The new unit will accelerate Zafin’s momentum in the market as financial institutions continue to transform their businesses and modernize their customer journeys.

The company has experienced a period of strong growth as financial institutions embark on core modernization programs at an unprecedented pace, with Zafin’s product and pricing platform being central to accelerating and de-risking these programs.

“The pace for digital transformation in the banking industry needs to break barriers. So, financial institutions can keep up with customer expectations, counter competitive threats and improve cost structures,” said Al Karim Somji, Founder and Group CEO of Zafin. “We are committed to investing in growing our team and SaaS platform to enable Transformation and Modernization at pace.”

Zafin has added three new executives to lead the Transformation & Modernization group; all joining the company after successful tenures at IBM.

• Charbel Safadi has been named President of the Transformation & Modernization group; he comes to Zafin after a senior leadership position with IBM Consulting in Canada.
• Shahir Daya will serve as Chief Technology Officer for the Transformation & Modernization group; he joins Zafin after 27 years at IBM, most recently as IBM Distinguished Engineer and Chief Architect for IBM Consulting in Canada.
• Simon Kalechstein will serve as Senior Vice President for the Transformation & Modernization group; he most recently served as a Senior Partner at IBM Consulting in Canada.

“Our Transformation & Modernization group leadership team has a strong track record of success in building new business models, digital transformation, and enabling platform modernization leveraging AI and cloud native technologies,” said Al Karim Somji, Founder and Group CEO of Zafin. “They are uniquely positioned to usher in a new era of transformation for both our current and future clients.”