Technology is becoming a bigger part of how financial platforms compete, and Pepperstone is taking a more direct approach to building its own. The global fintech and online trading company has appointed Nigel Fernandes as Chief Technology Officer as it looks to strengthen its engineering capabilities and expand into new areas including AI and crypto.
A New Technology Leader for Pepperstone
Pepperstone has appointed Nigel Fernandes as Chief Technology Officer, effective October 1, 2026. Based at the company’s global headquarters in Melbourne, Fernandes will oversee engineering, architecture, security, and data across the business.
The appointment comes as Pepperstone moves to take greater ownership of the technology behind its products and customer experience. The company is also working to build a broader fintech ecosystem as it expands into crypto and other markets.
For Fernandes, the role brings an opportunity to build on more than two decades of experience leading technology teams across several industries.
From Xero to Pepperstone
Fernandes joins Pepperstone from Xero, where he currently serves as Senior Vice President and Executive General Manager of Engineering. He leads a global engineering organization responsible for areas including cloud platforms, customer identity, and data.
Before Xero, Fernandes held technology leadership positions at Publicis Sapient, Coles Group, SEEK, and Envato.
His experience across cloud technology, data, engineering, and large-scale digital platforms gives him a background closely aligned with Pepperstone’s next stage of technology development.
Building an AI-Native Technology Foundation
One of Fernandes’ key priorities will be helping Pepperstone develop what the company describes as an AI-native engineering foundation.
Rather than relying primarily on external technology, Pepperstone wants to invest more heavily in the systems and infrastructure it owns. The goal is to give the company greater control over how its technology develops while creating a foundation that can support new products and services.
For customers, that could mean faster and more reliable access to trading tools, as well as more personalized digital experiences.
Fernandes said his focus will be on investing in the technology Pepperstone owns while building an engineering foundation capable of supporting the company as it grows.
Expanding Beyond Traditional Trading
The technology strategy also comes as Pepperstone broadens its ambitions beyond its traditional trading business.
The company is expanding its fintech ecosystem to include crypto and new markets, while continuing to develop the infrastructure supporting its existing services. That creates a larger technology challenge, with engineering, cybersecurity, data, and architecture becoming increasingly important to the company’s growth.
Fernandes will report directly to Group CEO Tamas Szabo, who said the technology behind Pepperstone’s customer experience is central to the company’s strategy.
His appointment therefore represents more than a change in senior leadership. It reflects Pepperstone’s decision to make technology ownership and engineering capability a bigger part of how it competes.
A Technology-Led Next Chapter
Pepperstone serves clients across more than 160 countries, making the scalability and reliability of its technology increasingly important as the company expands.
With Fernandes taking responsibility for its global technology organization, the company is positioning engineering as a key driver of its next phase rather than simply a support function.
As fintech companies compete on increasingly digital experiences, the ability to build secure, scalable, and AI-ready technology could become just as important as the financial products themselves.
For Pepperstone, bringing in Fernandes signals a clear shift toward building more of that technology in-house and using it as a foundation for the company’s expansion into AI, crypto, and new markets.