Welcome to our insights into C-suite and executive movements across Financial Services.

In this edition, we highlight some of the key appointments announced between July and September 2026.

Across the summer months, leadership activity remained steady, with organisations continuing to invest in experienced executives capable of driving growth, transformation and operational resilience. A notable theme this quarter, as with previous quarters this year, has been the continued movement of senior leaders within the financial services sector itself. Many of the appointed executives bring experience from closely related organisations and subsectors, reinforcing the value firms continue to place on deep industry expertise. In previous quarters, the split between internal appointments and external hires remained relatively balanced; however, this quarter has seen a notable shift towards external hiring. Of the 40+ appointments highlighted below, only six resulted from internal succession, with most occurring within CEO & Board, where around a third of moves came from existing board or executive members stepping into new positions. It will be interesting to see whether this trend continues in future quarters.

As the role of CPO continues to evolve, its strategic importance and breadth of responsibility continue to grow. Reflecting this trend, leadership appointments within the function remained active throughout the quarter, with a number of moves highlighting the increasing influence of senior HR leaders at board and executive committee level. This mirrors wider discussions around the expanding scope of the HR leadership agenda, as explored in ‘Who Gets the Biggest Job in HR?’.

Unsurprisingly, digital, technology, data and AI leadership appointments continue to attract significant investment across the sector. Organisations are increasingly seeking executives with experience in digital transformation, modernisation, cyber resilience, data analytics and AI, as technology remains central to both customer experience and operational performance. This trend reflects many of the themes discussed in our recent article, ‘AI in Financial Services: Where Technology Meets Talent’, which explores how firms are evolving their leadership teams to capitalise on emerging technologies and AI-driven opportunities.

CFO hiring has also remained active across financial services, particularly within banking, wealth management, insurance and private equity. As organisations continue to assess the leadership structures best suited to their growth ambitions, many are considering a variety of finance leadership models, a topic explored further in our article ‘Interim CFO vs Permanent CFO vs Fractional CFO: Which is Right and When?’.

Overall, the quarter highlights an active leadership market, with firms continuing to prioritise proven external talent to strengthen leadership teams and support long-term strategic objectives.

In this report, we highlight leadership moves across:

• CEO & Board
• Human Resources & Reward
• Finance
• Digital & Technology

You can also view last quarter’s executive moves here

If you’re looking to partner on upcoming appointments or succession planning, please get in touch.