It’s a big day for Curo today as we have a new Chief Executive Officer!
Annie Andrews, who was our Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and has been with us for almost 5 years, continues the tradition within Curo of the business leaders originating from a technology background.
Annie has taken the role over from Karen Field. We’re delighted to say that Karen is remaining firmly within the core of the business as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Both of the cofounders of the business, Karen and Mark Sewell, remain actively on the Board and integral within the business. Annie is looking forward to continue to work closely with both of them developing the business as a Board together with Mark Twining, the Chief Operations Officer (COO). Curo believes that Annie represents the right mix of innovation and ethics to the role, as well as a strong sense of fun.
Annie started working with Karen and Mark around 25 years ago in a previous company they ran, The Mandelbrot Set. In fact, Annie was unaware of her first “interview” with that company, which happened when Karen attended a conference session Annie was giving for Microsoft introducing Visual C++ 6!
Annie eventually moved on to work as a technologist at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBoS) in 2003. Running a team of specialist technologists within the bank (becoming Lloyds Bank after 2008) gave her invaluable experience of solving problems within a fast-paced and pressured environment.
Annie joined Curo in 2018 as Head of Technology, and has since enjoyed using the team’s technical knowledge to continue to improve and innovate. When Karen and Mark approached Annie to join Curo, she was excited by the prospect of working with them again. There were two key drivers for the decision to join: firstly Curo’s strong company values of Integrity, Care and Respect – central to everything that is done; and secondly Curo’s pedigree in both its technical knowledge and its strong relationships within the technical community. Both are core to what makes Curo’s offering so special, ensuring the right people are found to solve any business problem.
Annie has an unquenchable desire to learn every day. As well as the constant learning that comes from demanding roles, she is a serial studier. Her original degree is in Physics from Imperial College, London – although she rarely needs to know how to use a spectrometer these days. In order to defer a decision about her first job, she studied for a Master’s degree in Computer Science, also from Imperial. Her first job out of university was as a technical trainer and consultant for a Microsoft Gold partner, which gave her the opportunity to learn a very wide range of skills, covering both development and systems administration. Her interest in people led her almost accidentally to a BSc in Psychology from the Open University, studying part-time while working. Finally, she is currently halfway through studying for an MBA.
Annie lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband Chris, and loves spending time with her two grown stepchildren. She has a strong connection to nature, volunteering as an “ambulance” driver for a local animal charity (picking up and driving injured animals to be attended to at the wildlife hospital). When not out with animals, she loves to listen to live music and to travel and adventure with Chris – their last adventure was an epic trip with a group of friends around ten European countries in five days.
We’d like you all to join us in welcoming Annie to her new role with us here at Curo!