London, 28 May 2019: Kensington Mortgages (“Kensington”) has hired experienced technology expert Mark Foulsham as its new Chief Operating Officer. Mark will join the company on 3 June 2019.
Mark has more than 30 years’ experience in driving digital innovation and transformative change – having worked with fintech start-ups and as Group Chief Information Officer of esure, the personal lines insurance business. In previous roles, Mark has had responsibility for functions ranging from customer services to financial crime prevention. He has led technology projects to create new products and drive sales, as well as business transformation programmes to increase productivity and efficiency.
Mark served as Group CIO of esure until 2016, having joined the business in 2004 as Head of IT. He led an extensive set of teams from Operations, Customer Services and IT as well as multiple digital transformation projects, including an overhaul of the company’s legacy systems and processes, its claims platform and pioneered the use of mobile technology within the industry.
Since 2016 his start-up keyenable.com has advised multiple digital disruptors, and more traditional businesses, on issues ranging from data strategies, cyber-security to tech transformation.
He has also served as CEO of Surrey Innovations, the commercial wing for the Centre for Digital Enterprise at the University of Surrey – leading projects for clients including EDF, Ford, Prudential and Wincanton.
In addition, he led a digital transformation programme for Scope, the pan-disability social enterprise, currently a finalist for the prestigious Digital Leader’s Digital Charity of the Year. Mark started his career as IT manager at Atkins Consultants, before moving to South East Water, SAUR UK, Macquarie Bank and acting as a Non-Executive Director for Cobweb, one of Europe’s largest cloud hosting businesses.
Commenting on the appointment Mark Arnold, chief executive of Kensington Mortgages said:
“Our industry is changing at a rapid pace, with technology changing the way that consumers think about every aspect of their finances. Our approach is to marry the power of big data, with the common sense of a human underwriter to offer mortgages to those who don’t tick the right boxes at the big banks. Mark is the perfect hire to allow us to take our digital innovation to the next level.”
Mark Foulsham commented:
“Kensington is a true digital innovator, demonstrating what you can do when you combine exceptional data insight and the best technology with a deep understanding of traditional lending. I have been incredibly impressed by the Kensington team, the open culture of the company and the focus on customer needs. There are huge opportunities for us as we look ahead to what will be a period of further digital disruption in the way that both customers and brokers interact with lenders.”