Revolut appoints new chairman

Revolut has announced the appointment of Martin Gilbert as its non-executive chairman.

The appointment comes after their CISO left the challenger bank last week on 05 November.

Gilbert joins Revolut board.

In recent months, Revolut has signed new global deals with Visa and Mastercard, expanded into Australia and Singapore, and opened one million new accounts in October.

The challenger was recently valued at $1.7 billion in a fundraising last year, as it prepares to secure fresh financing of up to $1.5bn to help fund its growth.

Read more: Revolut CISO leaves after two months on the job

Gilbert, the former co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, co-founder of Aberdeen Asset Management and chairman of the PRA Practitioner Panel, will begin his role as of 1 January 2020. Prior to his formal appointment, Gilbert has been working closely with CEO, Nik Storonsky, in an advisory capacity.

“Revolut is a unique proposition in the digital banking world, and I’m pleased to be joining the board at such an important stage in its development,” says Gilbert. “Nik and the team have made great strides towards building the bank of the future, and I’m proud to add my deep experience of board governance and corporate growth to the board as Revolut continues to expand on a global scale.”

Commenting on the new appointment, Nik Storonsky, founder and CEO at Revolut says: “As we prepare to scale the business globally it’s crucial our senior team has a blend of forward-thinking creativity and experience. Martin is a respected veteran of the financial world, and brings unparalleled experience to Revolut. His knowledge will prove invaluable as we continue our mission to become the world’s first truly global bank.”

In recent years, he has faced criticism for spreading himself too thinly between several jobs, as reported by the FT. He is vice-chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen and senior independent director at Glencore, the natural resources group. He also recently joined the advisory board of Tennor Holding, the holding company of controversial German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst. According to the Financial Reporting Council’s Corporate Governance Code, full-time executive directors “should not take on more than one non-executive directorship in a FTSE 100 company or other significant appointment”.

Suggested reading: Revolut launches in Singapore

The bank has made a number of key appointments across its senior management team in recent months. According to the FT, Goldman Sachs executive Michael Sherwood was also recently reported to be joining as a non-executive director. Other recent board appointees include Caroline Britton and Bruce Wallace, formerly of Deloitte and Silicon Valley Bank respectively.

It also added more bankers to its executive team, including ex-TSB and HSBC executive Richard Davies, who was appointed as the chief operating officer this year. Dave MacLean, the former finance director of Metro Bank, took on the same role at Revolut last month.

This year, Revolut launched its services in Singapore and Australia, and the company is on course to launch in the United States by the end of the year.