Anne Boden

Anne Elizabeth Boden

MBE
BornJanuary 1960 (age 64)
Swansea, Wales
Alma materSwansea University
Middlesex University
Occupation(s)CEO and founder of Starling Bank
3 minute Welsh Government video of Anne Boden introducing herself and Starling Bank; July 2020.

Anne Elizabeth Boden MBE (born January 1960) is a Welsh tech entrepreneur. She is the founder and former CEO of Starling Bank,[1] a UK mobile-only bank, Boden is the first woman to found a British bank.[2] In 2018, she received an MBE for services to financial technology.[3]

Early life

Boden was born in Bon-y-maen a suburb of Swansea, the daughter of a steelworker and a department store worker.[1] She was a pupil at Cefn Hengoed Comprehensive and graduated from Swansea University in 1981[4] with a degree in Chemistry and Computer Sciences.[5] Boden spent her childhood in bookshops, or the library, or with her head in a second-hand Encyclopaedia Britannica that her father had bought for her during a teachers’ strike.[6] After the financial crisis, Boden sold the house in Swansea where she spent her weekends, in order to raise funds and hire staff at her company.[5]

Career

After graduating, she had intended to go into IT but, as a backup plan, applied for a job as a graduate trainee with Lloyds Banking Group,[4] where her career was launched.[5] This was followed by spells at Standard Chartered Bank, UBS, and as Chief Information Officer at AON Corporation.[7] Boden later joined ABN AMRO and RBS, serving as Head of EMEA and as head of Global Transaction Banking.[7] At the group, she ran a payments business across 34 countries.[8]

Boden earned her MBA from Middlesex University in 1990 while working for Standard Chartered.[9] In 2011 she served on the Board of Governors of Middlesex University, which awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in July 2018.[10]

She joined Allied Irish Banks in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer[11] to help turn round the bank's fortunes after the financial crisis of 2008.[12]

In 2020 Boden became a member of the board of the trade association for the UK's banks and financial services companies, UK Finance, and also an advisor to the UK government's Board of Trade.[13]

Anne is a member of the World Economic Forum.[14]

In 2020 Boden released her book; Banking On It: How I Disrupted an Industry.[15]

Starling Bank

Boden founded her online banking business in June 2014, originally named Possible Financial Services,[16] with the tagline "Bank Possible". Her objective was to create an entirely on-line bank that gave easier feedback to customers.[13]

In February 2015, co-founder Tom Blomfield departed Starling Bank to found Monzo.[17] The other four directors left with him.[13]

The company rebranded as Starling in January 2016,[16] and received its UK banking licence that year.[18] The Telegraph described the company as "the Amazon of banking" after it received multiple investments from Austrian-born billionaire Harald McPike.[19]

Boden lost her position as majority shareholder in Starling in July 2019 after a large investment from McPike during a series C funding round in February.[20] McPike has to date invested £75m (for a 60% stake) in the company, followed by a £50m share held by Merian Global Investors.[20] The company has raised £233m to date.[20] Boden now holds approximately 25% of the company.[20] The bank currently (Jan 2020) has a reported 275,000 customers in the UK.[7] Boden is a member of Tech Nation's FinTech Delivery Panel[7] and has spoken at industry events such as Money20/20 and Wealth 2.0.

In June 2023 Boden stepped down as Starling CEO after investor clash.[21] Boden remains on the board[22] and she owns 4.9% of Starling.[22]

Awards

Boden was awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to fintech.[23]

Starling's Anne Boden named CEO of the year at Digital Masters Awards.[24]

Starling Bank named Bank of the year at City AM Awards.[25][26]

In 2018 Starling won the Best British Bank at the British Bank Award.[27] Starling Bank won Best British Bank award for four years running.[28]

In July 2023, Boden was awarded an honorary doctorate by Swansea University, where she had grown up and received her bachelor's degree in chemistry and computer science that kickstarted her career in fintech.

References

  1. ^ a b Driscoll, Margarette (8 October 2019). "Anne Boden, Starling CEO, on how she went from banker to fintech entrepreneur in midlife". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. ^ "The first woman to found a British bank". fintechmagazine.com. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. ^ "The 38 coolest women in UK tech". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Anne Boden". Sail: 9. 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Dickins, Sarah (8 March 2018). "Steelworker's daughter who started a bank". BBC News. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Anne Boden - Swansea University". www.swansea.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "Anne Boden". Forbes. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. ^ "The Future of Fintech: Advisory Board Meeting". The Telegraph. 27 April 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Anne Boden, Starling Bank Limited: Profile and Biography". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  10. ^ "David Blunkett, Imogen Heap and Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis among Middlesex's new set of influential and inspiring honorary graduates". www.mdx.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  11. ^ "A dynamic response to digital challenges – HCL Technologies". www.banking-gateway.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Setting up bank easier than fixing broken system, says ex-AIB chief". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Moore, Anna (8 November 2020). "It's crazy, but I started my own bank': the story behind Starling". The Observer. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Anne Boden". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  15. ^ Moore, Anna (8 November 2020). "'It's crazy, but I started my own bank': the story behind Starling". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  16. ^ a b "STARLING BANK LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Bank Possible's future in question as Starling team flies apart". The Financial Times. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  18. ^ Wallace, Tim (14 July 2016). "Mobile-only bank Starling wins its licence". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  19. ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca (9 October 2018). "Starling is now the Amazon of banking. Come get an account". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  20. ^ a b c d "Revealed: Starling Bank chief's stake slides as billionaire backer tightens grip". CityAM. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  21. ^ Dunkley, Emma; Venkataramakrishnan, Siddharth (9 June 2023). "Anne Boden stepped down as Starling CEO after investor clash". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  22. ^ a b Lunden, Ingrid (25 May 2023). "Anne Boden, founder of UK's Starling Bank, steps down as CEO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Anne Boden MBE". Fresh Business Thinking. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  24. ^ Boland, Hannah (30 November 2020). "Starling's Anne Boden named CEO of the year at Digital Masters Awards". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  25. ^ "Starling Bank named Bank of the Year at City AM Awards". ffnews.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  26. ^ City AM Awards | Personality of the Year 2022| Interview with Anne Boden, retrieved 26 April 2023
  27. ^ "The World Bank or the knowledge bank?", Knowledge for development?, Zed Books Ltd, 2004, retrieved 8 July 2023
  28. ^ "Monzo dethrones Starling at the British Bank Awards". AltFi. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.

External links

Media related to Anne Boden at Wikimedia Commons

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