Finastra Strengthens AI Capabilities with New Center of Excellence and Leadership Appointment
Chris McClellen
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Finastra, a global leader in financial services software, today announced the establishment of a centralized Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence (COE) and the appointment of Chris McClellen as Senior Vice President, Group Head of AI, reporting to Chief Technology Officer Mike Stawchansky. This strategic move is designed to coordinate, scale, and accelerate Finastra’s AI initiatives across engineering, product development, and customer-facing operations.
The AI Center of Excellence will bring together expertise from across Finastra to share best practices, drive innovation, and ensure a cohesive approach to AI adoption across the company. By leveraging resources from engineering, product, and other teams, the COE aims to strengthen AI capabilities, foster collaboration, and accelerate the development of scalable solutions that support financial institutions worldwide.
“Finastra already has a tremendous amount of AI talent and innovation,” said Chris Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Finastra. “Establishing the AI Center of Excellence allows us to bring that expertise together while continuing to grow it. We’re expanding our teams and hiring in key technology hubs including Atlanta and India. AI has the potential to deliver significant value to our customers, and this structure helps us move faster and scale the work already underway across the company.”
Chris McClellen brings extensive experience leading AI strategy and large-scale technology platforms across complex, regulated organizations. His background in enterprise software and data platforms equips him to translate emerging AI technologies into practical, scalable solutions.
“AI presents an important opportunity for the financial services industry, and Finastra has already built a strong foundation of work across the company,” said McClellen. “I’m excited to help bring these efforts together, build on that progress, and support the continued development of AI capabilities across the organization.”
About Finastra
Finastra is a global leader in financial services software, trusted by over 7,000 customers—including 40 of the world’s top 50 banks—in more than 110 countries. With expertise in Lending, Payments, and Universal Banking, Finastra delivers reliable, scalable, mission-critical solutions such as Loan IQ, LaserPro, Trade Innovation, Essence, Global PAYplus, Payments To Go, and Financial Messaging. Backed by Vista Equity Partners, Finastra co-innovates with customers to build modern technology that helps financial institutions grow with confidence.
Finastra, a global leader in financial services software, today announced the establishment of a centralized Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence (COE) and the appointment of Chris McClellen as Senior Vice President, Group Head of AI, reporting to Chief Technology Officer Mike Stawchansky. This strategic move is designed to coordinate, scale, and accelerate Finastra’s AI initiatives across engineering, product development, and customer-facing operations.
The AI Center of Excellence will bring together expertise from across Finastra to share best practices, drive innovation, and ensure a cohesive approach to AI adoption across the company. By leveraging resources from engineering, product, and other teams, the COE aims to strengthen AI capabilities, foster collaboration, and accelerate the development of scalable solutions that support financial institutions worldwide.
“Finastra already has a tremendous amount of AI talent and innovation,” said Chris Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Finastra. “Establishing the AI Center of Excellence allows us to bring that expertise together while continuing to grow it. We’re expanding our teams and hiring in key technology hubs including Atlanta and India. AI has the potential to deliver significant value to our customers, and this structure helps us move faster and scale the work already underway across the company.”
