Leadership
& direction
Technology strategy grounded in commercial priorities, with the technical depth to stay close to the detail.
Technology / Operations / Finance
Technical depth.
Commercial sense.
I’m Simon Skinner. I build and run technology for financial businesses, connecting the systems, people, and decisions that keep them moving.
25+ years
in software, infrastructure
and financial operations.
afx.comigi Fund ManagersDebtPanel
01 / Experience
Responsibility, in practiceWhere technology
meets the business.
My work spans live brokerage infrastructure, investment operations, and debt technology. The common thread is taking responsibility for what happens after a system goes live.
More about my work
I've spent 25 years building and running the technology behind financial businesses — brokerages on MetaTrader, investment platforms, debt management systems, and comparison engines. The work is operational: keeping live trading infrastructure stable, integrating liquidity providers, managing regulated environments where downtime has a direct financial cost. I sit at the intersection of technical delivery and commercial reality, and I've learned that the best technology decisions are the ones the business can actually execute.
- Currently IT Director at three financial businesses simultaneously — afx.com, igi Fund Managers, and DebtPanel.
- Run MetaTrader infrastructure for a live brokerage, including LP integrations and 24/5 monitoring.
- Built and scaled a Philippines operation from 20 to 300 staff across CRM, call-centre, and VoIP systems.
- Deliver across the full stack when needed — PHP, TypeScript, Go — but optimise for business outcomes, not code volume.
- Fluent in reading technical environments quickly and finding where the real bottlenecks are.
Languages
- English · Native
- French · Beginner
- German · Beginner
- Hungarian · Beginner
afx.comIT Director · 2023–present
IT Director overseeing technology infrastructure for a live brokerage, with primary responsibility for MetaTrader platform management, liquidity provider integrations, and trading operations uptime.
- Manage MetaTrader infrastructure with 24/5 operational requirements.
- Liaise with liquidity providers to optimise execution quality.
- Align IT delivery with commercial targets and growth priorities.
MetaTrader 4/5 · Liquidity Providers · Linux · Monitoring · VoIP
igi Fund ManagersIT Director · 2022–present
Responsible for IT strategy and infrastructure at an investment management firm, ensuring systems support client onboarding, fund operations, and regulatory compliance.
- Maintain IT systems for fund operations and client reporting.
- Ensure infrastructure meets FCA security and compliance expectations.
- Support growth through practical technology decisions.
IT Strategy · Infrastructure · FCA Compliance · Fund Operations
DebtPanel LtdIT Director · 2017–present
Lead the technology behind a debt management platform that handles DMP and IVA cases end-to-end, from initial assessment through to creditor distribution and compliance reporting.
- Built software managing the full lifecycle of debt management and IVA cases.
- Ensure platform security meets debt management regulatory standards.
- Streamline case handling and reduce manual processing overhead.
DMP/IVA Systems · Full-Stack · PHP · TypeScript · PostgreSQL
Earlier experience
RefundableOperations Manager · 2020–2023
Operations Manager for a membership product combining consumer offers with a life-assurance-backed cash benefit. Responsible for technology, operations, and fulfilment.
- Managed operational infrastructure for thousands of active members.
- Oversaw technology across sign-up, billing, claims, and refunds.
- Balanced product innovation with insurance-backed regulatory requirements.
Operations · Billing Systems · Insurance Tech · CRM
Beyond Comparison GroupIT Director · 2015–2023
Founded and ran a comparison and lead-generation business operating across multiple verticals, including insurance, energy, and financial services.
- Built comparison engines and lead-generation systems from scratch.
- Managed relationships with affiliate networks and data providers.
- Scaled across multiple product verticals with a lean technical team.
Lead Generation · Comparison Engines · Affiliate Networks · Web Development
CDW BureauOwner · 2015–2018
Founded a digital agency delivering web development, design, and IT consultancy services to a range of clients.
- Built a client base across financial services and retail.
- Delivered full-stack web development and infrastructure projects.
- Managed the business from acquisition through to delivery and support.
Web Development · Design · Client Delivery · Agency Operations
02 / How I can help
Clear direction.
Practical delivery.
Leadership
Platforms
& operations
Reliable infrastructure, connected workflows, and clearer ownership across financial systems.
Delivery
& recovery
Hands-on work to untangle stalled projects, stabilise platforms, and give teams a practical way forward.
Skills & technologies
MetaTrader · Brokerage Infrastructure · Investment Platforms · Financial Services · IT Strategy · Team Leadership · TypeScript · Go · PHP · Node.js · Angular · React · Next.js · PostgreSQL · Docker · Microservices · REST APIs · Cloud Infrastructure · Agile Delivery · Git · System Integration · VoIP / PBX · CRM Platforms · Debt Management Systems
Selected introductions & opportunities
igi Fund Managers · investment
Self-Service Investment Fund
igi Fund Managers offers a self-service investment solution targeting consistent returns, with a strategy designed to navigate market volatility. Their platform provides straightforward access to managed investment products with a focus on stability and transparent performance.
afx.com · investment
GBP Diversified Trading Fund
afx.com's GBP Diversified Fund combines capital preservation with growth allocation — 40% into a reserve account targeting monthly returns, 60% spread across risk-graded investments. Designed for UK investors seeking a balanced approach to wealth management.
Tech3k · service
Full-Stack IT Consultancy
Tech3k delivers web, mobile, and infrastructure projects with a focus on practical outcomes. From architecture through to deployment, they handle the full delivery lifecycle — particularly useful for businesses that need reliable technical execution without building an in-house team.
SocialAI · service
AI-Powered Content Platform
SocialAI automates content creation across blogs, social media, audio, and video using AI. The platform maintains brand consistency while reducing the time and cost of producing marketing content — built for businesses that need volume without sacrificing quality.
What collaborators say
When the Euro had its most volatile week in history, Simon's infrastructure held. That kind of reliability under pressure is rare — and it's why we trust him with our core trading systems.
Simon doesn't just deliver technology — he understands the commercial constraints we're working within. He'll find a solution that works for the business, not just the engineering team.
He took our debt management platform from a collection of manual processes to a system that handles cases end-to-end. The operational impact was immediate.
03 / Recent writing
All field notes ↗From inside the work.
· Financial software
Financial Software Features Do Not Ship Once
A financial software feature is not complete because one screen works. It has to stay coherent across APIs, permissions, portals, mobile apps, reports, alerts and operations.
Read the article ↗