Pivot strengthens senior team as business scales
Pivot, the specialist real estate development finance lender, today announces a series of senior appointments and promotions across its team. The changes reflect the continued investment Pivot is making in its people as the business grows following its management buyout, backed by Foresight Group.
Clare Atkins joins as finance director, Chris King is promoted to chief investment officer, Slav Melnikovs is promoted to senior credit manager, and PakSan Wu takes on a newly expanded role as director of strategy & capital.
Together, the changes strengthen Pivot’s leadership across finance, credit, investment and strategy as the lender takes on larger, more complex transactions and builds out its team to support the next phase of growth.
Clare Atkins joins as finance director
Clare Atkins has joined the Pivot board as finance director, bringing 18 years’ experience in financial services. She spent eight years at LendInvest, rising to statutory director on the regulated board of its investment funds business, where she had oversight of finance, accounting and operations.
Since joining Pivot in February 2026, Clare has been focused on financial control and reporting as the business scales, including work to significantly streamline processes.
Clare comments: “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 King promoted to chief investment officer
Chris King has been promoted to chief investment officer, reflecting his role in strengthening Pivot’s origination and credit capabilities and taking on overall responsibility for the lender’s loan portfolio. Chris joined Pivot in November 2024, bringing over two decades of leadership experience in credit risk management and origination across sectors including real estate, leveraged finance and large corporates.
Chris comments: “Taking on the CIO 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 Melnikovs promoted to senior credit manager
Slav Melnikovs has been promoted to senior credit manager. The new role comes with expanded delegated lending authorities and a broader remit, including managing junior members of the credit team and helping to shape Pivot’s graduate and intern hiring programme.
Slav is also taking ownership of the management of Pivot’s panels of professional advisors and service providers, which is critical for underwriting and portfolio oversight. The move supports Pivot’s growing focus on more complex commercial development transactions and the need to broaden the scope and expertise provided by all parties that make up the deal team.
Slav says: “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 Wu becomes director of strategy & capital
PakSan Wu has been appointed director of strategy & capital, taking on an expanded leadership role within the business. Having successfully led Pivot’s funding, treasury and capital management functions over the past two years, PakSan’s remit has evolved to focus on the strategic priorities that will drive the firm’s next phase of growth.
Working closely with the CEO and senior leadership team, he will lead on planning, capital strategy and key growth initiatives across the business. Alongside strengthening and diversifying Pivot’s funding platform, PakSan is also leading a number of transformation projects, including the development of proprietary AI-powered tools to enhance origination, underwriting and due diligence.
This expanded role reflects both PakSan’s contribution to the business and Pivot’s commitment to innovation, disciplined growth and long-term value creation.
“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.”
Shahil Kotecha, CEO of Pivot, comments: “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.”
Foresight Group has supported Pivot for almost three years and completed a £100m+ debt facility and equity investment into the business in February this year. Foresight is fully supportive of the promotions and looking forward to the future as a result of this investment in the team.
Oliver Bates, director – private credit at Foresight Group, comments: “Pivot is an impressive provider in the development finance space, and we are fully behind their exciting vision. The evolution of the team indicates a strong outlook for the coming months and we have every confidence in their continued ambition to deliver outstanding solutions for brokers and borrowers.”