Privacy entrepreneurs Mark and Caroline Carver have joined fast-growing specialist consulting business, Mosaic Financial Services Infrastructure.
The Carvers will provide privacy consulting and training services to Mosaic clients as demand for personal data security rises in the increasingly digitised financial sector.
According to a Mosaic release, recent legal initiatives both in NZ and globally along with a string of high-profile data breaches have brought privacy issues front-and-centre for financial services firms, especially as they transition to digital-focused operations.
Mosaic founding partner, Myles Allan, said in the statement that the pair “bring world class intellectual property knowledge and significant experience” in implementing ‘privacy by design’ principles – or the concept of including data protection in core technology systems.
“Their approach complements Mosaic’s existing capability and delivery approach which focuses on designing, integrating and embedding optimised business processes and technologies into their client’s organisation and culture,” Allan said. “We are seeing increasing demand from our clients in this space as they seek to both meet their regulatory obligation and provide a platform for greater digitisation including responses to Open Banking.”
Prior to joining Mosaic, the Carvers founded the Wellington-based privacy consulting firm, TwoBlackLabs, which was sold to technology business, The Instillery, last year.
The latest Mosaic hires follow a string of senior appointments at the Auckland-headquartered firm including former Guardian Trust chief, Mark Jephson, who joined as partner this January, and Jigs Jamnadas, named as inaugural chief operating officer in October last year.
Mosaic, which has doubled staff numbers over the last couple of years to reach more than 70, is also recruiting for a senior business analyst.
Allan said the business growth underscored the value of independent advice from experienced industry experts able to deliver practical solutions for a growing number of NZ financial services firms.
In another cyber-security related appointment, Trustees Executors (TE) has appointed Akash Mittal, as chief information officer.
A spokesperson for the firm said Mittal’s new position follows a “title change to an existing role which recognises the importance and investment TE is placing on digital transformation and cyber security”.
Prior to joining TE, he was most recently general manager technology and security for Australian firm, Equity Trustees.
TE chief, Ryan Bessemer – also a former Equity Trustees executive – said Mittal had spent 15 years in IT operations and digital transformation roles.
“He will be an asset for Trustees Executors as we focus on being a digital first business to serve our customers better,” Bessemer said in the statement.
Upgrading the tech role to chief information officer status would “assist with our ability to monitor, detect, and respond to increasingly sophisticated threats in a 24/7 environment”, he said.
“It will also ensure we are making continuous improvements to our cyber defence and response capabilities.”
TE also hired former HR executive at the Financial Markets Authority, Cameron Stewart, as general manager people and culture in March this year.
Meanwhile, Kiwi Wealth has confirmed Steffan Berridge as chief investment officer (CIO) – a role he assumed in an acting capacity last December following the exit of incumbent, Susan Easton.
A long-time senior investment executive at Kiwi Wealth and predecessor firm, Gareth Morgan Investments, Easton was appointed as interim CIO earlier in 2021 to replace Simon O’Grady.
An eight-year Kiwi Wealth veteran, Berridge was most recently head of quantitative strategy at the almost $9 billion investment firm, part of the government-owned Kiwi Group Holdings (KGH) entity, which also includes Kiwibank.
Kiwi Wealth also hired Holly Marshall in the newly created role of responsible investment strategist late in 2021.
In March this year, KGH confirmed it was “assessing possible options for the sale of Kiwi Wealth”.
Berridge said in a release he would “continue building our investment programme and fund range to provide great outcomes for customers”.
“I’m excited to be taking on this role working with an amazing team focused on actively and sustainably building wealth for our Kiwi investors,” he said.
Recently reappointed as a default provider, Kiwi Wealth has about $6.5 billion under management in its KiwiSaver scheme with the remainder in the group’s private wealth portfolio and retail funds.