With more than 20 years’ experience in software and management, most recently as CTO for online gaming firm PokerStars, Ronen Benchtrit becomes the new chief technology officer for Zopa. Benchetrit will direct Zopa’s overall, growth-oriented technology strategy.

“I believe that Zopa is leading by example, with great innovative products and an award-winning team,” Benchetrit said. “I hope to use my experience and skills to drive rapid growth for Zopa, making it accessible to an ever-growing number of customers and leading Zopa as a fintech pioneer.”

Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana praised Benchetrit’s record in promoting business growth, as well as his IT and technical skills, and says the new hire is “yet another building block in our drive to continue and accelerate Zopa’s growth in changing the landscape of consumer financial products.”

Before his work at PokerStars, Benchetrit was senior R&D projects manager and architect for Avaya. He was also vice president of R&D and co-founder of Trinity Computing Systems, and spent six years as a software engineer and team leader for the Israel Defense Forces. Benchetrit holds degrees in computer science from Mamram—IDF Computer Science Academy and The Open University of Israel—and graduated from the Cranfield Leadership Programme at Cranfield University’s School of Management in 2013.

Founded in 2007, Zopa demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2008. In May, the company began offering auto-loan refinancing through its Zopa CarReFi program and in February, Zopa launched three new lending products: Classic, Access, and Plus to replace a number of existing solutions. The company has raised more than $56 million in funding, and includes among its investors Augmentum Capital, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Wellington Partners.