About Optima
Experienced, passionate payments professionals.
Optima is a Manchester-based specialist payments consultancy founded in 2007. We work with the organisations that move money: tier-one issuers, challenger banks, fintechs, card schemes and lenders. Payments is the only thing we do. That is why clients bring us the problems that sit too deep in the detail for a generalist firm to reach.
The Team
A small, named, accountable group. The people on the proposal are the people doing the work.
FOUNDING DIRECTORMark O'Keefe
20+ years in payments. Specialises in scheme economics, card profitability and regulatory strategy. Facilitates the FIS Lenders' Forum for c.80 senior UK consumer-lending leaders. NED and Consumer Duty Champion at Aspire FT, PSR Panel member 2018 - 2024, chairs The Payments Association's Open Banking Working Group. Advisory group member, Coll v Alphabet. FCMA. Past: M&S Bank, Capital One, ByteDance.
CONSULTANTJanine Sinnott
Law and MBA. 10+ years in consultancy with a focus on digital commerce, benchmarking and project management. Drives the German Mobile Banking App Review and the firm's research practice. Prepares the Mastercard Academy programmes. Previously Conversion Rate Optimisation Executive at JD Williams.
STRATEGIC PARTNER // PCLMatt Simester
Director of Cards and Payments at PCL (Piran Consulting Limited). Specialises in payments strategy, regulatory management, partnership development, retail payments and benchmarking. Strategic alliance with Optima since 2016. Joint delivery on the FIS Lenders' Forum and the PA Merchant Working Group.
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANTPaul Lucraft
25+ years in financial services across finance, credit and fraud risk, banking and payment cards. Chartered accountant. Previously credit risk strategy at TSB and General Manager UK&I at Mastercard. Engaged on selective fraud and risk projects.
Where else we sit.
The roles and industry positions Mark holds outside Optima delivery. Most are board-level or chair positions; all are payments-adjacent.
DEPUTY HEAD JUDGEPay360 Awards.
Deputy Head Judge for the Pay360 Awards, the UK payments industry's main awards programme. Mark helps set judging standards and assess entries across the sector.
MEMBERPSR Panel.
Member of the Payment Systems Regulator's statutory panel, 2018 - 2024. Industry voice into UK payments policy.
AMBASSADOR & CHAIRThe Payments Association.
Industry ambassador role across PA events, working groups and publications. Chair of the Payments Association working group on open banking, working with Bethany Whymark and Natasha Healy.
ADVISOREdstart.
EdTech with a UK and Australia footprint. Advisory role on payments and commercial strategy.
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CHAIRAspire FT UK Limited.
UK arm of a Singapore-headquartered B2B payments and treasury platform, FCA-regulated. Board NED and Consumer Duty Champion, supporting the UK growth strategy.
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CHAIRPIPO Service Limited.
PIPO is the ByteDance payments entity. Non-Executive Chair role (2023 - 2024).
ADVISORConsultative Group for Liz Coll.
Advisor to the Consultative Group in Elizabeth Helen Coll v Alphabet Inc.
TRUSTEEConnect Alliance Trust..
Trustee and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee of the Manchester multi-academy trust, formerly M20 Learning Trust (2019 - 2025).
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