Leading global online trading and fintech provider Pepperstone has announced that the company has hired Nigel Fernandes as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective 1 October 2026. The appointment comes as Pepperstone accelerates its shift toward owning more of its own technology, building a broader fintech ecosystem spanning crypto, AI-native engineering and institutional-grade infrastructure.

Nigel Fernandes brings to Pepperstone more than 20 years of technology leadership experience across financial services, retail, media and enterprise software. He joins the company from SMB accounting platform provider Xero, where he serves as SVP and Executive General Manager of Engineering leading a global organisation across cloud platforms, customer identity and data. Prior to Xero, he held senior leadership roles at Publicis Sapient, Coles Group, SEEK and Envato.

Nigel Fernandes’ hiring comes after Melbourne based Pepperstone conducted a fairly lengthy and extensive search for a CTO, following the departure late last year of David Jenkins to Australia based brokerage services and technology company Openmarkets, as was reported at the time exclusively here at FNG. David had been Chief Product and Technology Officer at Pepperstone from 2022-2025.

“I’m excited to be joining Pepperstone at such a pivotal time for the business,” said Nigel Fernandes. “My focus will be building on the quality global brand that traders have trusted for years, investing in the technology we own to scale an AI-native engineering foundation that gives clients faster, more reliable access to the tools they need.”

Tamas Szabo, Group CEO of Pepperstone said of Nigel’s hiring,

“The technology underpinning our client experience is core to everything we do. We’re expanding Pepperstone into a genuine fintech ecosystem that opens access to crypto and new markets, while investing in our own technology to give clients a more personalised experience. Nigel’s track record building high-performing engineering teams at some of the world’s best technology companies makes him the right leader to help us build that.”

As CTO, Nigel Fernandes will lead engineering, architecture, security and data globally, reporting to Group CEO Tamas Szabo. He will be based at Pepperstone’s global headquarters in Melbourne.