Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm, has hired a new senior banking analyst.

Gareth Lodge joins as a senior analyst in Celent’s banking practice, based in the firm’s London office. His research will focus on corporate payments. Prior to joining Celent, Mr. Lodge was a Senior Consultant in cashless payments at Secura Monde International.

He was also the Regional Research Director at TowerGroup, focusing on European payments. In this role, he led the firm’s payments practice outside of North America, in addition to his coverage of retail banking in Europe. Mr. Lodge has been widely quoted in the press, including Financial Times, BBC News, CNBC, and Bloomberg. He has also appeared at numerous industry conferences, including Sibos, NACHA Payments, Global Payments Forum, and others.

Mr. Lodge holds a Bachelor of Science, with honors, from the University of Portsmouth. He also received a post-graduate diploma in Information Science from the University of North London, where he is on the Board of Studies.

"We’re delighted to welcome Gareth to the team," says Bart Narter, Senior Vice President of Celent’s Banking Group. "In addition to expanding our on-the-ground presence in Europe, his expertise in corporate payments addresses an area that is important to our clients."