Top 30 CTOs in EMEA 2026
Neon River's Top 30 CTOs in EMEA celebrates some of the technology leaders making the greatest impact across Europe's software sector.
Our 2026 list brings together Chief Technology Officers and senior technology leaders from some of the region's most prominent and fast-growing businesses, recognising both their individual careers and the scale of the technology organisations they lead.
Methodology
Our research considered each executive’s current role, career track record and wider impact on their organisation and the technology sector.
Each year, we also place greater emphasis on a particular area of the market. After focusing on AI in 2025, this year’s list places greater emphasis on fintech, a key part of Europe’s technology sector.
Our scope
There is no objective way to define the "best" CTOs, and our list is not intended to be definitive. Instead, it highlights a selection of influential technology leaders across EMEA.
The list focuses on senior technology executives working in substantial software businesses across the region.
Neon River is an executive search firm specialising in senior leadership appointments for technology, software, internet and games businesses across Europe.
“We have recommended him across our portfolio and see Neon River as one of the strongest executive search partners in the market.”
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Matej Pfajfar
CTO
Monzo
Matej Pfajfar
CTO of Monzo, one of Europe’s largest digital banks, serving more than 15 million customers...
Timothee Lacroix
Co-Founder & CTO
Mistral AI
Timothee Lacroix
CTO and co-founder of Mistral AI, building one of Europe’s most prominent generative AI companies...
Bernie Miles
Chief Data and Technology Officer
Tide
Bernie Miles
Chief Data and Technology Officer at Tide, providing digital banking and business management tools to SMEs...
Mariano Albera
CTO
Checkout.com
Mariano Albera
CTO of Checkout.com, providing global payments infrastructure to leading digital businesses...
Magdalena Hallbrandt
CTO
Fortnox
Magdalena Hallbrandt
CTO of Fortnox, Sweden’s leading cloud platform for accounting, payroll and business administration...
Fabian Hedin
Co-Founder & CTO
Lovable
Fabian Hedin
Co-founder and CTO of Lovable, one of Europe’s fastest-growing AI software companies...
Sebastian Enderlein
CTO
DeepL
Sebastian Enderlein
CTO of DeepL, leading technology behind its AI-powered translation and language tools...
Yaron Shaer
CTO
Klarna
Yaron Shaer
CTO of Klarna, one of Europe’s largest fintech companies and a global payments provider...
Øystein Ellingbø
CTO
Ardoq
Øystein Ellingbø
CTO of Ardoq, helping scale the Norwegian enterprise architecture software company globally...
Christina Scott
CPTO
RWS
Christina Scott
CPTO of RWS, combining language technology and specialist services for organisations worldwide...
Steven Newson
Group CTO
Starling Bank
Steven Newson
Group CTO of Starling Bank, a leading UK digital bank and banking technology provider...
Mark Spiteri
Portfolio CTO
Montagu
Mark Spiteri
Portfolio CTO at Montagu, a €15bn European mid-market private equity firm...
Robert Fink
CTO
Helsing
Robert Fink
CTO of Helsing, developing AI and software technology for next-generation defence systems...
Scott Sherwood
CTO
Kpler
Scott Sherwood
CTO of Kpler, a global provider of commodity data, analytics and market intelligence...
Donato Lucia
VP of Technology
Revolut
Donato Lucia
VP of Technology at Revolut, serving more than 75 million retail customers worldwide...
Luboslava Uram
CTO
Solvd Group
Luboslava Uram
CTO at Allianz-owned motor claims technology business Solvd Group...
Martin Klenk
Co-Founder & CTO
Celonis
Martin Klenk
CTO of Celonis, leading technology behind its process mining and process intelligence platform...
David Power
CTO
Nscale
David Power
CTO of Nscale, building vertically integrated infrastructure for the global AI industry...
Patrick Chatain
CTO
Contentsquare
Patrick Chatain
CTO of Contentsquare, helping businesses understand and improve digital customer experiences...
Stephen Wilcock
CTO
Paddle
Stephen Wilcock
CTO of Paddle, helping software companies manage payments, tax, subscriptions and compliance globally...
Alex Kaluzny
CTO
Doctolib
Alex Kaluzny
CTO of Doctolib, one of Europe’s largest digital healthcare platforms for patients and medical professionals...
Alexander Lystad
CTO
Visma
Alexander Lystad
CTO of Visma, one of Europe’s largest private software groups, specialising in cloud business software...
Frank Soetebeer
CTO
EcoVadis
Frank Soetebeer
CTO of EcoVadis, leading technology at the global sustainability ratings software company...
Shawn Wen
CTO & Co-Founder
PolyAI
Shawn Wen
Co-founder and CTO of PolyAI, building conversational AI technology for enterprises...
Peter Donlon
CTO
Zopa
Peter Donlon
CTO of Zopa, a UK digital bank offering savings, loans, credit cards and vehicle finance...
Jamie Hutton
CTO
Quantexa
Jamie Hutton
CTO of Quantexa, using AI and contextual data to help organisations identify risk and make decisions...
Peter Hill
CTO
Synthesia
Peter Hill
CTO of Synthesia, enabling businesses to create professional videos at scale using generative AI...
Aymeric Thas-Pinot
CPTO
Orisha
Aymeric Thas-Pinot
CPTO of Orisha, providing specialist software across retail, healthcare, construction and other vertical markets...
Mei Dent
CPTO
TeamViewer
Mei Dent
CPTO of TeamViewer, a global provider of remote connectivity and workplace technology...
Johannes Schaback
CTO & Co-Founder
STARK
Johannes Schaback
Co-founder and CTO of STARK, building autonomous systems for modern defence applications...
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