Transforming Family Offices and Trust Companies
meet the team
A world-class technology team
With deep experience working for some of the biggest financial services brands in the world, Optifi is a dynamic, diverse team of experienced industry and technology leaders with a strong vendor relationship history. We use this legacy to solve sector challenges with innovative solutions built on proven foundations.
Stuart Richford
Chief Executive Officer
A visionary leader in digital transformation and financial services, Stuart Richford has over 30 years of experience in private equity, fund administration, trust services, and banking.
He has led large-scale global restructures, post-acquisition integrations, and regulatory change projects, working with brands such as BDO, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays. As a business leader, Stuart previously founded, scaled, and successfully exited a consulting business.
A recognized industry speaker, Stuart is passionate about leveraging AI, data, and emerging technologies to drive operational excellence and future-proof financial services.
As CEO of Optifi, he spearheads innovation in the trust and family sector, ensuring clients achieve efficiency, scalability, and regulatory confidence.
Stuart Richford
A visionary leader in digital transformation and financial services, Stuart Richford has over 30 years of experience in private equity, fund administration, trust services, and banking.
He has led large-scale global restructures, post-acquisition integrations, and regulatory change projects, working with brands such as BDO, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays. As a business leader, Stuart previously founded, scaled, and successfully exited a consulting business.
A recognized industry speaker, Stuart is passionate about leveraging AI, data, and emerging technologies to drive operational excellence and future-proof financial services.
As CEO of Optifi, he spearheads innovation in the trust and family sector, ensuring clients achieve efficiency, scalability, and regulatory confidence.
Tish Vadher
Chief Strategy Officer
An expert in digital product development and transformation, Tish Vadher brings 25 years of experience in reshaping financial services through cutting-edge technology.
He has successfully delivered cloud-based core banking solutions, AI-driven digital products, and large-scale agile transformations for major brands, including Bupa, Ocorian, AXA Wealth, and RELX Group.
His deep expertise in cloud architecture, fintech strategy, and regulatory tech solutions ensures that Optifi remains at the forefront of digital innovation in Family Office, Trust and Corporate Services.
Tish works closely with our partner ecosystem to ensure Optifi provides best-in-class solutions to our mutual clients.
Tish Vadher
An expert in digital product development and transformation, Tish Vadher brings 25 years of experience in reshaping financial services through cutting-edge technology.
He has successfully delivered cloud-based core banking solutions, AI-driven digital products, and large-scale agile transformations for major brands, including Bupa, Ocorian, AXA Wealth, and RELX Group.
His deep expertise in cloud architecture, fintech strategy, and regulatory tech solutions ensures that Optifi remains at the forefront of digital innovation in Family Office, Trust and Corporate Services.
Tish works closely with our partner ecosystem to ensure Optifi provides best-in-class solutions to our mutual clients.
Alex Steele
Chief Technology Officer
A expert technologist and IT leader, Alex Steele brings over 30 years of experience delivering enterprise technology platforms in Wealth Management. He has deep expertise in platform architecture and build, agile delivery, and vendor management, having led complex migrations and managed multiple development teams to build scalable, compliant investment platforms at Barclays.
At Optifi, Alex defines the technology vision and strategy, ensuring all systems are secure, scalable, and cloud-optimised. He leads the development and architecture of our technology platform, using AI and automation to accelerate innovation and adoption. By tracking key DevOps metrics, he ensures fast, reliable delivery aligned with investor and client goals.
Collaborative and pragmatic, Alex applies risk-based principles to solve complex challenges with simple, efficient solutions—ensuring technology remains a key enabler of Optifi’s mission.
Alex Steele
A expert technologist and IT leader, Alex Steele brings over 30 years of experience delivering enterprise technology platforms in Wealth Management. He has deep expertise in platform architecture and build, agile delivery, and vendor management, having led complex migrations and managed multiple development teams to build scalable, compliant investment platforms at Barclays.
At Optifi, Alex defines the technology vision and strategy, ensuring all systems are secure, scalable, and cloud-optimised. He leads the development and architecture of our technology platform, using AI and automation to accelerate innovation and adoption. By tracking key DevOps metrics, he ensures fast, reliable delivery aligned with investor and client goals.
Collaborative and pragmatic, Alex applies risk-based principles to solve complex challenges with simple, efficient solutions—ensuring technology remains a key enabler of Optifi’s mission.
Cara Wright
Chief Product Officer
An innovative and customer-focused product leader, Cara Wright has over 15 years of experience in financial services, fintech, and digital transformation.
She has held key leadership roles at JP Morgan Chase Investment and Private Banks, and Barclays Wealth & Private Bank, designing & executing CX-focused product strategies, agile product deliveries and AI-powered financial solutions.
With experience running multi-million-pound technology change portfolios impacting billions of dollars, Cara has a deep understanding of corporate client servicing, trading and investment platforms and digital client engagement.
Cara ensures that Optifi’s platform delivers people-focused experiences to modernize Family Office, Trust and Corporate Service providers, within an innovative and creative product culture.
Cara Wright
An innovative and customer-focused product leader, Cara Wright has over 15 years of experience in financial services, fintech, and digital transformation.
