Top Independent Talent for Financial Services in Europe
Pre-vetted independent consultants combining big brand consulting and operator backgrounds – ready to deploy across banking, insurance, payments, and consulting projects in Europe.
Individual specialists, project teams, or always-on talent pools – all coming with real-world FS execution experience. Curated quality, deployed in days not months.
Trusted by
Built for Europe's financial services landscape
Outsized connects banks, insurers, fintechs, payments companies, and consulting firms with independent professionals who understand the local market. From regulatory compliance to core banking transformation, and open banking implementation, our consultants bring the regulatory knowledge and hands-on delivery experience to operate effectively across European financial services. With a platform of 60,000+ deeply vetted independents built exclusively for FS and consulting, we deliver the depth, quality, and speed that European financial institutions expect.
Access Europe's most in-demand independent expertise
Strategy & Growth
From corporate strategy and GTM design to M&A integration and market entry, our consultants have led these engagements at major banks, insurers, and consulting firms, bringing the execution experience to see it through.
Product & Innovation
Whether you're modernising core banking, launching payments products, or driving digital innovation, we connect you with product leaders who have built and shipped in financial services, not just advised on it.
Digital & Technology
Our technology consultants bring hands-on delivery experience across cloud migration, data engineering, AI/ML, and platform modernisation. These are people who have run programmes in regulated environments, not just scoped them.
Delivery & Change
From programme governance to agile transformation, our consultants have managed complex, high-stakes initiatives inside financial institutions and know how to embed quickly and drive results.
Risk, Compliance & Remediation
We provide risk and compliance professionals with direct implementation experience, whether that's building out a financial crime framework, running a remediation programme, or preparing for regulatory deadlines.
Customer, Brand & Marketing
Our consultants have designed and delivered customer experience, brand, and growth programmes inside financial services firms, giving you the expertise to move from strategy to measurable outcomes.
How AXA and Oliver Wyman use Outsized in Europe
European financial services firms and consulting practices use Outsized when they need the right people quickly, without compromising on quality. From finance, regulatory remediation and digital transformation to building out new consulting capabilities, here is how some of Europe’s most demanding organisations have put independent talent to work.
Interim financial leadership for AXA Partners during a complex cross-border integration
How Outsized placed a senior Financial Controller to maintain continuity through a high-pressure merger for AXA Partners.
Challenge:
AXA Partners needed an immediate replacement for their outgoing Financial Controller mid-integration. The role spanned controllership across UK, France, Shannon, and other European markets – with no time for a permanent search and no room for a leadership gap.
Solution:
Outsized ran a detailed briefing process to surface what the situation truly required – insurance sector expertise, multinational stakeholder credibility, and the resilience to operate across two distinct corporate cultures simultaneously. A qualified shortlist of senior interims was delivered rapidly.
Impact:
Continuity of finance leadership maintained through the critical integration period. The right experience accessed for exactly the right duration – without a permanent headcount commitment and without losing ground during the merger.
Outsized in Europe. Built by FS industry leaders, for clients who expect more
Outsized brings high-quality, curated independent talent to European financial services organisations. Founded and run by former FS executives, consultants, and PE professionals, we understand what great talent looks like and what it takes to deploy it effectively. We don’t send longlists. We don’t operate like a recruitment agency. We’re your curated talent partner for financial services in Europe.
Johann van Niekerk
EMEA Lead
Qualified actuary with 15 years in insurance and reinsurance at Metropolitan Life and RGA. Founded RGA Ventures and built Outsized’s South African operation from the ground up.
Experience from:
Azeem Zainulbhai
EMEA Co-Lead
Investment banking and private equity background at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, followed by CFO and Chief of Staff roles at fintech and marketplace scale-ups.
Experience from:
Niclas Thelander
Founder & CMO
Career built across European financial services at SEB, KPMG, and Atradius, followed by private equity at LeapFrog Investments and co-founding a European insurance MGA.
Experience from:
Build agile financial services teams powered by top independent talent
In financial services, delivery speed, specialist expertise, and regulatory compliance have to work together. Outsized enables European clients to scale capacity through independent professionals who understand FS environments, from transformation and risk to digital, data, product, and innovation.
Talent-on-Demand
Quickly close capability and capacity gaps in your core functions and project teams. Onboard talent in days, not weeks or months. Access our platform of top independent consultants, skilled contractors, and seasoned experts with deep execution experience.
Outsized Teams
Complete project outcomes delivered through agile, hand-picked teams of proven consultants and experts with operator exeperiences from the real workd. Each team is built to your brief and mobilised fast, with lower overheads, transparent pricing, and hands-on management from your Outsized Capability Lead.
Bench by Outsized
Always-on access to curated, continuously updated talent pools of top-tier independents across high-priority skill areas. Outsized guarantees quality, depth, and availability so you can deploy the right skills exactly when you need them.
Contract-to-Hire
De-risk hiring for both sides. Employers and talent get to know each other during a try-before-you-buy period, confirming suitability through on-the-job performance before making a permanent commitment.
Meet some of Europe's leading independent professionals
Karl Rapson
M&A & Strategy Consultant
Independent M&A and strategy consultant with 13+ years of experience across both the UK and France. He has advised investment firms, large corporates, and mid-market companies on the full spectrum of M&A activity.
Martin Wallraff
Strategy & Transformation Consultant
Senior strategy and transformation leader with over 20 years of experience across global banking, payments, and fintech. He has advised major financial institutions on strategy, operating model design, and market expansion across Europe and Asia.
David Nagtzaam
AI Transformation Consultant
David is a technology & transformation leader with 16+ years of experience helping organisations operationalise AI as an enterprise capability across strategy, operating model, and governance at premier technology disruptors.
Read about the work we've done in Europe
Technology due diligence for a private equity acquisition in payments
How Outsized helped Dunedin find and deploy the right technology specialist in a live deal window.
Interim financial leadership for AXA Partners during a complex cross-border integration.
How Outsized placed a senior Financial Controller to maintain continuity through a high-pressure merger for AXA Partners.
Delivering specialist actuarial capacity in Europe
How Outsized placed a South African Prophet expert to implement a complex cashflow model upgrade for a global management consulting firm in Europe.
Loved by our clients, independents, and employees
Let’s talk about your talent needs
Outsized gives European financial services firms access to independent talent that is pre-vetted, fast to deploy, and genuinely experienced in FS delivery.
Whether you need a single specialist this week, a team built for a complex programme, or an always-on talent bench, we move quickly without compromising on quality. We don’t send longlists. We send the right people.
Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll come back to you within one business day.