The Human Side of FinTech – An Interview with Ian

The Human Side | Ian Gourlay | SolasOS

Some leaders build careers on expertise. Others on ambition. Ian Gourlay has built his … on people. Within minutes of meeting him, you sense it — the gentleness in his manner, the quiet optimism that seems less like a personality trait and more like a lifelong practice. He talks about people before products, about service before strategy.

The Human Side exists to uncover the person behind the professional, the moments, decisions, and values that shape who they are and how they work. Ian’s story begins five days into life, when adoption placed him into a home where optimism wasn’t a choice, it was the air he breathed. From there, he’s navigated the highs of global leadership and the lows of industry crises, always returning to the same question: what does it take to build an environment where people can not only succeed, but become more of who they are?

And then there’s the way he listens. I once heard that if you put two ears together, they make the shape of a heart, and you can tell, in the way Ian listens, that his ears are in fact his heart. He carries purpose into both his professional and personal life, and when he speaks, it’s measured, steady, as though every word has been weighed before being offered.

Today, as the founder of SolasOS, Ian is channeling decades of that philosophy into a platform that makes the invisible visible. But that’s for another story. For now, we’re here to talk about the journey that brought him here, the lessons learned along the way, and the advice he’d give to his younger self.

Early beginnings and optimism

Laura: Ian, I’d love to start right at the beginning. You’ve shared that you were adopted when you were just five days old. That feels like such a defining moment in your story. How do you see it now, looking back?

Ian: I’ve always thought of it as a very good turn in my life. Things could have gone any number of ways, but I landed in a home where I was loved, cared for, encouraged, and taught to believe in myself. That gave me a grounded sense of optimism. Not the kind of optimism where you simply assume everything will work out, but more of a steady belief that things can move forward, even if the road isn’t obvious yet.

I think that shaped my outlook. It gave me this quiet resilience — the sense that when you’re faced with uncertainty, you can still choose to look ahead and keep moving. That mindset has been a thread through every part of my life and career.

Shaping years in financial services

Laura: You spent thirteen years in financial services, and much of that was during intense periods of mergers and consolidation. What did those years teach you?

Ian: They were formative. Every time there was a merger, there was this fog of uncertainty. People would start asking themselves, Am I still going to be here? Does my work still matter? That uncertainty can be paralysing if it isn’t handled with care.

The temptation is to say, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine’. But if you can’t back that up, it’s hollow. I learned early on that trust comes from being honest about what you know and equally honest about what you don’t. That’s where listening becomes so important. Often people don’t need a leader to have all the answers, they need someone who will hear them and not dismiss their fears.

And as a leader, you start to realise that your words carry a weight you don’t always see. You might make a passing comment, but for someone else, that’s the line they carry with them all day. If you’re careless with it, you can create damage you never intended. That made me slow down and take much more responsibility for what I was putting into the room.

Collaboration and competition in balance

Laura: I know there’s a story from your time at a branch in Yorkshire that captures something important about the way you see people and performance. Can you share it?

Ian: That was a fascinating period. The branch was incredibly competitive, everyone wanted to be at the top. Targets mattered, numbers mattered. But alongside that drive, there was this camaraderie. If one person was struggling to meet the mark, someone else would step in with a lead, an idea, or just a word of encouragement.

It showed me that competition and collaboration aren’t opposites. They can actually exist together in a way that lifts everyone. That environment planted the seed of an idea that’s stayed with me ever since: results matter, but it’s people who make them happen. If you don’t marry those two, the numbers and the humanity, you’re always missing something.

Leading through disruption

Laura: You’ve led through some really turbulent times, the oil price crash, and then COVID where half your business disappeared almost overnight. What did you take from those experiences?

Ian: They were both brutal in their own ways. With the oil price crash, whole revenue streams just vanished. And then with COVID, almost half of what we did couldn’t happen anymore. It wasn’t gradual, it was overnight.

What you learn quickly is that people look to you for a plan, yes, but more than that they look to see whether you’re still with them. Tenacity matters, but so does presence. If your team senses that you’re alongside them, not pretending, not disappearing, but genuinely there, they’ll dig deep in ways you couldn’t have asked for.

If they feel abandoned, though, even the best strategy won’t get you through. It reinforced for me that leadership in disruption isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about holding steady, being visible, and reminding people that together, you can face what’s ahead.

Global leadership and cultural lessons

Laura: You’ve worked across fifteen countries, with extraordinary cultural diversity. What did that show you about leadership?

Ian: At one point, I was working with a team of 37 different nationalities. It’s humbling. What works brilliantly in one culture can be completely wrong in another. You can’t take a one-size-fits-all approach.

What you can do is find common ground. You look for the things that are universal, fairness, respect, the desire for purpose. Then you stay curious about the differences. When you start from “we” instead of “I”, people bring more of themselves into the work.

I found that some of the best ideas often came from the least expected places. A fresh perspective from someone outside the usual circle could unlock solutions that the rest of us had overlooked. It taught me to value diversity not just as something good in principle, but as something that tangibly makes organisations stronger.

Service beyond the workplace

Laura: Alongside your career, you’ve been consistently involved in community service. How do you see that side of your life?

Ian: I don’t think of it as separate from work. It’s all part of who you are. During COVID, our church began running deliveries for people who couldn’t get out, groceries, prescriptions, whatever was needed. Sometimes, you’d be the only person someone saw that entire week.

I’m also part of a local drama group, which takes all of us outside of our comfort zones and brings a different kind of social connection. It grew out of a creative writing group with some ideas to do something that wasn’t already happening in our community. And that’s the thing, service doesn’t have to be dramatic or grand. It can be as simple as noticing a gap and stepping in.

For me, it’s about being available. Whether that’s for a neighbour, a colleague, or a stranger, you can make a real difference just by showing up.

Advice to his younger self

Laura: I always like to end by asking, if you could sit down with your younger self, what would you say?

Ian: I’d tell him to pause more. To see the people before the task. Don’t rush to the “what” before you’ve understood the “who.” Seek to understand their “why”.

And I’d say: define success with “we” first. Move together. It’s the people who create the results. 

What Ian’s story shows is that leadership is rarely defined by declarations or grandstanding. It lives in the choices that don’t announce themselves, the pause before a decision, the weight given to another’s voice, the discipline to treat words as actions. These aren’t embellishments; they are the foundations on which trust is built.

If there is a thread through his journey, it is that success is not found in isolation but in the “we”, the shared resilience of teams, the belief that performance and humanity cannot be prised apart. SolasOS may be the latest expression of that conviction, but the philosophy behind it runs far deeper. What Ian has carried through mergers, crises, and across borders is a steady insistence that organisations rise or fall on how they make people feel within them. That is the human side of leadership, not an accessory to the work, but its foundation.  If you get that right, the rest follows.

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✨ The Human Side | Ian Gourlay, SolasOS ✨

Some leaders build careers on expertise. Others on ambition. Ian Gourlay has built his on, people.

In our latest Human Side conversation, Ian spoke with me about the optimism that began five days into life, when adoption placed him in a home where hope wasn’t optional, it was the air he breathed. From there, his journey carried him through financial services, global leadership, and industry crises, always returning to the same question: how do we create environments where people can not only succeed, but become more of who they are?

💬 “Trust comes from being honest about what you know, and equally honest about what you don’t. Often people don’t need you to have the answers, they need to know you’re listening.”

You can read the full interview below. 

Tagging: @Ian Gourlay | @Laura Walker | @Ian Davey | @Iain Hamilton | @FinTech-Tables | @SolasOS | 

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