Hampleton Partners appoints Mike Woods to spearhead FinTech deals
Senior digital payments expert Mike Woods has joined consultancy Hampleton Partners to lead the firm’s FinTech offering. He joins having spent more than three decades in the British financial sector, as well as multiple roles specialising in Fintech M&A.
Fintechs across various industries are exploring ways in which to pickoff high value segments incumbents, with blockchain projects being increasingly well-funded. The threat and opportunities, created by disruptive FinTech firms has not been lost on market incumbents – with a whole host of actors, from consultancy firms to accelerators seeking to get in on the action. As a result, across Europe, deal activity involving FinTechs remains high, despite worries surrounding the geopolitical status of the continent. In terms of total invested value, the European FinTech scene saw around $4.7 billion last year.
As this trend continues into 2018, consultancies have been working to strengthen their offerings regarding M&A in the FinTech arena, as they prepare to advise clients on their targeted acquisition campaigns. This has most recently seen international technology M&A advisory firm Hampleton Partners strengthen its team with the appointment of digital payments and finance entrepreneur Mike Woods. As the firm’s new Fintech sector Principal, Woods will work to increase Hampleton’s expertise and exposure in one of the most active and highly-valued areas of the market.
Formed in 2013, Hampleton Partners has matured as a firm alongside the booming FinTech scene, positioning the group at the forefront of international M&A advisory for companies with technology at their core. The firm’s advisors have built, bought and sold over 100 fast-growing tech businesses, while providing international advice to tech entrepreneurs and the companies looking to accelerate growth and maximise value. The company now boasts offices in London, Frankfurt and San Francisco, offering a global perspective for sectors including Automotive Tech, IoT, AI, FinTech, High-Tech Industrials, Cybersecurity, VR/AR, and HealthTech, among others.
Woods arrives at Hampleton from his most recent role as CEO of digital payments company Proxama. He departs following the firm’s merger with Aconite, the software company Woods founded and built into a global payments software solutions business. Woods’ role with Aconite exposed him to all aspects of a software and services company – strategy and planning, marketing, product development and international expansion into the USA and Europe – positioning him well to assist Hampleton moving forward.
His early corporate career also included seven years with the Royal Bank of Scotland – where one of his achievements was the formation of a cross-bank business initiative for e-commerce digital transformation – and a decade long stay with Marks & Spencer, where he was responsible for the European Retail Point of Sale rollout to 350 stores. He also recently co-founded a RegTech firm, Konsentus, at the turn of the year – the company, of which he is CEO, will work with financial institutions to ensure compliance with rapidly shifting EU laws – and became Fintech M&A Senior Advisor and Non-Executive Director with AND Payments – a role which he will continue to fulfil.
Commenting on his appointment, Miro Parizek, founder and Principal Partner at Hampleton said, “The fast and furious pace of Fintech innovation makes it essential to have a highly-experienced and entrepreneurial sector leader in place, who also works successfully with the corporate giants of the financial world. Mike is that leader and I’m thrilled to make him part of the Hampleton team as we expand our international deal-making capabilities in Fintech.”
Woods meanwhile said of his new role as Sector Principal in FinTech, “Having known Miro for more than 15 years and admired what he’s achieved in a short time at Hampleton, I’m excited to be joining this team of hands-on entrepreneurs… There is no more compelling, and potentially profitable, area than Fintech right now. The convergence of digital transformation, open banking and changing customer-demands are driving mega-valuations.”
