GFT Appoints NTT DATA’s Banking Chief as its New UK CEO

Digital transformation consultancy GFT Technologies has appointed Andrew Nelson, formerly Banking and Financial Markets Chief at NTT DATA, as its new UK CEO.

With a 25-year career in the technology sector, Andrew joins GFT at a pivotal moment for financial services, as tier-1 banks contend with intensifying compliance requirements, evolving regulatory landscapes and growing pressure to scale Gen AI capabilities.

In his new role, Andrew aims to leverage GFT’s deep engineering expertise to mitigate risk across complex IT infrastructure modernisation programmes.

His appointment coincides with GFT being recognised as a Leader in cloud-native core banking transformation by the IDC MarketScape.

Unlocking legacy data to move AI past the PoC stage 

Andrew’s move from NTT DATA marks a notable strategic hire for GFT.

In his previous position, he oversaw complex, multi-year digital transformation programmes for some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

His experience across both NTT DATA and CGI is grounded in large-scale, heavy-duty IT transformation, particularly the migration of fragile, mainframe-reliant systems into modern, decoupled cloud environments.

This capability addresses a persistent industry bottleneck, where many financial institutions remain stuck at the proof-of-concept stage for AI due to legacy data pipelines locked in siloes.

Andrew’s track record indicates GFT is likely to prioritise strengthening clients’ underlying data architecture, ensuring enterprise AI initiatives are built on robust, scalable foundations rather than superficial overlays.

The key technical priorities for GFT customers

For CTOs, CIOs and enterprise architects working with GFT, Andrew’s appointment signals three clear priorities shaping the firm’s delivery model:

• Production-grade gen AI engineering: Shifting beyond isolated chatbot deployments toward fully embedded, agentic workflows, with gen AI integrated directly into core middle-office and backend systems while upholding strict data governance standards

• Decoupling the monolith securely: Drawing on Andrew’s experience with legacy banking infrastructure to modernise core platforms without disrupting business continuity or undermining resilience requirements

• Regulated multi-cloud acceleration: Developing cloud-native architectures aligned to rigorous UK regulatory expectations, including the FCA’s operational resilience framework and evolving European standards under DORA.

Striking the technical balance of innovation vs. operational risk

The central challenge facing modern B2B technology deployment in banking is driving innovation without creating systemic risk.

Andrew is direct about this tension: “Financial services in the UK are under pressure to adopt AI,” he says.

"Without it, they’ll struggle to remain globally competitive. The challenge lies in ensuring resilience, security and regulatory compliance while transforming their business. 

“GFT is well-recognised for combining deep-sector expertise with strong engineering and platform capabilities. I am looking forward to leading the UK team as we strike the right balance between innovation and risk."

GFT’s Global CEO Marco Santos highlights that Andrew’s engineering depth is precisely what enterprise clients require to move beyond theoretical adoption.

“His understanding of the challenges facing banks today, coupled with his track record of delivering large-scale transformation, makes him uniquely positioned to help our clients unlock the full potential of AI and modern engineering,” he says.

By appointing a senior leader from NTT DATA to head its UK business, GFT is signalling a clear intent to double down on engineering execution alongside strategic advisory.

For enterprise IT leaders, this translates into a sharper focus on resilient data architectures, cloud-native transformation, and ensuring AI strategies can scale securely within highly regulated environments.