From Law to Leading Tech: Francesco’s self-taught path to Nexus Engineering

Francesco’s journey into tech is nothing short of inspiring. Originally starting his career as an attorney in Italy, he quickly became frustrated by the lack of effective software solutions in the legal sector. Rather than waiting for change, Francesco took matters into his own hands, building his own startup and teaching himself to code. This self-driven innovation marks the foundation of his approach to technology today.

After moving to London, Francesco worked with various startups and corporate companies, where he met our Chief Technology Officer, Peter Ennis. Now, as Nexus’ Director of Engineering, his immediate priority is to synergise our tech departments and reshape tech delivery. He’s committed to driving transformation by fostering a culture of innovation and leveraging automation to streamline manual engineering processes.

Francesco also places a strong emphasis on observability—allowing teams to be proactive rather than reactive when dealing with tech challenges. His vision is to enable engineers to feel a sense of ownership and personal success, advocating for a collaborative approach where engineers always have “one foot in and one foot out,” never working in isolation.

Q&A: Meet Francesco, Our Director of Engineering

Tell us a little about your role.

My role is all about bringing together different tech departments at Nexus to create synergy. I’m focused on reshaping how we deliver technology and driving innovation across the board.

What sort of tech-led initiatives are you bringing from previous roles?

Having worked on both startups and corporates, I’ve learned how to challenge the status quo. I’m bringing in automation processes that help streamline manual tasks and ensure our tech works proactively.

What are your 3 biggest challenges?

Integrating our various tech teams, maintaining innovation while scaling, and ensuring our processes are automated enough to eliminate bottlenecks.

What are you excited to achieve at Nexus?

I’m eager to reshape tech delivery at Nexus and really place technology at the core of everything we do, not just as a support tool.

What Does Tech-Led Mean to You?

For Francesco, being tech-led is about shifting from “Is this possible?” to “How do we make this possible?” He believes in placing technology at the core of the business, rather than just viewing it as a support tool. His goal is to challenge the status quo and ensure that technology enables rather than restricts. By fostering ownership within tech teams, Francesco ensures that every engineer is deeply invested in their work, linking personal success to company success.