Foundever Appoints Fintech Veteran Claire Calméjane to Lead AI-Powered CX Strategy Across EMEA

Foundever has expanded Claire Calméjane’s remit to EVP, General Manager for UKI, France, Benelux, and Global EMEA Sales. For fintech leaders, this signals a shift toward treating AI-driven customer experience as a board-level strategic priority rather than a back-office function, particularly as financial services remains the company's largest global sector.

What was announced

The appointment of Claire Calméjane as EVP, General Manager – UKI, France & Benelux; Global EMEA Sales marks a significant expansion of her initial remit. Calméjane first joined Foundever in April 2025 as General Manager for the French market, where she was tasked with accelerating the deployment of AI and multimodal data offerings. Her new role extends this mandate across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Benelux region, while also taking charge of Global EMEA Sales.

Foundever’s operations are vast, with approximately 130,000 associates working across 45 countries. The company handles upwards of 9 million customer conversations every day, supporting more than 60 languages. This scale allows the firm to manage CX strategies for over 800 brands, including both established global leaders and digital-first companies. The services provided range from standard customer care and technical support to complex back-office functions.

A core component of the strategy Calméjane will oversee is the "human-in-the-loop" approach. Rather than pursuing short-term cost savings by replacing human staff with full automation, Foundever integrates AI to assist agents and handle routine queries, while keeping humans central to high-value or complex interactions. This strategy aligns with recent industry insights from KPMG, which suggest that customer experience has become a critical boardroom imperative. In this environment, fostering a customer-centric culture is viewed not just as a choice, but as a strategic necessity for survival in an AI-driven market.

"Having worked at the intersection of financial services and technology for over two decades, I've never seen the pressure on CX leaders move as fast or as high up the agenda as it is right now. Increasingly AI-driven customer experience strategies require broader C-suite alignment because AI, data, risk and customer trust cut across the whole enterprise."

Claire Calméjane, EVP, General Manager – UKI, France & Benelux; Global EMEA Sales at Foundever.

The companies involved

Foundever positions itself as a next-generation leader in the customer experience (CX) sector, specializing in the management of complex customer interactions for large-scale enterprises. The company was built to support the digital-first transformation of global brands, offering a blend of human expertise and technological integration. With a global footprint spanning 45 countries, Foundever is one of the largest players in the CX management space, employing 130,000 associates to deliver services in dozens of languages.

The company’s market position is heavily defined by its relationship with the financial services industry, which stands as its largest sector globally. This connection is reinforced by the background of its leadership; Claire Calméjane brings experience from major financial institutions including Lloyds Banking Group, where she led innovation for ten years, and Société Générale. Her expertise at the intersection of finance, technology, and AI is central to Foundever’s goal of making CX a board-level priority. By focusing on "human-in-the-loop" AI scaling, the company seeks to differentiate itself from competitors who may lean more heavily on unassisted automation. This approach is designed to ensure that AI is scaled safely and effectively within the enterprise, maintaining the trust and risk management standards required by its high-profile client base.

What this means

The expansion of Calméjane’s role reflects a broader industry trend where customer experience is no longer siloed as a cost center but is being elevated to a core business strategy. By appointing a former banking innovation leader to head major European markets, Foundever is directly challenging the traditional BPO model that prioritizes volume over value. The "human-in-the-loop" philosophy places pressure on competitors who are racing toward full automation. The real test for the sector will be whether AI can truly enhance agent performance without eroding the "premium differentiator" of human interaction, especially in high-stakes financial services where trust is fragile.