Our people

Stephen drives the strategic growth of Scotland’s FinTech cluster, leveraging extensive experience in financial services, including leadership roles at Standard Life and Barclays. He also serves on the boards of Scottish Enterprise, Innovate Finance, and the UK Government’s Centre for Finance, Innovation, and Technology, championing innovation and collaboration globally.

Nicola Anderson leads FinTech Scotland with extensive experience in financial services, regulation, and innovation. Formerly a senior leader at the Financial Conduct Authority, she has a strong track record in driving industry transformation. Nicola is also a member of the Scottish Government’s Financial Services Growth and Development Board, advocating for inclusive and sustainable growth in the fintech sector.

Mickael Paris is the Marketing Director at FinTech Scotland, shaping the organisation’s strategic communications and branding. With extensive expertise in marketing and a passion for innovation, Mickael drives engagement across the FinTech cluster. He plays a key role in promoting Scotland’s fintech leadership globally, connecting businesses, and fostering collaboration through impactful campaigns and initiatives.

Shery joined the FinTech Scotland team as our Executive Assistant in March 2018 from RBS where she worked in the Risk function for 11 years. Prior to that she was in New York for 10 years working in the world of Old Master paintings in a small private gallery and then at Christie’s auction house. Strong in customer relations and with the ability to adapt to changing environments and circumstances, Shery takes care of the daily admin logistics of FinTech Scotland.

Vicky has got over 20 years of experience in financial services specialising in investment management and investor relations with a focus on private markets. Most recently, Vicky was head of investor relations at Dalmore Capital, a UK infrastructure fund with over £5 billion AUM. Prior to this, she worked for companies such as Capital Dynamics and UBS Global Asset Management in London and Zurich.

Trish is responsible for delivering the Financial Innovation and Regulation Lab. Trish has over 20 years of experience in leadership roles focussed on digital service delivery across the private and public sector and was responsible for the Scottish Government incubator programme Civtech.She won the Scottish Public Sector’s Leadership Award for her work during the pandemic.

Kirsty joined FinTech Scotland in 2022 to support the delivery of the Research and Innovation Roadmap. Kirsty comes from a Financial Services background where she built up vast experience delivering large scale transformation programmes largely as a result of M&A activity or Regulatory changes

Throughout her career in advertising, marketing and the FMCG sector Giovanna has a proven track record of working closely with a diverse range of C-suite execs and senior leaders across private and public sectors to achieve their business growth targets, leading cultural transformation, embedding inclusion and diversity and key stakeholder management. Most recently leading innocent drinks through their biggest company-wide change programme to date.

Lauren Cassells is a research and innovation programme manager leading on the financial crime programme within the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab. Prior to this role, Lauren led the design of the FCA TechSprint programme on topics such as investment fraud across the regulatory and law enforcement community. Alongside this role, Lauren is the Co-chair of the Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) UK Shadow Board.

Taleya joined FinTech Scotland in October 2024 after earning her MSc in Financial Technology with Distinction from the University of Strathclyde. With a robust academic foundation in FinTech and hands-on experience in the finance industry, she brings a strategic and analytical approach to supporting Scotland's dynamic FinTech ecosystem. Before joining FinTech Scotland, Taleya served as Assistant Manager at BMA Investment Advisors Ltd.