Employee benefits platform, Zest, has expanded its senior leadership team with the appointment of Adrian Wilding to the Board as Chief Financial Officer. Wilding brings a significant wealth of experience from his time in private equity backed financial services and technology businesses.  

Prior to Zest, Wilding held CFO roles at USnoop Limited, a cutting-edge tech business operating in the mobile app space, and Universe Group PLC, a supplier of payment and other solutions to petrol forecourts and convenience retailers. He has held other senior positions, including the Chief Executive Officer of a payment tech business and has a strong M&A and listing experience on both AIM and the FTSE250.

With the total employee benefits market valued at £374m per annum, there is strong potential for business growth. Wilding will play a central role in overseeing the business’s finances, driving profitable growth and expanding Zest’s data capabilities and customer offering under the new direction of Russell.

This announcement marks the second senior hire under new CEO, Matt Russell, after Liliana Teixeira joined as Zest’s new Head of Marketing last month.

Zest is an employee benefits platform that offers flexible benefits services for a wide range of well-known businesses across the world, including Hargreaves Lansdown, Taylor Wimpey, ADP and Travis Perkins.

Adrian Wilding, Chief Financial Officer at Zest, commented: “In the post-Covid world, it’s vital that employers are getting the best value for money from their benefits platforms to help attract, retain and motivate their employees. I’m delighted to join Zest and look forward to working with the team at Zest to continue to develop an innovative benefits platform. One of my major priorities will be ensuring the business continues to invest in its technological offering to stay at the forefront of the flexible benefits landscape.”  

Matt Russell, CEO at Zest, commented: “Adrian brings outstanding expertise to the Board and our senior leadership team and will play a pivotal role in cementing Zest’s position as the leading benefits platform in a landscape where many employers are rapidly stepping up investment into benefits packages.”

Over the next 12 months, Zest will use its expanded Product and Development team to better its data insights offering and refine its leading solution to provide an unrivalled personalised benefits experience for clients and their employees.