Financial advice platform Open Money has made two exciting new senior hires in brand new positions within the business, as it looks to bolster its growing team and finance expertise.
Founded to plug what it calls ‘the advice gap’, Open Money is a service created to help the millions of people who would benefit from financial advice but either can’t afford it, or are unable to access it. Combining sophisticated technology with real people, it provides personalised, tailored financial advice to help people reach their goals.
Open Money’s new Chief Finance Officer is Michael Davis, who joins the business with a wealth of experience in a wide variety of finance and non-finance related roles, predominantly within the regulated financial services industry.
An experienced board member who is passionate about building and leading high performing teams to deliver against complex and far-reaching business requirements, Davis’ areas of expertise include managing large, complex budgets, understanding and leveraging commercial performance, and developing and implementing business transformation programmes.
Davis has previously worked in a number of roles for organisations including HSBC, Towergate Insurance and Co-Op General Insurance. Most recently, he was Chief Financial Officer at ME Group Holdings Ltd, a FinTech start-up, where he was responsible for all aspects of financial strategy and HR, reporting directly into the Group CEO and Group Chairman.
Davis arrives at Open Money with the experience to help build on the existing foundations and team skill sets, driving the company forward as it enters a new period of growth. Working closely with CEO and founder, Anthony Morrow, and the rest of the senior management team, Davis will be tasked primarily with ensuring that Open Money has the right financial strategy in place to reach its impressive expansion targets.
Joining him on the senior management team as Chief Operating Officer is James Higgins, who also arrives with years of experience in driving major organisational change programmes within businesses.
A focused senior leader and market strategist with a proven record of success in delivering innovative financial technology solutions, Higgins is renowned for his ability to infuse teams with cutting-edge strategy, thought leadership, and operational excellence.
Higgins’ areas of direct expertise include financial regulation, new product development and the foreign exchange market. Throughout his career, he has held a number of positions at organisations including Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon and Access Systems UK Ltd. Most recently, Higgins was International and Complex Payments Lead at NatWest Ltd, where he was responsible for all technology applications and processes.
At Open Money, Higgins will be responsible for software and tech engineering, product development and delivery. He will be tasked with looking at the overall operational business model at various levels, working out the best way to draw upon existing resources, and highlight focus areas of investment in this new period of growth.
His arrival will also enable Morrow to get out into the field and be the face of Open Money, while day-to-day team operations are effectively managed.
On the appointments, Open Money founder and CEO, Anthony Morrow, said: “We’ve been on an exciting journey over the past couple of years, and these new appointments are testament to our ambitions moving forward as a business.
“Both Michael and James bring an extensive wealth of relevant knowledge and expertise in the sector, and they also understand Open Money’s vision and what we are trying to achieve. This will help us massively as we continue to grow further and plug the advice gap, making financial advice accessible for all.”
