Atom Bank expands technology team to accelerate new product launches

Atom Bank has announced several key appointments in its technology senior leadership team, with a series of strategic changes and promotions designed to accelerate product launches and enhance delivery capabilities. 

The new structure sees nine internal promotions. A key focus of the reorganisation is on delivery and capability as Atom expands its savings franchise. Three new leadership roles have been established and are directly accountable for product delivery as Atom looks to launch a host of new savings products.

Ges Richmond has been appointed head of lending delivery, having been at Atom for five years.

A new head of savings delivery role has been filled by Orla Codyre, who has been with Atom for two years, and a new head of platform and enterprise delivery role has been filled by Kath Langlands after two years with the bank.

Complementing these roles are three senior technology positions, responsible for ensuring teams are as efficient as possible, hiring the best talent and looking at innovative ways to improve standards across the department.

Rob Smith has been appointed head of engineering having spent four years at Atom. Rob Butcher has been appointed head of architecture after three years as an enterprise architect and Faizah Rafique has been appointed head of business analysis, having been with the business for six years.

James Kerruish has been appointed CISO and head of service. Providing critical support, the InfoSec and service teams span across all disciplines and delivery roles. James, who has been with the bank over eight years, will lead this function, responsible for cyber security, safe change implementation, incident management, and the service desk which is the central hub for technical support.
 
A new chief of staff role has been created, with Leanne Judge appointed to the position. Having been with the bank for 10 years, she will focus on improving the effectiveness and alignment of the entire technology organisation, overseeing the delivery coaching team.
 
Finally, Dr Russell Collingham and his newly formed AI and data science team will continue their focus on developing and deploying AI across the bank, leveraging its potential to improve decision making, speed up analysis and provide direct support to customers. Russell has been at Atom over three years and moves from the role of lead enterprise architect. He previously spent 11 years at the University of Durham where he gained a BSc in Computer Science and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence before moving into research and lecturing.
 
Andy Sturrock, chief technology officer at Atom, commented: “I'm delighted to have such a strong and capable leadership team in place. Their collective expertise will be vital as we continue to increase our velocity and invest in our technology stack to better support the business. I'm confident that with this new structure, we are in a fantastic position to achieve our ambitious goals.
 
"Our mission at Atom Bank has always been to build a bank that can challenge the status quo, and a huge part of that is nurturing the incredible talent we have within our teams. It's incredibly rewarding to see so many experienced colleagues, who have been with us for many years, grow and step into new leadership roles through internal promotions. This commitment to developing our people from within is fundamental to our strategy, ensuring we attract the brightest and best young talent, particularly as we move to our new HQ in Newcastle. We believe in providing a clear path for development, allowing our people to build long-term careers and truly shape the future of banking with us."