The C-tech interviews: Meet the CPO of Aptitude Software
When InX’s James Lawson approached Leigh Pepper about the CPO role at Aptitude Software, Leigh saw an alignment of values and a shared appetite to deliver lasting change for the business.
Continuing our series of interviews with C-tech leaders, Leigh takes us through his career journey and shares his tips for those considering a move into a senior tech role.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My career began with 13 years at Lloyds Banking Group, working in customer facing and leadership roles – running branches and contact centres – which is a non-traditional route to the CPO role.
When digital transformation started to emerge, I was running customer services for the retail business bank and was genuinely passionate about how we could transform the customer experience through digital channels.
Technology is a huge enabler for both customers and colleagues, and for the final few years at Lloyds I led the retail business bank’s transformation projects, working in the first agile transformation programmes that Lloyds had implemented. This meant immersing myself in technology and working day to day with designers, developers and architects to deliver innovation and improvements through platform development.
Large organisations can be slow, bureaucratic and have legacy tech that can be costly to work with and a real barrier to change, which can be frustrating. At this time I was approached by 10x Banking, a startup that was building a cloud native banking platform.
They were redefining the underlying tech stack for banks by creating core banking systems for the future of banking. During my six-year tenure I progressed from head of product to chief product officer and 10x won various large clients, including JP Morgan Chase, Westpac, Old Mutual and Nationwide, amongst others. Working for a less structured startup and scaling the business was an intense but immensely valuable experience.
Outside of work I’m a Manchester United season ticket holder (which is testing my passion at the moment), and I like to ski, run and travel. I live with my partner Iain and our three dogs.
In 2023 you became chief product officer at Aptitude Software. What triggered you to consider a move?
When I left 10x, I took some time out to travel and then James Lawson, at InX, contacted me with my current role as CPO of Aptitude. I like working for companies of 400-500 people. They are big enough to be able to invest and reach goals but small enough to be non-hierarchical and get things done. I liked the size of Aptitude and their international reach and global client base.
I also wanted to stay in a role that was close to the tech in a modern, software-focused business that had gone beyond the start-up phase. Aptitude had a portfolio of products at various stages of the product life cycle, and I felt I could help define the portfolio strategy and take to market the new and exciting cloud native platform they had been building.
What was your experience of working with InX?
It was very easy to work with James (Lawson) and InX. The process was managed efficiently, and I was provided with all the information I needed about the role, the company, and the culture of the business. I was able to tell that it was likely to be a great fit due to the great insights provided.
How did you approach your first few months in your role?
My plan was to take time to understand various aspects of the business – the product set, the people, how efficiently and effectively they were working – and then define the strategy from there.
Aptitude’s newly appointed CEO had a real agenda for change, so it was easy to win hearts and minds, structure the product team, and set us up to approach delivery more effectively.
I also wanted to understand the clients and their needs. I wanted to know how they felt about the products and the approach of the company, so that I knew what improvements to make. The new market I’d entered (enterprise accounting software) provided a learning curve, but the clients were key to improving my understanding.
What advice would you give others contemplating a move, or starting a new senior role?
Focus on your core strengths and capabilities – these are transferrable and reuseable. This gives you more confidence to say what you’re good at: “I’m great at leading transformation and developing new products.”
Think about what you’re trying to achieve from a move – is it to use and test your skills in a new industry vertical, or broaden your skills in the same or a similar industry, or something else?
Then, when opportunities are presented, think about whether the company is the right scale, maturity, complexity, culture, etc. for you to be successful.
It’s always a balance between leveraging what you do well and continuing to grow your skills and experience. The right role will typically hit the sweet spot between the two.
What surprised you the most during your journey from one business to another?
Aptitude provided my second CPO role, so I had a toolkit which provided a clearer way to do things and had less of a learning curve. So, I found it easier than anticipated as I had the muscle memory and I’d learned lessons from my previous experiences. The biggest surprise was therefore how transferrable my product and technology leadership skills were to a new industry.
What's on your radar currently (tech, business, innovation, etc)?
We’re in the midst of taking to market a finance data platform called Fynapse. It’s an enterprise software disruptor, so it’s exciting. There’s a huge agenda for innovation driven by data currently, and organisations want to work out ways to use and leverage data. This leads into the AI revolution and we’re making sure our product leverages the exponential growth of AI.
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If you’re looking for a talented C-tech leader for your business, or you’re a tech or digital leader who’s looking for their next great opportunity, the InX technology team would love to talk to you. Get in touch now.