Melbourne-based Pepperstone has appointed Nigel Fernandes as Chief Technology Officer, effective 1 October 2026. Fernandes will oversee the broker’s global technology operations as the company increases its focus on developing and owning more of its technology.

The appointment follows Pepperstone’s expansion into spot crypto in Australia. The broker launched its dedicated crypto exchange in February 2026, initially offering Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDC and USDT against the Australian dollar.

The launch expanded Pepperstone’s business beyond its established FX and CFD operations. Fernandes will oversee technology functions supporting this broader business, including engineering, architecture, security and data.

Fernandes Brings over 20 Years’ Experience

Fernandes will report to Pepperstone Group CEO Tamas Szabo and will be based at the company’s global headquarters in Melbourne.

Fernandes joins Pepperstone from Xero, where he is SVP and Executive General Manager of Engineering. He leads Leads Leads or lead generation are an essential component of marketing and powerful tool by brokers. In its simplest form, leads can be defined as the outreach of customer interest or enquiry into products or services, most often associated with brokerages.These can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition, or for sales leads. Amongst marketers, such lists are one of their most important assets and instrumental to sales.There are a variety of methods for generating Leads or lead generation are an essential component of marketing and powerful tool by brokers. In its simplest form, leads can be defined as the outreach of customer interest or enquiry into products or services, most often associated with brokerages.These can be created for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition, or for sales leads. Amongst marketers, such lists are one of their most important assets and instrumental to sales.There are a variety of methods for generating Read this Term a global engineering organisation covering cloud platforms, customer identity and data.

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He has more than 20 years of technology leadership experience across financial services, retail, media and enterprise software. Before joining Xero, Fernandes held senior roles at Publicis Sapient, Coles Group, SEEK and Envato.

Pepperstone Expands Technology Across Crypto and AI

Pepperstone said the appointment comes as it expands its technology strategy across crypto, artificial intelligence and institutional-grade infrastructure. The company also plans to broaden its fintech offering and develop more of its own technology.

Fernandes said his focus would be on “investing in the technology we own” and building an AI-native engineering foundation. He said this would support faster and more reliable access to trading tools.

Szabo said technology was “core to everything we do” as Pepperstone expands into a broader fintech Fintech Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to suppl Financial Technology (fintech) is defined as ay technology that is geared towards automating and enhancing the delivery and application of financial services. The origin of the term fintechs can be traced back to the 1990s where it was primarily used as a back-end system technology for renowned financial institutions. However, it has since grown outside the business sector with an increased focus upon consumer services.What Purpose Do Fintechs Serve?The main purpose of fintechs would be to suppl Read this Term ecosystem. He also said the company was seeking to provide access to crypto and new markets while developing a more personalised client experience.

The appointment adds a dedicated technology leadership role as Pepperstone continues to expand beyond its traditional online trading business. Fernandes will take responsibility for the technology functions supporting that expansion from October.