Blackfinch Appoints Tom Nall to Lead Next Phase of Product Growth

Blackfinch Group has appointed Tom Nall as Head of Product. The senior leadership appointment will help shape the Group’s product strategy, governance and roadmap as Blackfinch enters its next phase of growth.

Tom brings more than 25 years’ experience in senior proposition, product and strategy roles across the UK’s wealth management, retirement and workplace savings markets. His career includes six years at Hargreaves Lansdown, as well as senior roles at Aviva and SimplyBiz Group.

At Hargreaves Lansdown, Tom led the integration of the investment proposition across retail, workplace and advised channels, helping to increase flows into in-house funds more than tenfold. He also delivered the firm’s workplace default proposition, building a fund worth around £2.5bn within three years.

His work included leading the UK’s first launch of retail Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) on a direct-to-consumer platform. He also designed the Advice Centralised Investment Proposition and relaunched the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) service through a fully digital, end-to-end process.

Earlier in his career Tom established SimplyBiz Group’s workplace offering, enabling advisers to extend their offer to clients and diversify their revenues. At Aviva he led the design and delivery of an integrated benefits technology solution incorporating pensions and group protection benefits.

As Head of Product, Tom will build and lead Blackfinch’s product function. He will establish the frameworks, governance and roadmap needed to support the Group’s long-term growth, including the continued development of Thrive, Blackfinch’s workplace pension, benefits and financial wellbeing platform.

Tom will work closely with the Executive Leadership Team to align product strategy, development and delivery across the Group.

Richard Cook, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Blackfinch Group, said: “Tom’s appointment reflects our ambition for Blackfinch’s next phase of growth. He has extensive experience of developing investment and workplace propositions and turning ambitious ideas into products that work for advisers and their clients.

“Tom joins a Group with strong foundations and real breadth. His experience across regulated investment products, workplace propositions and digital transformation will help us develop our product capability as Thrive scales and our wider portfolio continues to grow.

“Most importantly, he shares our focus on building products around the needs of the advisers, partners and clients we serve.”

Tom Nall, Head of Product at Blackfinch Group, said: “Blackfinch has built something genuinely distinctive. There’s real breadth across the Group, underpinned by a clear investment philosophy and a strong commitment to working in partnership with advisers. That combination, alongside the ambition for the business, is what attracted me to the role.

“I’m looking forward to building on those strong foundations and applying what I’ve learned across investment platforms, workplace propositions and benefits tech. The focus will be on developing products that are straightforward, relevant and genuinely useful to advisers, partners and their clients.”

As Blackfinch continues to grow across its investment, workplace, property and energy businesses, Tom’s appointment strengthens the Group’s product capability. His role will focus on creating a disciplined and joined-up approach to product development that supports sustainable commercial growth and delivers long-term value for advisers and their clients.

ENDS

Notes to editor

Blackfinch Group is an award-winning investment specialist and trusted provider. Employing more than 150 full-time members of staff, it has a heritage dating back 30 years. The group provides tax-efficient investment solutions, managed portfolio services, early-stage investing, property financing and energy infrastructure investing.

Inspired by the work of Charles Darwin and founded on evolutionary principles, Blackfinch adapts to and evolves with customer requirements, helping others to thrive.

Contact details

X: @BlackfinchGroup

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackfinch-group/

W: https://blackfinch.com/

E: [email protected]