Complidata, a provider of AI automation and compliance solutions, has appointed Ben Arber as CEO.

Founded in 2018, Complidata’s offerings include TradeSpeed NLP, a platform that aims to ease the burden of the high-risk and time-consuming process of manual examination of documents used in trade.

Using AI, natural language processing algorithms and machine learning, it extracts data from documents such as Swift messages, bills of lading and invoices. The system allows users to perform documentary examination checks, highlight discrepancies, screen against sanctions lists and carry out risk calculations based on potential red flags for financial crime.

Based in New York, Arber initially joined Complidata as chief product officer in July 2022 on a part-time basis.

His new role as CEO sees him leave his post at fraud prevention fintech MonetaGo, where he has served as global head of commercialisation and managing director for the US and Canada since June last year.

Arber’s prior experience includes 24 years at HSBC in various international roles, including as head of its Canada global trade and receivables finance business which tripled in size under his leadership, and most recently as head of financial crime compliance for the bank’s US commercial banking and global trade and receivables finance.

Since leaving HSBC in 2021, he has held numerous advisory and founder roles, as well as taking on the chief growth officer position at German financial crime risk management company Elucidate.

Speaking to GTR about his new position, Arber says: “Complidata is a leader in the use of AI techniques to identify financial crime and reduce unnecessary noise in payments and trade finance screening. I am lucky to be surrounded by super-talented subject matter experts and very smart machines as we collectively transform trade finance processes for clients of all sizes.”

MonetaGo has not announced Arber’s replacement.