Harknett brings with him 20 years experience of solution architecture, design and implementation of Business change and STP solutions to the wholesale banking and securities IT market. He joins SmartStream having spent the last five years managing solution delivery for a number of leading City institutions, prior to which he managed operations in the US and UK for Braid and Mercator.

Commenting on Harknett's recent appointment, Steve Moss, UK Regional Director, SmartStream stated, "Our business has transformed: whilst retaining leadership of the Reconciliations market in the last 18 months we have delivered an enormously broad portfolio of real time STP solutions that span the middle and back office, addressing areas of operational risk and cost reduction. Successful delivery of these solutions starts with having a deeply knowledgeable and talented Pre-Sales operation that can truly engage with our clients. Paul's extensive client side experience and deep industry domain skills perfectly position him to lead this function of our business."

Harknett will lead the UK PreSales function, consulting with clients seeking to automate and control processes as diverse as corporate actions, cash management, reconciliations, compliance and trade process management. Commenting on his new position Harknett said, "SmartStream's UK business has gone from strength to strength successfully securing an impressive client list. The breadth of product and the scope of implementation that the firm now engages in make this a fantastic opportunity. No other company has the focus on STP that promises to facilitate an end to end lifecycle approach to the operational challenges facing financial institutions."