Novastone, a technology provider for the wealthy, has hired Andrew Hodson as a director.

Novastone, a technology provider for the wealthy, has hired Andrew Hodson as a director.

The former managing director at the wealth arm of Barclays will help develop the company's latest product called WealthChat. According to Novastone, WealthChat provides private and secure chat across devices and existing CRM platforms.

Hodson was hired by Barclays in 2012 as UK/Ireland managing director from Citi Private Bank and has 20 years in the financial industry with 15 years in private banking. He has also invested in a number of successful technology start-up businesses, including Deepmind – which was sold to Google this year for £242 million ($395 million) - and Featurespace.

The hire follows a torrid time for the Barcalys Wealth division in recent months following the decision in May to roll its private banking arm into its retail business. It has led to a string of high profile departures, including chief executive Peter Horrell and Henry Fischel-Bock. 

Hodson's appointment at Novastone comes alongside that of Craig Crawford who has been hired from Burberry as an advisor.

"I was approached in May to be used as a sounding board for WealthChat;  I immediately saw the benefits of the Novastone platform. I wish WealthChat had been available to me during my time as a private banker," said  Hodson.