Sionic has today announced the appointment of Mark Humphries as our new Chairman. Mark’s appointment marks an acceleration of Sionic’s strategic ambition to become the pre-eminent supplier of business, operations and people development services to the world’s leading banks and financial institutions.
Sionic Chairman Mark Humphries
Mark Humphries is one of the finance sector’s most experienced business leaders. A Chartered Accountant by background, Mark is a specialist in fast-paced growth within private equity backed firms and an expert in strategy execution, accelerated growth and transformation, and in leveraging technology and data to drive client solutions. Mark’s career includes handling mergers and acquisitions for FTSE 100 group, building a highly successful corporate finance advisory firm and serving as CEO of an award-winning B2B professional services firm advising the financial services and energy sectors. He now holds several non-executive and advisory roles. Mark takes up his role with immediate effect, succeeding Tony Solway, who stepped down at the end of 2020.
Sionic has over 25 years’ experience in providing advisory and consulting services to corporate, investment and private banks, clearing houses and exchanges, asset and wealth managers. Its specialist teams focus on banking and market operations; data and technology; financial crime and fraud prevention including cyber-security; governance; leadership and people development; product development, distribution, benchmarking and sourcing models; risk, regulation and compliance. The firm has c 300 staff based across North America, Europe and Asia and is backed by Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors.
Sionic CEO Craig Sher comments:
“This is a pivotal moment for Sionic and a key appointment. Mark is a pace-setter and his career achievements are inspirational. Despite everything that 2020 threw at the world, Sionic had another successful year, hard won through the resilience of our people, the quality of our work and the strength of our relationships. We’re now even more determined to become a truly world-leading firm and Mark is exactly the person to help us step up the pace. I fully expect him to push us to exceed even our own expectations and I’m really excited to be working with him.”
Sionic Chairman Mark Humphries says:
“The Chairman should be a strategic accelerant. I believe that is about three things: a clear strategy, a sharp commercial focus and ensuring that people can be their absolute best selves at work. Sionic is an energising prospect across all those dimensions. It has an enviable client base, a strong global leadership team and outstanding talent across the firm. It also has a track record of first-class delivery, with a unique blend of people development skills as well as technical domain expertise. Most of all, it has the will to succeed. I can’t wait to get started.”
Notes to Editors
Mark Humphries originally graduated from the University of Southampton (BSc, Geography & Economics, 1991). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and holds executive education qualifications from the University of Cambridge, Harvard Business School and London Business School.
- Mark began his career in corporate finance at PwC then worked as M&A Manager at GKN’s aerospace and automotive divisions in the US and UK, before co-founding Catalyst Corporate Finance (no relationship with Catalyst Development Ltd), which grew to be one of the UK’s largest mid-market corporate finance firms.
- In 2014 Mark joined consulting firm Huntswood, becoming its CEO in 2015. Huntswood became a significant player in B2B within financial services, with a £330m revenue and over 6,500 people working across more than 80 client projects, with multiple listings in The Sunday Times FastTrack awards. After leaving Huntswood in 2017, Mark became a senior advisor to consulting firms Baringa, Social Energy and Temple Grange Partners. He is now Chairman of Vendigital, WheelHouse Advisors Ltd and Obelisk as well as of youth charity the Lifespace Trust.
- Mark is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Student Mentor at Bromsgrove School and among his hobbies is both an active apiarist and vintage aircraft enthusiast.
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