Lynette Slater has been appointed chief executive of de Novo Solutions, the fast-growing Welsh digital transformation consultancy, effective September 17, marking a significant transition for the five-year-old firm as founder and serial entrepreneur Mark Sweeny moves to executive chairman. The appointment underscores de Novo's progression from a founder-led startup into a maturing business with expanding leadership depth. Slater brings more than 30 years of experience spanning insurance, financial services and software operations, backgrounds that position her to scale the Newport-based consultancy through its next phase of growth.
The appointment represents a deliberate restructuring of de Novo's leadership architecture, with Sweeny remaining connected to the business through his new executive chair role. Sweeny noted in comments that he has known Slater for more than three decades, describing her as uniquely qualified to lead the firm. The transition also involves a broader strengthening of the senior leadership team, including the appointment of Tracy Stephenson as chief financial officer and Alex Allen as chief operating officer. These moves coincide with de Novo's elevated standing in UK growth rankings, where it has appeared in the Sunday Times 100, FT1000 and Deloitte Technology UK Fast 50, as well as earning the Welsh Government's St David Award. No recruitment firm involvement has been publicly disclosed in the announcement.
Slater's career spans multiple domains in enterprise technology and change management. She previously served as a programme manager with insurance giant Allianz, overseeing global operations centre expansion, and held the position of client services director at ICE InsureTech, a software provider for the insurance sector. More recently, she completed an interim director role with Logicwave. Earlier in her career, she worked as a managing consultant at IT-Freedom Ltd and as head of programme and portfolio management at Kensington Mortgages. Her experience includes foundational roles as a business systems analyst at HSBC and contributions to software development at HUON Corporation. Notably, she brings direct expertise in leading multi-million-pound change portfolios and building award-winning professional services functions, skillsets directly applicable to managing consultancy operations at scale.
De Novo Solutions, founded in October 2020 and formally launched in 2021, operates as a specialist Oracle Cloud and ServiceNow implementation partner headquartered in Newport with a second office in Chennai, India. The firm has grown to approximately 150 employees and generated turnover approaching £12.5 million annually at a reported 20 percent year-on-year growth rate. The consultancy focuses on digital transformation for finance, procurement, human resources and payroll functions, serving central and local government, police forces, education and multi-academy trusts alongside private sector clients. Sweeny co-founded the business following his previous venture, Certus Solutions, which pioneered Oracle Cloud applications across the UK and Ireland before its acquisition by Accenture in May 2018. That transaction is described as a lucrative exit that provided Sweeny with the resources and experience to launch de Novo.
Slater's appointment reflects a maturing strategy within de Novo as the consultancy transitions from founder-centric leadership to professional management structures. The timing coincides with the firm's recognition as Wales' fastest-growing technology company and its consistent appearance in national growth benchmarks, suggesting that Sweeny and the board recognize the need for experienced operational leadership to manage talent development, client relationships and organisational scaling. Slater's stated focus will center on investment in skills and tools, strengthening ways of working and creating staff progression opportunities, priorities that suggest de Novo is positioning itself for sustained expansion beyond its current size. The continuity provided by Sweeny's executive chair role, combined with his personal endorsement of Slater spanning three decades of acquaintance, may reduce transition risk. Whether this appointment signals preparations for external capital injection or expansion into new service lines remains unconfirmed, though de Novo's consistent ranking in growth league tables suggests investor interest may be emerging.
