Paul Gardiner

Chief Technology Officer

London, England, United Kingdom

About

Technology executive with over 25 years of experience delivering innovative and scalable payments and financial services solutions. Most recently as CITO of NCR Atleos, leading 2,600 engineers globally and running mission-critical infrastructure that processes $200M+ daily at five nines. Before that, CTO of Cardtronics through to its $2.4B acquisition by NCR. The innovation that I'm most proud of from that period is neoterm: a new terminal operating system conceived from scratch with 8 engineers in 12 months and rapidly scaled to 40,000 devices, $40M+ in recurring annual savings, and a material factor in our acquisition. Across my career, I've led teams to excel at the delivery of mission-critical financial infrastructure: payments processing at global scale, distributed systems, hardware and software co-development, scheme certification, regulatory compliance, M&A, and the operational discipline of keeping billion-dollar transaction estates running while still shipping new product. My past year has been a deliberate AI immersion in the SF Bay Area. Through Marin Fintech and a fractional CTO engagement with Confidence Systems, I've been developing software with AI, embedding AI into operational workflows, and into commercial products. Originally from Dundee, dual US/UK citizen, currently based in San Francisco. Computer Science degree from the University of Abertay.

Experience

  • Chief Technology Officer at Ingenico
    Jul 2026 - Present · 1 mo

  • Founder at Marin Fintech
    Jul 2025 - Present · 1 yr 1 mo

    Founder and Principal Consultant at Marin Fintech, providing hands-on advisory across technology, payments, and business transformation. I help businesses navigate growth, modernization, and market expansion through Fractional CIO/CTO leadership, M&A support, and strategic execution. Clients include SF-based AI company, Confidence Systems

  • Chief Information Technology Officer at NCR Atleos
    Oct 2023 - Jul 2025 · 1 yr 10 mos

    • Delivered $2B spin-out IT separation for 26K users, migrating M365, Workday, Salesforce & ServiceNow on time & budget. • Modernized ERP & field ops with Oracle Fusion + AI automation, unlocking $70M+ projected savings. • Consolidated 7 global data centers & 4 cloud providers into Azure + OCI, securing $3M annual savings & resilience at scale. • Deployed enterprise AI strategy, rolling out Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot & GenAI assistants to boost developer productivity & service efficiency. • Ran first global hackathon (1,400 participants, 200+ projects, 60+ invention disclosures), driving innovation culture. • Board-facing leader, aligning IT strategy with PCI, SOX & risk frameworks; presented regularly to Audit Committee.

  • Chief Information Officer Governing Body Member at Gartner
    Sep 2024 - Jun 2025 · 10 mos

    • A peer-driven, exclusive, C-level community that creates an invaluable network to drive innovative ideas, validate strategies, and solve critical leadership challenges through peer-to-peer insights and collaboration • Agendas shaped by a leadership team of influential CIOs from Dallas' largest organizations, all focused on delivering real-world solutions to today’s business challenges • By CIOs, for CIOs – leaders learning from leaders • Governing Body determines topics, nominates speakers and peers, and vets technology partners Governing Body Membership ended when I relocated to California.

  • NCR Corporation (9 yrs 3 mos)
    • Chief Technology Officer, Payments
      Jan 2022 - Oct 2023 · 1 yr 10 mos

      Global Payments & ATM Networks | Spin-out into NCR Atleos • Directed payments R&D across global transaction platforms, ensuring scale, compliance & growth in ATM networks. • Integrated Cardtronics into NCR, aligning operations & stabilizing JetPay; improved performance, morale & business continuity. • Expanded ATM-as-a-Service to include transaction processing, onboarding Santander as flagship client at scale. • Launched new revenue products (Allpoint+ Deposit, ReadyCode), strengthening NCR’s payments portfolio & customer adoption. • Shaped go-to-market tech strategy for the $4B Atleos spinout, securing seamless separation & future growth path.

    • Senior Vice President, CTO (Cardtronics Division)
      Aug 2017 - Feb 2022 · 4 yrs 7 mos

      World’s largest independent ATM fintech • Relocated from the UK to the US to lead global technology delivery, overseeing a 225,000-device ATM network and 200+ engineers. • Directed global technology strategy & execution, aligning platforms and driving innovation across multiple geographies. • Deployed neoterm ATM software to 40,000+ devices, cutting costs by $40M+ and enabling new revenue streams. • Modernized data infrastructure with big data & analytics, improving operational excellence and customer insights at scale. • Delivered enterprise platforms (mobile, web, settlement, reporting) that strengthened customer experience & efficiency. • Introduced new PLM methodology with PwC, improving delivery discipline, transparency, and portfolio alignment. • Led multiple M&A integrations, aligning technology across acquisitions for resilience, scalability, and efficiency.

    • Head of Technology (Cardtronics Division - i-design)
      Aug 2014 - Aug 2017 · 3 yrs 1 mo

      • Defined and executed the technology vision for digital customer engagement platforms, including joono, the market-leading ATM customer engagement solution • Oversaw Product Management, Product Development, QA, Delivery, and Support, ensuring aligned execution across the full technology lifecycle • Modernized the technology stack by introducing cloud infrastructure, APIs, CRM integration, big data, and mobile application development, positioning i-design for growth in new channels • Championed engineering innovation by introducing Business-Driven Development and Continuous Integration, significantly improving delivery quality and speed • Worked closely with Cardtronics Group executives in the US and Europe to align customer engagement solutions with broader payments and ATM network strategy