Mark Ashman

As a seasoned Technology leader, I can offer a deep expertise in managing complex IT ecosystems within Financial Services and Critical National Infrastructure. I bring a unique blend of entrepreneurial innovation and rigorous governance, having delivered robust, scalable platforms that manage £billions in assets.

In my last role as CIO/CEO of Bluestone Financial Group and Fignum, I provided strategic technology leadership to the Executive Board for our Motor Finance and Mortgage platforms. I managed an international team of 50 people accountable for all aspects of technology, including architecture design, Development, Project Management, Infrastructure, Service, Audit, Risk, cybersecurity compliance, and more. As part of my drive for service excellence, I gained accreditation for Cyber Essentials+ and ISO 27001.

I am a hands-on, energetic leader focused on daily team interaction where I lead by example using my

experience and drive to shape the team culture positivity to attain business goals by dedication, mentoring and trust. I am proactive at collaboration and communication with regular team all-hands meetings, weekly news updates to staff and 1-1s to review progress against the business’s goals.

In my recent roles at Fignum and the Bank of England, I was fully accountable for all IT governance and the financial oversight of budgets up to £20M. I am a strong advocate for granular cost management, as I believe deep financial visibility is essential for delivering high-quality IT services and driving operational excellence.

I treat supplier governance as a core component of operational resilience. By implementing a formal framework of monthly performance audits and quarterly strategic reviews, I ensure that our third-party ecosystem delivers maximum commercial value and remains strictly aligned with our SLAs and financial objectives. This disciplined approach transforms vendors into high-performing strategic partners.

I have managed many projects and programs using both PRINCE2 and Agile frameworks for delivery and ITIL for IT service governance and change control. I have consistently delivered complex technology programs that meet the business demands. A recent example of a successful transformation project was;

The Bluestone Financial Group Cloud (AWS/Azure cloud) transformation project, which was my strategy and design that was successfully pitched to the board to enable the reduction of running costs by 35%, increase the overall resilience, improve operational availability and the ability to scale with the business in almost real time. The project to migrate to the cloud was completed within 12 months realising all the project goals.

I took a career break to lead my family through a period of significant health challenges involving the sudden terminal illnesses of two parents. This 16-month period of dedicated care support has now concluded and I am fully ready to resume my professional career in a senior technology leadership capacity. Throughout this time, I maintained my strategic focus by founding a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children with Pompe’s disease.

I believe my expertise and highly successful career in designing, managing and selling complex  IT services allow me to bring relevant, yet varied experience to this position. This exposure, partnered with my leadership style, technical skills, excellent communication abilities and huge passion for technology make me a strong candidate for selection and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss further in detail.