Interim & Fractional COO  ·  PE Portfolio Value Creation

Vijay
Shah

Scaling PE-backed FinTech & RegTech businesses
at their critical inflection points.

I partner with PE-backed businesses where founder-led agility needs to become enterprise-grade operational capability — building the operating models, technology platforms and global teams that underpin sustained growth and clean exits.

Start a conversation What I do
A
30+ years
across Tier-1 global financial institutions
10 months
Head of PS → COO at Napier AI
£100M+
technology & transformation investment directed
£1.1B
annual revenue protected through regulatory transformation
250+
global cross-functional staff led
20%
annual operational cost savings delivered

About

Operational clarity,
accelerated.

I work with PE-backed FinTech and RegTech businesses at the moments that define a hold period — where the operating model has to grow up fast, where the technology infrastructure needs to stop being a ceiling on ambition, and where the right operational foundation is the difference between a credible exit and a missed opportunity.

With three decades spanning Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group, I bring the depth of a seasoned CIO and the pace of an operator who has learned to move within constraints. I deliver rapid operating model diagnosis, 100-day stabilisation plans, and the front-to-back re-engineering that translates strategic intent into execution reality.

I work closely with founders, boards and PE investors — not as a consultant who hands over a report, but as an operator who stays until the work is done.

Napier AI
Chief Operating Officer, Europe  ·  2024 – Present
Head of PS → COO in 10 months at a PE-backed AI/RegTech firm
Lloyds Banking Group
CIO — Regulatory Technology, Markets Front Office & Data, Digital & Cloud  ·  11 years
£90M budget · £1.1B revenue protected
Merrill Lynch
Director, Global Business Technology  ·  12 years
Fixed Income, Equities & Research technology
Barclays Capital  ·  Goldman Sachs
Global Head of Capital Markets Ecommerce Technology & Software Engineer
Career foundation in Tier-1 financial markets technology
Imperial College London
BSc (Eng) Computing Science  ·  1989–1992
Top-10 globally ranked for Engineering & Computer Science

What I do

Where I add
the most value.

PE-backed businesses typically need operational intervention at one of three moments in a hold period. I am built for all three.

01
Operating Model Design & Stabilisation
Rapid diagnosis of what is broken or missing, followed by a structured 100-day plan. I architect the functional lines, processes and governance structures that turn a founder-led operation into an enterprise-ready business — without losing the agility that made it grow.
02
Technology & Data Transformation
Translating technical debt and platform fragmentation into a coherent, scalable infrastructure. With a CIO background spanning £90M+ investment programmes, I bring both the strategic vision and the operational rigour to deliver technology transformation tied directly to EBITDA improvement.
03
Enterprise GTM & Client Lifecycle
Building the operational infrastructure to win, implement and retain Tier-1 financial institution clients. From professional services professionalisation to client lifecycle re-engineering, I reduce friction, accelerate time-to-value and convert implementations into predictable, long-term ARR.
04
PE Value Creation & Exit Readiness
Working alongside investors and boards to build the operational credibility that a buyer or next-round investor needs to see. Clean processes, transparent reporting, a scalable team structure, and a technology foundation that tells the right story — built within the timeline of the hold period.
05
Regulatory & Compliance Architecture
Deep expertise in AML, KYC, CLM and financial markets regulation (MiFID II, MAD/MAR). I have protected £1.1B in revenue through major regulatory transitions and built the data infrastructure required to satisfy the most demanding institutional compliance requirements.
06
Interim & Fractional Engagements
Available as a full interim COO for the duration of a specific programme, or on a fractional basis for businesses that need senior operational leadership without a permanent hire. Engagements are scoped around outcomes, not time — and structured to leave capability behind, not dependency.

Ready to talk about
your next inflection point?

Whether you are a PE firm, a portfolio company board, or an exec search firm with a mandate — I welcome a direct conversation.

Send an email linkedin.com/in/vijshah  ↗