At Projective Group, becoming a partner is more than a title, it’s a recognition of leadership, entrepreneurial drive, and long-term impact. Our partners play a key role in shaping the future of our business: they lead major projects, build strong client relationships, and contribute to the growth of our people and our organisation. We’re proud to welcome individuals into this role who not only excel in what they do, but also help others succeed along the way. Today we are very proud to announce that our UK CFO Alex Gilbert has achieved this exceptional milestone.
I started my career at HSBC on their graduate scheme working within the Commercial Bank, then moved to Accenture where I worked in Capital Markets. I enjoyed the delivery, but I knew I wanted to be somewhere with a genuinely entrepreneurial culture — a place where I could have more impact and learn from people who had actually built something.
When I joined Projective Group in 2017, we were a team of around 100 across Europe, with only 20 or so in the UK. Back then, we focused purely on project and programme delivery in financial services, and I was probably the youngest and least experienced hire the firm had made — as we only hired people with at least 10 years of delivery experience and I only had about nine! But that meant I got the chance to learn directly from entrepreneurs and industry experts — something I would never have experienced in a larger corporate.
I was probably the youngest and least experienced hire the firm had made but that meant I got the chance to learn directly from entrepreneurs and industry experts.
Because the UK business was still quite small, there was also a real opportunity (and a need) to get involved in running and shaping the business. I’ve always had a passion for finance (not just working in financial services but understanding the mechanics of business itself), so in 2020 I took on the role of UK finance lead. The timing couldn’t have been better — it coincided with the launch of our ‘buy and build’ strategy, which gave me the chance to help lead our UK M&A activity. I’ve since supported the acquisition and integration of DTSQUARED in 2021 and GDFM in 2023. These are the kind of opportunities you simply don’t get elsewhere.
I’ve been fortunate to work on some incredible projects, one of the highlights so far was helping set up a new bank in the Netherlands response to Brexit. That project then led on to the client trusting me to manage $100 million of their budget to transition LIBOR reform — this was one of the most significant and complex industry changes to impact finance in the last 30 years, despite flying under the radar for most people outside of the financial services industry.
What hasn’t? Since 2017 we’ve seen 10x growth, expanded into new business lines, launched graduate schemes, and gone through a few rebrands (though I have to say, I really love where we’ve landed now). More importantly, we’ve evolved from a specialist delivery firm into a full-service consultancy, still exclusively focused on financial services, but now with deep capability across transformation, data, risk and compliance, payments, talent, and managed services. And we’re doing it at scale with over 1000 people, and with the ability to manage the industry’s most complex challenges. It’s been an incredible journey to be part of.
We’ve evolved from a specialist delivery firm into a full-service consultancy.
Feeling like we’re just getting started. We’re one of the largest financial services consultancies in Belgium and the Netherlands, but there’s still huge opportunity for us to grow in markets like the UK, Germany, and France. That means more exciting work, more impact, and more opportunities for our people across the Group. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Projective Group is opgericht in 2006 en is een toonaangevende change specialist voor de financiële dienstverlening.
We worden binnen de sector erkend als een provider van complete oplossingen, die samenwerkt met klanten in de financiële dienstverlening om oplossingen te bieden die zowel holistisch als pragmatisch zijn. We hebben ons ontwikkeld tot een betrouwbare partner voor bedrijven die willen gedijen en bloeien in een steeds veranderend landschap van financiële dienstverlening.
