Monzo names new finance chief in hint at listing plans
Monzo has appointed former Nubank executive Tom Oldham to be its chief financial officer in a hint at the digital challenger bank’s IPO ambitions.
The British fintech also named Mark Newbery as its first UK CFO as it seeks to grab more market share from the country’s biggest lenders.
Oldham is due to to join Monzo in the new year, replacing James Davies – who was poached by Ovo in October to become the energy supplier’s new CFO.
Most recently serving as chief investment officer at Brazilian fund manager Mombak, Oldham was formerly global head of financial planning and analysis at São Paulo-based Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Latin America.
Monzo touted Oldham’s “experience in driving growth and innovation… during a transformative period of hypergrowth and Nubank’s IPO”, which took place in New York three years ago and has become a benchmark for other neobanks considering a stock market float.
London-based Monzo is itself a much-hyped IPO candidate. Chief executive TS Anil has suggested the firm will float at some point but been tight-lipped on the timing or location, telling City PM in June that it was “too early” to discuss.
Monzo has grown rapidly from its foundation in 2015 to become the UK’s seventh-largest bank by customers, bosting more than 11m users.
It has raised $610m (£490m) in funding this year alone, posted its first annual profit in June and secured a £4.5bn valuation in October as part of an employee share sale.
The bank has launched several new products in recent months, including a pensions offering, and has it sights set on further revenue streams like mortgages.
Monzo also has plans to enter the European market through an office in Ireland, as well as expanding in the US.
Newbery, who joined Monzo last month, formerly served as CFO for investment banking at Barclays, after stints in its UK consumer banking and payments divisions.
“Their appointments are yet another example of us truly bringing together the best of banking and technology in pursuit of our mission to transform the financial lives of millions of people in our home market and beyond,” Anil said on Tuesday.