Edinburgh AI specialist Zudu adds top talent from FanDuel and Waracle
“We are building a different type of technology company” – chief executive Paul Duffy
Scottish artificial intelligence and software development firm Zudu has added senior leadership talent from big-hitters FanDuel and Waracle.
Edinburgh-based Zudu said Alistair Chalmers was joining as head of engineering from FanDuel with Shaun Marrinan moving from Waracle to become head of commercial.
The high-level appointments come as the capital firm accelerates from a traditional software delivery business to an “AI-first” software and technology specialist.
Paul Duffy, Zudu’s chief executive, said: “Alistair and Shaun are two hugely significant appointments for Zudu. We are building a different type of technology company, and we need leadership that understands not just how to build great software and win great clients, but also how AI is fundamentally changing both disciplines.
“Alistair’s experience scaling engineering teams at FanDuel combined with his work on developer platforms, automation and AI, makes him a fantastic fit for where we are going. Shaun understands the challenges faced by large, complex organisations, and knows how to turn those challenges into commercial opportunities.
“Together they give us real strength at the top of the business as we take our AI-first proposition to market,” he added.
Chalmers joins the firm after almost six years at FanDuel, where he was director of engineering and led a 40-plus engineering team during a period of significant growth. He brings more than 15 years of engineering and technology leadership experience, building and scaling software products and engineering platforms, including from previous roles at M&G Prudential, QikServe, and Zonal Retail Data Systems.
Marrinan, meanwhile, spent more than five years at Waracle, working on digital transformation and technology innovation with organisations across financial services, life sciences and energy. As Waracle’s client principal, he was responsible for strategic client relationships. Before Waracle, Marrinan held senior relationship and commercial roles at Flagstone, GoCardless and Tesco Bank.
Zudu was founded in Dundee in 2014 and is now based in Leith. It can count the NHS, Weir, ScotRail and the Scottish government among its client base. The firm is aiming for £5 million in revenue in 2026, and in excess of £10m by 2028.
In April. Zudu announced that Duffy was stepping up to the role of chief executive from managing director as the firm’s founder James Buchan moved to lead ePass, a GovTech automation platform for licensing, registration and enforcement, currently rolling out across the public sector.
Duffy said at the time: “We’re now firmly on track to be a £10m-plus revenue business with strong pillar clients, deep sector partnerships, while demonstrating digital transformation outcomes for clients across multiple industries.”
In a survey of more than 50 Scottish business leaders during the second quarter of 2026, Zudu found that AI is now mainstream across the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and larger corporate markets, with 94 per cent of respondents using AI in general, and 19 per cent implementing AI in more specific areas.
Regarding return on investment (ROI), almost 70 per cent were said to be seeing either a clear ROI from AI or early positive signs.
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