Founder & Visionary Richard Steggall to Maintain Oversight as Executive Chairman; Appoints Financial Services Captain of Industry and Former Chairman Cliff Mason to CEO; Bolsters C-Suite and Bench with Key Strategic Hires
Urban FT Group, Inc., developer of the world’s first FinTech Core powering the Banking and Payments industry, announced a strategic realignment of its top executives to support the company at a time of accelerated growth. The changes include the elevation of founder and CEO Richard Steggall to Executive Chairman. Steggall will continue to set the corporate vision, working alongside senior management to take advantage of new and expanding market opportunities. Steggall has also appointed financial services captain of industry and current Urban FT Executive Chairman Cliff Mason to CEO, who will bring a more operationalized approach to the company’s growth objectives.
“Today, we’re surpassing that vision by bringing the world’s first unified FinTech infrastructure to more than 500 financial institutions and their clients, keeping them on the forefront of innovation.”
“This is a transformational moment in our history. We set out nearly a decade ago with a mission to level the playing field for underserved financial institutions and position them to win,” said Urban FT Chairman Richard Steggall. “Today, we’re surpassing that vision by bringing the world’s first unified FinTech infrastructure to more than 500 financial institutions and their clients, keeping them on the forefront of innovation.”
Steggall continued, “As we enter a new phase in our company’s growth, we are expanding our leadership bench in a way that best positions us to scale operations to meet client demand now and over the long-term. I’m honored that my long-time strategic partner and industry legend, Cliff Mason, has agreed to take the helm as CEO. Cliff has played a critical role in our success, and I have every confidence that he is the right person to lead as we work to reimagine the future of banking and payments.”
Cliff Mason brings to Urban FT and its customers the skills, vision, and disciplined approach to take an already robust pipeline to scale. His history of transforming organizational structures that do not fit the mold, but fit the vision, directly reflects his experience building top-performing teams and forging partnerships focused on optimal efficiency, value, and profitability across payment and digital banking industries.
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Mason was President of TASC, the largest independently owned third-party administrator of healthcare payments in the U.S., where he doubled revenue and profitability and revolutionized health benefits processing with the development of the TASC App, the fastest-growing prepaid application in the industry. Mason also held various executive leadership roles at world-class payments technology firms, including TSYS and TXvia, where he drove substantial revenue growth leading up to the company’s sale to Google. Mason is a recognized leader industry-wide and is a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Synovus Financial Leadership Award, Executive of the Year by In Business Madison, Executive of the Year from One Planet Best in Business and Professional Excellence Awards, and Executive of the Year (Medium Companies) from Best in Biz Awards.
“I feel privileged to be part of such a pivotal moment in Urban FT’s evolution, and what has arguably become the most exciting and dynamic global FinTech market we’ve experienced,” said Cliff Mason, CEO at Urban FT. “I am truly honored by the confidence that Richard and the rest of the senior leadership have placed in me to help accelerate this tremendous momentum. I’m especially looking forward to working closely with Management and the Board to capitalize on the strength of our pipeline and technology to benefit our clients and their customers in ways never before imaginable.”
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The company also announced that as part of its strategic growth plan, it has significantly bolstered its bench of talent with the addition of strategic hires across the business, including: former Mastercard executive and Chief Operating Officer of Lending Club, Chief Revenue Officer, John Donovan; SVP of Channel Partnerships and Growth, Adam Pearl; VP of Strategic Client Group, Jacob Ocken; as well as several additional client success and growth expertise to round out their growth-focused team. In addition to key talent acquisition, Urban FT’s growth was once again recognized by Inc. Magazine, as the company secured a spot on the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America (#1,231) for the second consecutive year.
Commenting on the company’s leadership changes, FinTech industry oracle and partner at Oak HC/FT, Anil Aggarwal, said, “Urban FT has always been ahead of the curve in arming financial institutions with the bleeding edge tech they need to compete. Cliff Mason is a close friend, and his track record as an industry disruptor speaks for itself. Combined with visionary powerhouse Richard Steggall, Urban FT is a force to be reckoned with.”
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