The U.K. fintech heavyweight, Revolut, has announced the Italian Francesca Carlesi as the forthcoming CEO for its U.K. branch, while Nik Storonsky maintains his role as the CEO of the overall groups. Notably, Revolut is facing challenges in obtaining a U.K. banking license. With her impressive track record, Carlesi may be play a pivotal role in the fintech’s ambitions to become a bank in the UK.
Francesca’s previous stint was at Molo, the U.K.’s inaugural fully online mortgage provider, where she held the reins as the founder and CEO. Her extensive banking career features leadership positions at Deutsche Bank and Barclays. Additionally, she’s had roles at McKinsey & Co. and Bridgepoint Capital.
Carlesi boasts an impressive educational background, including a PhD in Banking and Finance from the University of Rome, an MBA with honors from Columbia University, and a diploma from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. With over 15 years in the financial realm, her expertise spans private equity, retail and commercial banking, investment banking, and asset and wealth management.
Come December, Carlesi will take the helm at Revolut, succeeding James Radford, who exited the position in March.
This leadership change occurs shortly after Kitty Ussher, the former economic secretary to the Treasury and a one-time MP, stepped down from Revolut‘s UK board. Despite her move to Barclays, Ussher reminisced about her fulfilling four years with Revolut in a heartfelt LinkedIn post.
Revolut boasts a sprawling global clientele exceeding 35 million, with a significant footprint in nations such as Romania and Poland. The Central and Eastern European regions are also seeing brisk growth for the fintech. Still, the U.K. remains its cornerstone market.
