Revolut COO leaves ahead of rumoured SoftBank-backed raise
Revolut’s chief operating officer, Steve Harman, has left the fintech after 10 months in the role as rumours swirl about a SoftBank-backed fundraising round.
Harman spent 20 years at Amazon prior to joining Revolut
Harman joined Revolut from Amazon in September 2020 after more than 20 years at the technology giant.
His role involved leading customer support, financial crime operations, recruitment, customer experience, and shared services.
Harman’s departure comes as Sky News sources report the fintech is in advanced talks with SoftBank which could see the latter’s Vision Fund 2 invest between $750 million and $1 billion.
Should such a fundraising round go ahead, it would place Revolut as one of the most valuable fintechs ever created in Europe.
Sky News reports that SoftBank’s role in Klarna’s mammoth $639 million funding round from June may have influenced Revolut’s desire for a higher valuation.
A deal is expected to be weeks away, and could see Revolut valued at between $30 billion and $40 billion.
This would put Revolut’s value at six times higher than its last estimation, when TCV and TSG Consumer Partners invested in the firm in 2020.
The fintech is in the process of applying for a UK banking licence, which would allow it to finally take deposits in its home country.
Comings and goings
Revolut has experienced a series of high-profile departures in the past few years, as staff come and go at the fintech.
2020 saw several heavyweights at the company leave for pastures new. In September, partnerships head Rishi Stocker – an early employee at Revolut – left to set up his own business.
Richard Davies, Revolut’s CEO of banking, exited in July 2020 after just one year at the challenger. He now heads up challenger bank Allica.
In June 2020, Revolut’s vice president of growth, Hannes Graah, also left the company. In April, North America general manager Dan Westgarth and lead data scientist Abhi Thanendran both left.
April 2020 also saw global head of employer branding Anca Pintilie and regulatory reporting manager Alexander Gratz depart. Pintilie exited just eight months after she joined, prior to spending nearly five years at Oracle.
Another April casualty was deputy chief financial officer Stefan Wille as well as interim head of finance Anne Borzenko.
The fintech’s head honchos – aside from CEO Nik Storonsky – now comprise: Mikko Salovaara (CFO), Vlad Yatsenko (CTO), Pierre Decote (CRO), and Sid Jajodia (chief banking officer).
