Zafin Unveils Strategic Leadership Transition in Canadian SaaS Fintech

Zafin, a company based in Canada, specializing in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for banks and credit unions to modernize their core systems, has announced a significant change in leadership. After over two decades as CEO, Al Karim Somji will be stepping down. Somji, who founded the company in 2002, will transition to a role on Zafin’s board of directors, offering support to the incoming CEO, Charbel Safadi.

Charbel Safadi, who has been serving as group president of Zafin for the past five months, is taking over as CEO. The company highlights Safadi’s deep understanding of Zafin’s operations and culture as key factors that make him well-suited for this role. Zafin sees Safadi as ideally positioned to lead the company into its next phase of growth and success.

Before joining Zafin, Safadi held various leadership positions at IBM. His most recent role at IBM Canada was as senior partner and leader of business transformation services. He also served as chief technology officer (CTO) for IBM iX, the company’s digital experience consultancy and design studio.

Based in Vancouver, Zafin offers a SaaS platform tailored to help banks and credit unions streamline and customize their core modernization efforts.

The announcement of this leadership transition comes shortly after Zafin was acquired by Swedish private equity firm Nordic Capital in February 2024. Overall, 2024 has been a dynamic year for Zafin, marked by significant changes and strategic moves within the company.

Source: fintechfutures.com