The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications has appointed Johan Kestens as head of new business development and member of the executive committee. He will also be lead executive for the Swift board's 'e' committee.
Kestens is charged with pursuing new business opportunities in the e-commerce space. He will initially focus on Swift's e-paymentsPlus service and TrustAct messaging, as well as its venture relationships with bolero.net and Identrus.
Kestens joins the interbank messaging network from Almanij, one of Belgium's largest financial holdings companies, where he was responsible for strategy and development. Prior to that he was a partner at management consultancy McKinsey & Company, where he co-founded their European electronic payments practice.
Leonard Schrank, Swift CEO, says: "Our e-activities need full time executive focus. Johan is a seasoned executive and will be a welcome addition to our Swift team. At the same time Johan will also work closely with our other 'core' executives to ensure the needs of our payments and securities markets are well understood and met."