His appointment follows a year of sustained growth for GFT within the UK financial services marketplace and the forging of highly strategic business partnerships across new industry sectors. These include manufacturing, retail, and the automotive industries, where the company provides innovative cloud solutions, technology modernisation projects, data-powered AI programmes and more.

Carlton joins GFT from IBM Global Business Services, where he was the Partner for Banking, running strategic programmes encompassing IT strategy, digital delivery and IT resilience, to name a few. Prior to this, he was IBM's market development head for the UK financial services team and the European & UK blockchain lead. Carlton brings over 30 years of banking, technology and consulting experience, having worked at Accenture, Barclays and Ernst & Young. Alongside his love of guitar playing, Carlton has an established reputation for energy, enthusiasm, and an outstanding commitment to building high performing teams and delivering innovation and positive change to a client's business.

Carlton Hopper, UK Managing Director, commented: "GFT is an exceptional, high growth business with an impressive cross-industry client list. The firm is home to some of the industry's most talented people, underpinned by an award-winning service delivery capability, providing a rare combination of engineering skills core to all digital transformation programmes, and subject matter expertise. As client demand for our services grows apace and inspired by the successful transition to remote working during the pandemic, one of my first projects is to launch a regional network of GFT capability. Watch this space; there is more to share."

Christopher Ortiz, Group Chief Executive, Global Markets and Region Manager APAC & UK concluded: "We are delighted to welcome Carlton into the GFT family. I believe his knowledge and extensive experience of clients' needs are invaluable assets, not only for the UK business but also for the wider GFT group. I am looking forward to working closely with him and his team to deliver modern, business-critical solutions which support the evolving needs of our new and existing clients, across multiple industry sectors both now and into the future."