nCino announces Sean Desmond as CEO

Fintech company nCino announced that Sean Desmond will be its new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Desmond succeeds Pierre Naudé, who will continue to be actively involved in nCino as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. Desmond is also joining the board as a member.

Desmond joined nCino in 2013 initially as chief customer success officer, and was promoted to chief product officer in May 2024 before becoming nCino’s new CEO. In these roles, he managed approximately two-thirds of the company’s employees, according to a press release from nCino.

“His extensive knowledge of all key facets of our business, paired with his experience scaling large, multi-national organizations, and forward-thinking approach to product innovation through data and AI, will help nCino capture new market opportunities and drive meaningful growth,” said nCino Lead Independent Director Pamela Kilday in the press release.

Succeeding Desmond as chief product officer is Chris Gufford, who has been the executive director and general manager of nCino Commercial Banking since 2021, according to the press release.

“Over the past year, nCino made significant strides with two key initiatives that are shaping the future of intelligent banking,” Desmond said in a statement. “First, by introducing a market-leading data initiative, we built a trusted and collaborative community of customers, unlocking insights that drive efficiency and value. Second, the rapid launch of our generative AI-driven Banking Advisor, with its expanding capabilities, is transforming how financial institutions address complex challenges.”

That Banking Advisor chatbot is being tested by banks as they “chat” with their internal data and documents and seek to improve analytic efficiency in various departments.

“The next step would be to wrap agentic AI around these capabilities to automate end-to-end processes for our customers,” Desmond said. “Just like nCino initially took banks to the cloud, we’re looking ahead and doubling down on these innovations to propel the industry forward in the age of AI, delivering transformative results and helping our customers adapt, innovate and grow with confidence.”

nCino took the number one spot on American Banker’s list of Best Fintechs to Work for in 2019. Founded in 2011, the North Carolina-based fintech went public in July 2020 and serves over 1,800 customers worldwide, according to the company’s press release.