She has held key leadership roles at JP Morgan Chase Investment and Private Banks, and Barclays Wealth & Private Bank, designing & executing CX-focused product strategies, agile product deliveries and AI-powered financial solutions.
With experience running multi-million-pound technology change portfolios impacting billions of dollars, Cara has a deep understanding of corporate client servicing, trading and investment platforms and digital client engagement.
Cara ensures that Optifi’s platform delivers people-focused experiences to modernize Family Office, Trust and Corporate Service providers, within an innovative and creative product culture.
Optifi your
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our vision
Create. Impact. Lead.
“Freeing people to focus on what matters.”
This vision captures Optifi’s human-centric purpose: to remove the operational friction that slows progress, enabling clients to create, grow, and protect value for the people who matter most.
our mission
Build. Support. Succeed.
“We combine deep industry expertise with cutting-edge technology to deliver consulting and fully autonomous virtual office services – empowering family offices and trust companies to operate smarter, safer, and at scale.”
our mission
Build. Support. Succeed.
“We combine deep industry expertise with cutting-edge technology to deliver journeys enriched with intelligent automation services, empowering trust companies and family offices to operate smarter, safer, and at scale.”
our values
Defining everything that we do
People first
We believe the best technology starts with people. Every experience we create is designed to support real human needs – intuitive, considered, and helpful at every step.
Relentlessly precise
From compliance to client service, precision matters. We bring rigor, automation, and transparency to every process and decision point, ensuring nothing is missed so our clients can act with confidence.
Built to act
Optifi is engineered for change. We always listen, act purposefully, and innovate continuously – our clients don’t have time to wait, so neither do we.
OUR COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION
Imagine. Innovate. Impact.
Optifi is a leading digital transformation specialist for offshore Family Offices and Trust Companies. Founded and led by some of the most experienced technology and business process experts and leaders offshore, Optifi brings together a blend of consulting services and the world’s first BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) platform for Family Offices.
OUR COMMITMENT TO PARTNERING
Connect. Combine. Accelerate.
No one business or system can solve every problem. Optifi is proud to partner with leading and challenger technology providers to provide seamlessly integrated, value-creating products. We integrate modern tools, innovative partners, and creative solutions to provide a consolidated experience that enables your people to provide their best service to your clients.
Multi-jurisdictional Trust Company Carve Out
The client, a global Wealth & Investment Management business, identified its Offshore trust company as non-core and initiated a project to carve out and consolidate the legal entity structure in preparation for sale.
Multi-jurisdictional Trust Company
Our client faced fragmented financial processes and under-leveraged performance data, limiting their ability to drive profitability. A lack of actionable insight into billing, recoverability, and utilisation restricted revenue optimisation.
Jersey Family Office
A Jersey-based Family Office’s growing need for complex investment and performance reporting outpaced its internal capabilities. The lack of an integrated system led to inefficiencies in accounting, reconciliation, and compliance reporting.
testimonials
How Optifi helps
Trust Company Director
WOW – if you can deliver this, this is a disruptor. This blows my mind.
Trust Director
CEO, Multinational Trust Company
Trust Company Director
Trust Director
CEO, Multinational Trust Company
Software partners
optifi blog
Latest news and views
Customer-first experience for Family Offices
Whether they’re ultra-high-net-worth individuals or institutional families, they want services that are...
Customer-first experience for Family Offices
Whether they’re ultra-high-net-worth individuals or institutional families, they want services that are transparent, efficient, and digital. Yet many...
Orchestration for Trust Companies
Today’s Family Offices and Trust Companies are more digitally equipped than ever....
Orchestration for Trust Companies
Today’s Family Offices and Trust Companies are more digitally equipped than ever. Yet, many still struggle with productivity,...
ROI-driven tech for Family Offices
In a world where the cost of operations continues to rise, many...
ROI-driven tech for Family Offices
In a world where the cost of operations continues to rise, many family offices and trust companies are...
FAQs
Does your product include AI?
Yes. Optifi includes AI agents throughout its product suite. These tools enable users to undertake common tasks, such as completing workflows, checking for updates, and querying data using natural language. Optifi also uses these tools to automate and improve control validations.
What KPIs do you provide?
Optifi provides a full suite of commercial, journey and compliance KPIs aligned to your business scorecard and service level agreements. This includes financial metrics such as aged debtor movements, aged WIP, and client recovery/profitability; Journey metrics such as transaction volumes, SLA compliance, and throughput time; and Compliance metrics such as CMP action tracking, periodic reviews vs deadlines, and accounts in breach.
What is the typical ROI from using your product?
As a new business, this stat is being closely tracked. An early prototype suggests that a 5-8% improvement in cost to serve / gross margin is achievable.
What non-financial benefits do you offer?
Our control framework provides adherence to policies and procedures to reduce compliance findings, management of all workflows to internal SLAs, a full audit process, and the creation of relevant data points to manage business and personal KPIs.
You’re a start-up; what is available today?
Our Family Office service is available, and we continue to work with clients and partners to enhance the reporting & integration suites. Our Trust Company MVP is complete, v1 is in progress, and we continue to work toward further innovations.
Can I invest in Optifi?
Yes. We are building at pace, scale, and with ambition. Contact Stuart Richford, CEO, for more information.
