Callcredit strengthens senior team as it gears up for further growth

Callcredit Information Group, one of the leading credit reference agencies and consumer data management specialists, is targeting further UK and international growth with the appointment of three new global market development leaders.

Following more than a decade of uninterrupted growth and a number of strategic acquisitions, Callcredit is making structural changes in support of this and evolving client needs. Three senior appointments have been made to head up new geographic teams:

• Eamonn Tierney, the Group’s current Managing Director, Credit Solutions, will move to head up a consolidated UK business development team.
  
  
• A new head of North America, Jim Hannon, has been appointed. Jim brings with him significant industry experience and is a former Vice President of Business Operations for FICO, as well as a former Vice President for Avaya, the leading global provider of next-generation business collaboration and communications solutions.
  
  
• Rick Biggs, the Group’s current Managing Director, Software, Analytics & Fraud, will become the head for the Group’s International Markets.

Supporting these regions, and recognising the fact clients increasingly benefit from broader relationships, where they buy a collection of data products, analysis and technology solutions, specialist sales and delivery resources will be housed in three ‘line of business’ teams:

• A new Credit and Marketing Data line of business will be created, this will house the Group’s current Credit Solutions and Marketing Solutions divisions and will be headed up by Steve McNicholas (current Managing Director for Marketing Solutions);
  
  
• The Software, Analytics & Fraud line of business will be led by a new external hire, Stephen Burnside. Stephen is an ideal fit for the role having previously held senior positions in both financial services and data and analytics businesses. He is a former Director of Ikano Bank AB in Europe (the finance arm of IKEA), as well as a past CEO of its financial services business (he led it through its transition to a bank). Earlier in his career he also held the role of European Managing Director of Experian Decision Analytics, having also served as President of its North American business;
  
  
• The Group’s Consumer Markets line of business, which includes Noddle, the UK’s first free-for-life credit reporting and scoring service, will continue to be headed up by its current Managing Director, Jacqueline Dewey.

Chris Green, Chief Commercial Officer, Callcredit Information Group, commented: “These appointments mean we have an outstanding and very experienced senior team in place that will be able to lead us through our next phase of growth.

“Successfully delivering on our strategy, we have gone from a relatively narrow-focused UK-only business to one that now operates in an increasingly diverse set of sectors and geographies. Although data will always remain at the heart of our business, it is the analysis and interpretation of this data that is increasingly important to our clients. As a Group, we have made a number of important acquisitions, and aligning our operational structure and associated client proposition to reflect this is key to our continued growth.”