Revolut hopes to win round cynics with heavyweight hires
Fast-growing fintech firm Revolut will confirm today the worst kept secret in the City; Martin Gilbert, the asset management titan, is to become its new non-executive chairman.
The move – unsurprising though it may be – is a stark reminder of the startup company’s ambitions to become a global bank.
In the last six months alone, chief executive Nikolay Storonsky has lured in some of the banking industry’s biggest names.
Read more: Stop taking Britain’s glittering fintech status for granted
In July the group tapped up HSBC and TSB banking veteran Richard Davies to be its new operating chief.
A month later it hired a trio of executives from Deutsche Bank, ClearBank and German rival N26.
Even Michael ‘Woody’ Sherwood, the Goldman Sachs veteran who has kept a low profile in recent years, is expected to join the board.
Such high-profile moves suggest two things.
Firstly, that Revolut wants to be taken more seriously. It has called in the grown-ups. Despite their sky-high valuations and rising revenues, many fast-growing technology companies have struggled to convince investors that there is a pathway to profit.
As Revolut looks to raise more than £1bn, well-regarded industry names (with good contacts) will go some way towards silencing those who say the firm lacks experience.
Secondly, the appointments underline an effort in the firm to bolster corporate governance after a spate of controversies.
During the last year the firm has faced public scrutiny from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority, with particular attention on its capacity to tackle illicit money transfers.
Read more: Credit Suisse promotes veteran to boost ailing investment banking unit
Questions over the quality of its compliance systems have also hurt its profile. Drafting in senior bankers from a number of institutional players, however, could go someway to helping safeguard against future mis-steps.
These problems cannot be tackled overnight, but as it attempts to transition into a global bank, Revolut will be keen to show that its new heavyweights demonstrate it is no longer the stereotypical startup, fuelled by ambition alone and filled with bean bags, ping-pong tables and drinks-on-tap.
Though given Michael Sherwood’s obsession with table tennis, perhaps the ping-pong part wouldn’t be so bad.