Pivot strengthens senior leadership team

Specialist real estate development lender Pivot, based in London, has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Clare Atkins as finance director and the promotions of Chris King to chief investment officer, Slav Melnikovs to senior credit manager and PakSan Wu to director of strategy & capital.

Clare joins the board with 18 years’ experience in financial services, including senior roles at LendInvest. 

She said: “I joined Pivot because of its growth ambitions. 

“Having spent eight years building my career in a fast-paced, agile fintech business, I wanted to apply that experience in a business at an exciting stage of its evolution.

“My focus is not only on building a scalable finance function, but also on ensuring finance plays a central role in strategic decision-making. 

“By strengthening reporting, governance and control frameworks, we can provide the insight and confidence needed to support sustainable growth and position the business for its next phase of development.”

Chris takes responsibility for Pivot’s loan portfolio following his promotion to chief investment officer, while Slav’s expanded role includes greater lending authority and leadership responsibilities.

Chris added: “Taking on the chief investment officer role means having oversight across our whole portfolio at a real inflection point for Pivot. 

“I’m looking forward to bringing a broader credit lens to the larger, more complex transactions we’re now taking on, and to strengthening how origination and credit work together as we grow.”

Slav added: “I now have the scope to lead on larger, more complex transactions and to build out our professional relationships with valuers, lawyers and surveyors in a much more structured way. 

“It also means I get to help bring new people into the team and support their development, which is something I'm really looking forward to.”

PakSan will lead the firm’s strategic planning, capital strategy and growth initiatives, alongside transformation projects including AI-powered underwriting tools.

PakSan added: “Pivot’s trajectory means that we needed to establish a focus on overarching strategy and vision for the business. 

“I am very much looking forward to developing partnerships and funding relationships that fit that vision and boost our overall proposition for borrowers.”

Together, the appointments strengthen Pivot’s leadership across finance, investment, credit and strategy as the business continues to expand following its management buyout backed by Foresight Group.

Shahil Kotecha, chief executive of Pivot, added: “We’re experiencing an exciting shift in our lending, partly as a result of our change in funding structure. 

“The average facility size has increased, requirements are becoming more complex, and volumes are up.

“Clare, Chris, Slav and PakSan each bring enormous value to the business, and together they bolster our ability to continue to support brokers and developers as Pivot evolves.”

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