Our Leadership Team
ClearCourse’s leadership team delivers strength-in-depth, extensive, and specific experience within software and SaaS.
Christina Hamilton
Chief Executive Officer (Board Member)
Christina leads ClearCourse’s strategic vision and direction, leveraging her deep experience in leading FinTech organisations and impeccable reputation for delivering sustainable business growth and transformation.
Passionate about empowering businesses through innovative software and payment solutions, Christina takes a focused approach to understand customer needs and building market-leading products. Before joining ClearCourse, she led global teams at Stripe, Xplor Technologies, Worldpay and Western Union Business Solutions.
Above all, Christina is committed to fostering a dynamic, inclusive culture – demonstrated by her strong track record for building highly effective management teams and bringing companies together following corporate transactions. A founding member of women’s networks at Western Union and Xplor, she continues to volunteer for several organisations teaching financial literacy and career skills to young adults.
Mark Grafton
Chief Financial Officer (Board Member)
Before joining ClearCourse in February 2023, Mark was most recently the CFO at Adarma Security, a private equity-backed UK cybersecurity services provider. Ahead of that role, Mark spent nearly 12 years at Aimia, a Canadian public company with global operations spanning data, loyalty, software and marketing, culminating in his appointment as Group CFO. Mark has an impressive track record of building and leading high-performing Finance organisations, and his experience with the tech sector and high-value M&A will be invaluable to ClearCourse.
Joshua Rowe
Head of M&A (Board Member)
Josh joined ClearCourse at its inception and has guided every acquisition our group has made, from origination to completion. Leading our M&A team, Josh also plays a key role post-acquisition, integrating our new businesses. Josh came to ClearCourse as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with previous experience in corporate development at Callcredit Information Group, Markit (now IHS Markit), KPMG and Capgemini.
Nathan Best
Chief Operating Officer
As COO of ClearCourse, Nathan oversees all commercial functions and delivers growth to drive value for our portfolio of businesses and customers. With over 20 years’ experience in the Banking and FinTech sectors, Nathan was previously leading the UK and European business at global SaaS platform, Xplor Technologies. Prior to this, Nathan held senior leadership positions at Travelex, Western Union and Link Group. Specialising in the execution of successful Go-To-Market strategies, Nathan brings a wealth of expertise on customer experience, product development, post-M&A integration and change management.
Mark Roberts
Division Director, Payments
Mark spearheads ClearCourse’s Payments division and launched our market-leading solution, ClearAccept, in 2021. He is most passionate about designing flexible payments solutions for SMEs, welcoming their input in the design of ClearCourse’s software across the breadth of our group. Mark joined ClearCourse in early 2021, bringing 25 years’ experience in the IT and payments space, including strategy and sales projects with the likes of Paypal, Rakuten and Tesco.
Davina Southwell
Division Director, Business Services
Davina leads the Business Services division and is responsible for managing product, operational and financial performance, as well as implementation of our embedded payments solutions, division-wide. With over 22 years’ experience in the Insurance Industry, Davina previously co-founded a start-up insurance brokerage before holding various senior management roles with responsibilities for both the UK and EMEA markets. Prior to joining ClearCourse, Davina led the Accident & Health divisional teams within one of the UKs largest Insurer.
Vanessa Machin
Division Director, ClearCourse Leisure
As the Leisure Division head, Vanessa is responsible for leading intelligentgolf and Club Systems, the UK’s premium golf software companies. She also oversees the strategic development of HowdididoMedia, a far-reaching online community for golfers which includes two industry specific magazine editorials. Before joining ClearCourse, Vanessa was the General Manager of intelligentgolf. She brings 25 years of experience in the leisure and golf industries and has previously managed health clubs, golf clubs and hotels across the UK.
Ernie Theobald
Division Director, Membership Services
Ernie is responsible for the strategic growth and development of the ClearCourse Membership Services division. His role is focused on delivering best-in-class products and service capabilities to our broad customer portfolio through ClearCourse’s leading embedded software and payments solutions. Ernie brings over 20 years of global experience in commercial leadership roles, having worked alongside some of the largest multi-national Fintech organisations. Prior to joining ClearCourse, Ernie led a UK-based business delivering software with embedded payments solutions to the Fitness & Wellbeing sector.
Emma Allen
Division Director, ClearCourse Retail
Emma oversees the strategic development of the Retail and Hospitality division. She brings over 20 years of commercial experience in multinational retail technology and payment organisations, delivering sustainable, multi-million-pound revenue growth. Before joining ClearCourse, Emma served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Universe Group, part of PDI Technologies, and PayPoint, where she was Head of Retail Products. Prior to PayPoint, Emma led the pan-European merchant payment solutions for SIX Payment Services in Zurich.
Tim Sewart
General Counsel
Tim has advised ClearCourse since our launch in 2018 and today oversees all legal matters across our group, supporting both the human and technical aspects of our all-important integration. He was formerly the Technology Sector Head, Department Head, and Board Member of the international law firm DAC Beachcroft LLP and, outside of the legal profession, he was appointed CEO of Clarity Informatics, a successful health-tech business, which he sold to Agilio Software in 2021.
Jess Brain
Director of People
Jess is responsible for managing the people function of ClearCourse, leading the development of HR strategies that support our business objectives while placing a strong emphasis on employee well-being. Jess also advises HR managers on payroll, learning and development, employment law, policy and workforce development. Joining ClearCourse in 2021, she has worked across various divisions and has previously held HR roles in large private and public sectors, including Babcock International and VISTRA.
Andrew Gore
Group Operations Director
Andrew is responsible for group operations and technology, and oversees technology and operational policies and processes, with the goal of fostering synergies across ClearCourse group and delivering exceptional value to customers. Andrew joined ClearCourse in 2019 as the Group Chief Technology Officer. Andrew has three decades of expertise in global technology leadership. Prior to joining ClearCourse, Andrew worked at Crosslake, a global advisory firm specialising in technology due diligence, where his role involved advising ClearCourse on various early-stage acquisitions, contributing significantly to the company's growth trajectory. He also served as the Head of IT and Change, as well as Programme Director at RBS.