times to deliver value to our customers more quickly, and more intuitive products aided by Gen AI and simplified support models. We’ve heard this feedback, and we’re acting on it.

“Third, we’re applying customer-led innovation more deliberately. We are increasing investment to accelerate the pace of modernising all our most important products. Customers have told us what they need in the next 3-5 years and we aspire to be there ahead of their needs. This includes delivering more value within our products leveraging AI.”

In May, Finastra announced the sale of its Treasury and Capital Markets (TCM) business – what was behind this decision?

“The sale of our TCM business was a strategic move to focus our portfolio and generate capital to reinvest in the areas where we believe we can make the biggest impact.

“TCM is a strong business, and under Apax’s ownership, it will have the focus it needs to thrive. For Finastra, this transaction enables us to streamline our organisation and accelerate investment and growth in the parts of the business where we have a clear leadership position and a strong runway – namely lending, payments, and core banking. It’s also about being bold in service of focus. In a world that’s moving fast, we must make intentional choices about where we invest our time, talent, and capital. This sale gives us the clarity and momentum to do just that.”

What is the focus of the business going forward?

“We’re focused on doing fewer things, better. That means investing in the products and capabilities that sit at the core of how financial institutions operate every day – lending, payments, and core banking platforms.

“We’re also focused on being a truly customer-led organisation. That shows up in how we prioritise our roadmap, how we deliver service, and how we build partnerships. Every decision we make is being tested against a simple question: ‘Does this make life better for our customers?’

“We’re strengthening our operating model to be more agile, accountable, and aligned with customer success. We’re building a performance-driven culture that values impact over activity – and that knows we win when our customers win. Beyond that we’re thinking of applying AI to our business and products in a number of ways. We want to utilise AI to enable our teams to free up capacity to focus on higher value efforts that can deliver benefits for our customers. In addition, we believe that we can utilise AI to enable users to access the full range of our software’s capabilities with ease and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.”

Finastra is known for its commitment to Open Finance – what comes next?

“Today, what matters most to our clients is speed, reliability, security, and outcomes. So, we’re shifting our focus toward helping customers modernise faster, operate more efficiently, and serve their own clients better – delivering real, measurable impact.

“We’ll continue to build products that are open by design – API enabled, cloud-native, and easy to integrate. But we’re applying those principles in service of more practical goals: faster time to value, greater flexibility, and better user experiences.”

Where do you see the evolution of technology taking Finastra?

“AI is transforming how we work and how our customers succeed. First, inside Finastra, we’re using AI to boost productivity – automating routine work, speeding up development, and freeing our teams to focus on the highest-impact tasks. Our initial efforts were focused on our software engineers. We’re broadening our efforts to positively impact non-engineering roles.

“Second, in our products, we’re embedding AI to deliver more value, faster. That means improved and readily available support, allowing users to access all of the functionality in our products with ease, and automating time-consuming steps for our customers. We’re building all of this with a responsible AI approach – committed to transparency, privacy, and ensuring outcomes are explainable and fair.”

Will you be looking to develop new customer segments and/or new partners?

“Absolutely. We already serve a wide range of financial institutions – from the largest global banks to regional credit unions and Fintechs. But there’s significant opportunity to go deeper into underserved segments, particularly mid-sized institutions and those in emerging markets. These organisations face many of the same pressures as large banks, but with fewer resources. That’s where our scalable, modular platforms can really shine. We want to make enterprise-grade technology accessible to institutions of all sizes.

“We also see multiple growth segments – like private credit – that we haven’t served extensively. Our LoanIQ product is so feature rich that it is more complex than what is required by this segment. We’re prioritising product and go-to-market investments to best position us to serve rapidly growing customer segments.

“On the partner front, we’re actively expanding our ecosystem, whether that’s FinTechs bringing complementary capabilities, system integrators helping with implementation, or hyperscalers supporting our cloud infrastructure. The goal is to create a win-win-win: better outcomes for customers, greater reach for partners, and more value from our solutions.”

What does the business look like in five years’ time?

“In five years, I see Finastra as a leaner, sharper, and more customer obsessed organisation – one that’s known for supporting the delivery of exceptional business outcomes through technology that’s reliable, secure, and easy to use. We’ll have deepened our leadership in lending, payments, and core banking. We’ll be serving a more diverse global customer base, across segments and geographies. And we’ll be recognised not just for what we build, but for how we help customers succeed.

“Our products will be smarter, thanks to embedded AI. Our cloud offerings will be more flexible and scalable. And our customer experience – across implementation, support, and product use – will be a true differentiator. Most importantly, we’ll be a company that listens, adapts, and acts with purpose. Because the best way to build the future is to stay grounded in what customers need today – and earn their trust, every step of the way.”