TECH
PICTURE : STUART BOULTON WORDS : DAVE ROBSON
Face of the future – The Verve Group ’ s ambitious CTO Peter Calvert wants to build on the firm ’ s quality of services using tech .
The Verve Group ’ s first CTO is bringing tech to the fore in finance
TECH TRAILBLAZER
He ’ s the man on a mission to bring financial services and tech together .
And according to Peter Calvert – The Verve Group ’ s first chief technology officer – it ’ s a journey that ’ s making rapid progress .
Darlington-based company The Verve Group – which delivers outsourced support to financial advisers and planners – is on a mission to “ change the face of finance ”.
And especially since the pandemic , when people had to use technology whether they wanted to or not , it ’ s become obvious that the way forward is to harness the opportunities tech brings . Not that Peter needed convincing . Since starting his career , aged 16 , with an apprenticeship , he ’ s embraced every tech development in the digital media world .
And now he ’ s confident The Verve Group can get the tech message across to the financial sector .
Peter , 26 , explained : “ Throughout the pandemic , everyone was forced to use tech . Many financial advisers , in particular , were dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age , but most have seen , or are starting to see , the benefits tech can bring – the extra efficiency , being able to work with more clients and being able to deliver a better quality of service .
“ At The Verve Group , we want to build on that – technology isn ’ t something to fight against . There ’ s a belief technology replaces people , but we ’ re working to show technology supplements people .”
Nine months into his new role , Eston born-and-bred Peter says it ’ s an exciting time in The Verve Group ’ s development , as it transitions from being a service-led business with tech , to establishing itself as a tech-first FinTech company .
He said : “ Our mission since day one has been to change the face of finance – both the public perception of it , and within . We want to make finance more accessible to people who may not know what they need , or not realise the services involved with it .”
Asked what prompted him to join The Verve Group ’ s tech revolution , Peter said : “ I was always interested in the technology that ’ s out there – people using apps to check their credit score , more and more banks going solely online , that sort of thing .
“ And having spoken to Cathi ( The Verve Group ’ s CEO and founder ) about their mission to change the financial experience for advisers , and subsequently their clients , it was an opportunity I jumped at .” The Verve Group ’ s 70-strong team all subscribe to the tech ethos . Once a team of eight people a little over five years ago , their growth is largely down to the success of their ” grow your own ” approach . There ’ s an ongoing recruitment drive , with 14 software developer roles currently available as a tech team of 20 is compiled .
Peter explained : “ We have three years of development work planned out already – it ’ s now about building the team with the right people to join us on the mission .”
Winners of the Tees Tech Awards Tech for Good category , The Verve Group recently held its first “ Ctrl . Alt . Meet ” event , where tech and finance professionals met at its 12,500-sq ft Darlington office to talk about the benefits technology can bring . A larger event is now due in September and they hope to build a FinTech network hub in the North-East .
And as for the future ? Peter said : “ The younger generation , who are very tech enabled , are going to be looking for financial advisers who are strong with tech .
“ You can check your bank and invest online , so it makes sense that you can speak to an adviser who ’ s up to speed with the benefits tech can bring to their business .
“ We ’ re all about changing the industry from within in terms of advisers not being receptive to technology .
“ The old cliché of a middle-aged man in a suit who ’ s set in his ways is something we ’ re very much out to change .”
For more about The Verve Group , visit weareverve . co . uk
36 | Tees Business