Finastra hires Chris Walters to be its new CEO

Finastra, a financial software company with more than 8,100 customers, including some of the world’s largest banks, announced a change in leadership on Monday. Chris Walters, former CEO of Avantax, is joining Finastra’s executive team and replacing Simon Paris as the company’s new CEO.

During his tenure at tax-focused wealth management firm Avantax, Walters orchestrated the company’s acquisition by Cetera Financial Group for $1.2 billion in late 2023. Walters also received a “golden parachute” severance plan of $21.7 million in cash and equities from Avantax as part of the acquisition deal, according to Avantax’s proxy Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Between his time at Avantax and starting his new role at Finastra, Walters was CEO of tech employee training provider Pluralsight.

In a press release, Walters said he looked forward to working with the Finastra team to “drive sustainable growth and continue to deliver more value to our customers, team members, and investors.” 

Under Simon’s stewardship, Finastra, a London-based bank technology company, was formed in 2017 following the merger of Misys and D+H in 2017. Finastra launched various open banking initiatives to enter the U.S. community bank space in 2019, but was hit with a ransomware attack in the middle of the March 2020 pandemic shutdown. Finastra ventured into the crypto space through a partnership with the U.S.-based digital asset marketplace Bakkt in late 2021. The company also experienced a data breach in November 2024.

During a transition period in 2025, the company said, Paris and Walters will work together to ensure a smooth handover.

“This journey with Finastra has been a privilege,” Paris said in a press release. “Chris is a seasoned professional, and I am honored to ‘pass the baton’ to him. I leave incredibly proud of what Finastra has achieved so far and excited for the company’s future under Chris’s leadership.”