Former Goldman CIO Elisha Wiesel joins fintech startup The Floor

By Anna Irrera

LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's former chief information officer, Elisha Wiesel, has joined Israeli fintech startup The Floor as chairman of its board of directors, the company said on Monday.

The Floor provides software that helps banks make their IT operations more efficient by providing a better view of the technology systems they deploy, identifying which ones may no longer be needed or may need to be repurposed.

The company says this can help banks speed up digitisation and reduce their IT costs and complexity, in part by cutting spending on systems provided by vendors which may have become redundant.

Wiesel, who spent more than two decades at Goldman Sachs, will help the company expand in the United States and partner with more banks and investors.

The move comes as large banks across the world look to improve their technology infrastructure by making it less complex and costly.

The need to reduce costs and improve their digital capabilities has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of employees working remotely and more customers looking to access banking services online.

This can help further boost the appeal of The Floor's technology, Wiesel said in an interview.

"The need has only been felt more," said Wiesel. "Look at all the roles that are being executed remotely."

Wiesel joined Goldman in 1994 as a quantitative trading strategist and held numerous senior roles including chief risk officer. He retired from Goldman last year.

The Floor's customers include HSBC Holdings Plc, Banco Santander and Intensa SanPaolo Spa its website shows.

(Reporting by Anna Irrera; editing by Jason Neely)