EY launches South West Innovation Hub as part of regional FinTech investment

By Nicky Godding

5 January 2023

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EY is to establish a new Business Research Innovation Technology and Engineering (BRiTE) Hub in Bristol, as it looks to ramp up capabilities in financial services design, data analytics and engineering to create practical and tangible solutions to some of the big challenges facing businesses.

The hub, led by directors Dan Harris, Oana Beattie and Liam Snelling, will work with FinTech companies based in the South West, the University of Bristol and Fintech West to help serve clients locally, across the UK and internationally.

Dan Harris is a UK Director in EY’s research and design consultancy, EY Seren, having joined the firm in August 2022. Prior to this role, Dan was the UK Financial Services Lead at Accenture, and was the Principal Director at Fjord.

Oana Beattie is a Data and Analytics Director at EY. Over the past 20 years, she has worked with some of the biggest Financial Services brands in the UK Insurance and Banking sectors, driving business value acceleration through data and innovation.

Liam Snelling is a Digital Engineering and Emerging Tech Director at EY, with a career spanning 20 years, focused on cost and carbon-efficient digital transformation.

Anita Kimber, Partner and FinTech Strategy Leader at EY, said: “The launch of the BRiTE Hub is the latest in a series of investments that EY has made in the FinTech sector in response to growing market demand. The hub will bring new, innovative thinking and experience to the region, with a focus on user-centred design that helps to tackle real life business problems. We have a strong leadership team in Dan, Oana and Liam, and I look forward to welcoming additional team members over the coming months.”

Andy Blackmore, Head of Financial Services at EY in the South West and Wales, added: “Bristol has built a name for itself as the UK’s ‘home of science, media and innovation’, and has both a wealth of locally-grown talent and the power to attract new skilled workers to the region. This new hub will bring together actuarial and finance SMEs to develop and innovate within financial services data analytics, design and engineering.”

Tom Ellson, Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of Bristol, said: “Bristol and the south west region is widely recognised for its creative and innovative culture. This has led to high profile international investment in a number of sectors from cybersecurity and technology through to financial services and engineering. The BRiTE Hub’s arrival in Bristol will form part of a fast-moving ecosystem.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.