Signicat announced the appointment of Keith Fenner as CEO and Pete Daffern as chair, effective 10 November 2026. The appointments mark a coordinated leadership transition as Signicat opens its next strategic chapter. Fenner succeeds Asger Hattel, who steps down as CEO after almost seven years, while Daffern succeeds Johan Tjärnberg as chair.
The transition comes at a critical time as generative AI accelerates the threat landscape, with 59% of European businesses seeing an increase in identity fraud, according to Signicat’s “The Battle in the Dark” report. Signicat is uniquely positioned due to its proprietary AI capabilities, designed to detect and prevent deepfakes, synthetic identity fraud and identity theft. This growing demand for sophisticated digital trust solutions will continue to drive the company’s expansion.
Digital identity has become a critical foundation for the European economy, driven by strict regulatory demands and sophisticated fraud threats. To meet this need, Signicat has spent the last years successfully building a leading Digital Identity platform with unique solutions within onboarding, identity proofing, signing, orchestration and authentication, supporting and advising thousands of companies with their critical digital infrastructure, while buying and integrating eight acquisitions. Today, it operates a digital platform where regulated large players in industries like banking, finance, payments and the public sector can find a complete solution for their secure online transaction and digital identity needs.
Since Nordic Capital invested in Signicat in 2019, the company has grown tenfold. Through double-digit organic growth and acquisitions, Signicat has expanded its geographic reach and today serves more than 25,000 customers across more than 45 countries, supported by more than 550 employees across 16 offices in Europe.
With this European platform firmly in place, and the next growth phase about to begin, Asger Hattel and the Board have agreed that this is the right time to hand over to new leadership. Fenner brings more than 25 years of international software leadership experience, with a track record in scaling businesses and driving international growth at companies including Microsoft, Sage, Galvanize and Diligent. Daffern brings extensive governance experience across private equity-backed software businesses in Europe and the US, combining this with more than 30 years in enterprise software leadership.
“Signicat has established a market-leading platform in a sector that is critical to the European economy. The foundation is exceptional, and my focus now is on scaling that success. I am excited to join the team and open the next strategic chapter, to accelerate our international growth further, drive commercial execution and ensure we capture the immense opportunities in the digital identity space,” said Fenner, incoming CEO of Signicat.
“Signicat operates from a position of absolute strength in the market. Having guided multiple enterprise software companies through scaling, I look forward to leading the board and partnering with Signicat’s Executive Team to unlock Signicat’s next chapter” said Daffern, incoming chair of Signicat.
With businesses and the public sector facing increasingly complex fraud and compliance challenges, Signicat equips organisations with the tools needed to secure their digital transactions.
“We are very pleased to welcome Keith and Pete to Signicat. Their complementary experience across software, international growth and board leadership makes them well suited to build on Signicat’s strong market position and pursue the opportunities ahead. Asger and Johan have both been instrumental to Signicat’s development, growth, and strong proven scalability, and Nordic Capital is grateful for their leadership and close partnership over the years,” said Fredrik Näslund, Partner and Head of Technology & Payments, Nordic Capital Advisors.
Over his tenure, Asger Hattel led the strategy that transformed Signicat into a leading European digital identity platform. Under his leadership, the company grew tenfold, expanded its geographical reach into new markets, expanded the customer portfolio into critical new verticals while demonstrating excellent scalability and strong financial results. As Chair, Johan Tjärnberg has supported that journey and helped shape the Board that will guide Signicat going forward.
“It has been a privilege to lead Signicat over the past seven years and to work with the team to build the company into the truly European platform it is today. With that mission complete, a strong organisation in place, and a new chapter to begin, I believe this is the natural time to hand over. Keith brings highly relevant experience for the work ahead, and I look forward to supporting a smooth transition,” said Asger Hattel, outgoing CEO of Signicat.