Barclaycard Payments Bolsters People-Led Growth Plan

Barclaycard Payments has strengthened its executive team with a key appointment designed to support the company's ambitious growth trajectory following significant investment and a strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management.

Caroline Smith has been named Chief People Officer at Barclaycard Payments, tasked with developing workforce strategies that could position the business competitively as it pursues improved financial performance. The appointment comes as the payment provider transforms into a standalone entity backed by approximately US$539.86m in investment from Barclays and operational expertise from Brookfield.

The move reflects broader efforts across the Barclays Group to prepare teams for technological advancement, with plans to increase investment in staff learning and development initiatives as the sector undergoes rapid change.

Building the leadership bench

Caroline arrives at Barclaycard Payments from a Chief People Officer position at a car, home and travel insurer, where she spent more than six years. Her background includes a range of HR leadership roles focused on transformation, including People Partner Director of Transformation and CIO at Lloyds Bank, SVP of HR Operations at Pearson and Group HR Transformation Director at BT.

These positions involved leading significant technology-driven transformations across global operations. Caroline also spent nearly eight years at PepsiCo, joining as HR Director, Change in 2004 and advancing to European HR Director for R&D, Finance and BIS before departing in 2012.

Strategic appointments drive transformation

The addition of Caroline to the executive team follows other leadership changes designed to support the company's financial ambitions. In January, Jason Lalor was announced as CEO of Barclaycard Payments, bringing experience from financial services and fintech organisations including Square and Mastercard.

Describing his appointment as a "crucial moment," Jason says he was "proud to have been awarded such an important opportunity, a significant one in our industry."

"By partnering closely with Barclays and Brookfield we can bring together innovation, scale, a prestigious brand and drive meaningful transformation – creating great outcomes for our customers and people. I am eager to get started and am looking forward to the journey ahead," he adds.

Matt Hammerstein, CEO of Barclays UK Corporate Bank, says of his appointment: "Jason brings exceptional experience and a clear vision for innovation, which will help us deliver even greater value to our clients and partners."

"This is a pivotal moment for Barclaycard Payments, and I'm confident that under his leadership, we will continue to set the standard for excellence in the industry," Matt adds.

Partnership unlocks financial potential

The strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management has driven substantial growth over the past year. Barclays invested approximately US$539.86m in Barclaycard Payments, while Brookfield provided expertise to support business transformation.

This arrangement is developing Barclaycard Payments into a standalone entity and is set to deliver "meaningfully improved financial performance" for the business, according to Barclays. The partnership could help broaden the service range and enhance the client experience for existing and prospective customers.

Matt says of the partnership: "Finding a partner to support us in transforming our payment acceptance business, in a way that will enable us both to serve our clients' interests better and pursue a path to releasing value from the business, demonstrates clear execution of our three-year plan to become a simpler, better and more balanced bank."

"We have a leading position in the UK, but we know that our payments clients are increasingly looking for integrated connectivity, an end-to-end service and tailored technological solutions from their payments providers. Our partnership with Brookfield recognises the opportunity within our business to go beyond the foundations we have built to date," he adds.