KRISTIĀNA SEMIKINA APPOINTED DIRECTOR – TALENT ACQUISITION AT GOCARDLESS

GoCardless has named Kristiāna Semikina as Director – Talent Acquisition, strengthening its leadership team as it scales globally. Bringing experience from EIS Ltd, Eleving Group, Accenture, and WorkingDay, Semikina will lead global hiring strategies, inclusive talent practices, and workforce expansion in the competitive fintech sector.  

Kristiāna Semikina’s appointment as Director – Talent Acquisition at GoCardless marks a significant leadership addition for the global fintech company at a time when competition for skilled talent is intensifying across markets. With a career built on shaping global talent strategies, scaling teams for high-growth organisations, and embedding inclusive hiring practices, Semikina steps into the role with a mandate that goes beyond recruitment to building long-term people capability aligned with business ambition.

GoCardless, known for its payment solutions that simplify bank-to-bank transactions for businesses worldwide, is operating in a sector where innovation cycles are fast and the demand for specialised skills is relentless. As fintech firms expand into new geographies and diversify their offerings, talent acquisition has become a strategic lever rather than a purely operational function. Semikina’s arrival reflects GoCardless’s intent to strengthen its talent ecosystem as it continues to scale internationally and compete for top-tier professionals in technology, product, and leadership roles.

Before joining GoCardless, Semikina spent nearly four years at EIS Ltd, where she served as Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Manager for the EMEA region. At EIS, a global provider of core systems and digital solutions for insurers, she played a central role in supporting growth across multiple markets. Her work involved navigating complex hiring environments, aligning recruitment strategies with regional business needs, and ensuring leadership pipelines were robust enough to support expansion plans. Colleagues from that period often describe her approach as structured yet people-centric, combining data-driven decision-making with a deep understanding of candidate experience.

Her tenure at EIS built on an already strong foundation developed during more than three years at Eleving Group, where she held the role of Group Talent Lead. Eleving Group, a fast-growing international fintech and consumer finance company, presented a different but equally demanding challenge. The organisation’s rapid growth required swift workforce scaling across diverse geographies, often in emerging markets with varying talent dynamics. Semikina led group-wide talent initiatives that balanced speed with quality, ensuring that growth did not come at the expense of cultural alignment or long-term sustainability. This period sharpened her expertise in global recruitment operations and reinforced her belief that talent strategies must evolve alongside business models.

Earlier in her career, Semikina held key talent leadership roles at Accenture and WorkingDay, experiences that shaped her understanding of large-scale recruitment and consulting-led talent solutions. At Accenture, she was exposed to complex, multi-country hiring programs and the demands of building teams for some of the world’s largest organisations. WorkingDay, a recruitment and HR consulting firm, further broadened her perspective, allowing her to work closely with clients across industries to design and implement effective hiring frameworks. These early roles gave her a comprehensive view of how talent acquisition functions can be structured to deliver measurable business impact.

Across these roles, a consistent theme has been Semikina’s focus on end-to-end talent acquisition. Rather than viewing recruitment as a series of isolated processes, she has championed integrated approaches that link employer branding, candidate engagement, diversity and inclusion, and workforce planning. Her work has often involved close collaboration with senior leadership to ensure that hiring priorities are directly connected to organisational goals, whether that means entering new markets, launching new products, or building leadership capability for the future.

At GoCardless, these capabilities are expected to play a critical role as the company navigates its next phase of growth. The fintech landscape is marked by rapid technological change, regulatory complexity, and intense competition for talent. Companies are not only competing with traditional financial institutions but also with technology giants and startups that offer attractive career propositions. In this context, building a compelling employer brand and a seamless candidate experience can be decisive factors in attracting and retaining the right people.

Semikina’s mandate includes strengthening GoCardless’s talent ecosystem to support international expansion. As the company grows its presence across regions, aligning global standards with local market realities becomes increasingly important. Her background in EMEA-focused and group-wide roles positions her well to address these challenges, ensuring consistency in hiring quality while remaining responsive to regional nuances. This balance is particularly crucial for leadership hiring, where cultural fit and strategic alignment are as important as technical expertise.

Another area likely to see emphasis under her leadership is inclusive hiring. Throughout her career, Semikina has been associated with initiatives aimed at broadening talent pools and reducing bias in recruitment processes. In a sector where diversity remains an ongoing challenge, such efforts are not only socially important but also strategically beneficial. Diverse teams are widely recognised for driving innovation and better decision-making, qualities that are essential in fintech. By embedding inclusive practices into GoCardless’s talent strategy, Semikina can help the company build teams that reflect the markets and customers it serves.

Her appointment also underscores a broader shift in how organisations view talent acquisition leadership. Increasingly, senior talent leaders are expected to act as strategic partners, contributing to discussions on growth, culture, and long-term capability building. At GoCardless, Semikina is set to work closely with business leaders to anticipate future skill needs and design hiring strategies that are proactive rather than reactive. This forward-looking approach is particularly relevant in a competitive environment where delays in hiring or misaligned talent decisions can have significant business consequences.

Industry observers note that GoCardless’s focus on strengthening its people strategy comes at a time when fintech firms are reassessing how they attract and retain talent amid economic uncertainty and shifting workforce expectations. Flexible work models, career development opportunities, and purpose-driven cultures are increasingly important to candidates. Leaders like Semikina, with experience across different organisational contexts, are well placed to navigate these evolving expectations and translate them into effective talent practices.

As she steps into her new role, Semikina brings not only technical expertise but also a leadership philosophy shaped by years of working across geographies and growth stages. Her career trajectory reflects a steady progression from operational recruitment roles to strategic leadership positions, each adding depth to her understanding of how people strategies can enable business success. For GoCardless, her appointment signals an investment in building future-ready teams capable of sustaining growth in a fast-moving fintech landscape.

While the full impact of her leadership will unfold over time, the intent is clear. By strengthening its talent acquisition function and aligning it closely with business strategy, GoCardless aims to position itself as an employer of choice in the global fintech ecosystem. With Kristiāna Semikina at the helm of talent acquisition, the company is placing a strong bet on the idea that people, as much as technology, will define its next chapter of growth.