Engine by Starling, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) arm of Starling Bank, has appointed Jody Bhagat to lead its expansion into North America.

The company said it sees “significant” market opportunities in the region, which has over 4,000 mid-tier banks and credit unions.

Bhagat joins Engine by Starling from Personetics Technologies, a FinTech which uses AI to analyse customer transactions, where he was president of global banking.

Prior to this Bhagat was a partner at McKinsey & Company where he implemented digital transformation programmes. He has also held senior roles at Citizens Bank and Wells Fargo.

In his new role, Bhagat will build a team and work alongside company partners to expand Engine by Starling’s value proposition for financial institutions in North America.

As part of its plan to invest over $50 million in its North American footprint, Engine by Starling said it will operate from a regional headquarters in New York which will be staffed by a mix of local hires and secondees from the firm’s UK-based team of product specialists. They will be complemented by a Canadian team based in Toronto.

"Our ambition is clear: we want to become a significant partner to ambitious and customer-focused banks in the US and Canada, supporting them in replacing legacy technology constraints with revolutionary banking systems designed to enable rich, personalisable digital-first banking experiences for both customers and staff,” said Sam Everington, chief executive officer at Engine by Starling. “To bring this vision to life, we need a top-class dedicated team for North America, and in Jody Bhagat we’re confident we’ve found the leader to make that happen.”

Earlier this month, Engine by Starling also opened regional offices in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, selecting Dubai in the UAE and Sydney in Australia.

The company said these will act as further bases for the business to grow and work with clients and partners internationally.

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