We have put together a multidisciplinary team whose varied skillsets in finance, technology and sustainable business can best help fund and support growth FinTechs.
Izzy joins Fintech Growth Fund after 5 years at Investec Bank, where most recently she was an Investment Banking Associate focused on Private Company Fundraising transactions.
Izzy advised growth stage technology companies raising equity funding rounds from Series A onwards, predominantly in the fintech sector. In this role she completed a range of financing and M&A deals across the UK market.
Izzy developed broad corporate finance and investing experience in her time at Investec, having been a member of the investment team at Outward VC, an early stage FinTech fund, and working as an Equity Research Analyst covering the Capital Goods sector.
She is passionate about supporting fintech founders looking to super-charge their growth and value creation and is excited about the continued role of fintech in democratising access to entrepreneurship and empowering businesses to scale fast and sustainably.
Izzy graduated from the University of Exeter with a first class honours degree in Business Economics.
David has 20+ years’ experience in Banking, Start Ups and Public Sector.
Prior to joining Fintech Growth Fund, David was an MD at Pollinate, a UK FinTech where he was responsible for the UK & Ireland. Before Pollinate David spent 20 years working in the financial services sector. The majority of that time was spent at Standard Chartered Bank where David held a number of senior roles within the European Financial Institutions Group; latterly leading the UK & Swiss Bank, Broker Dealer and FinTech teams, alongside a brief spell in the Transaction Banking Team where he managed the UK team focussing on Trade and Supply Chain Finance.
In 2017 – 2019 David was seconded to the Department for International Trade (DIT) as the CEO of the Financial Services Organisation, leading the Departments Trade & Investment efforts across Financial and Professional Services. After retuning back to Standard Chartered David was appointed as the banks International Trade Advisor.
Prior to joining Fintech Growth Fund, Santiago was an Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs Financial Institutions Group in London. In this role, Santiago completed over £5bn of M&A, financing and capital market transactions, and his work covered acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, LBOs, debt financings, minority equity investments and IPOs for high-growth FinTech companies, Banks, Specialty finance companies & and Asset managers across EMEA.
Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Santiago worked at the M&A firm Fortman Cline Capital Markets, where he advised start-ups, mid-market corporates, and conglomerates on M&A, debt financing, and private placements. Santiago started his career in the Deals advisory practice at PwC, where he completed business valuation services, commercial, and financial due diligences for over £1bn in mid-market transactions across financial services, renewable energy, retail, telecom, industrial, and real estate sectors.
Santiago holds an MBA from London Business School, specialising in Finance and Private Equity, where he served as a Governor of London Business School in his role as President of the Student Association. He received a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics and Finance from the University of Melbourne.
Prior to joining FinTech Growth Fund, Angel was Global Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Investments for Nomura. In this role Angel oversaw the acquisition and integration of large transformational assets in capital markets, investment banking and asset management, as well as equity investments in high-growth FinTech companies.
Prior to joining Nomura, Angel was Global Head of Strategic Investments at BNP Paribas, investing and managing a ~€200m global strategic venture capital fund focusing on FinTech, Financial Services, and DeepTech. Previously he also served as Global Head of Principal Investments FID at Morgan Stanley where he invested and managed a ~$500m global strategic VC fund with focus on FinTech and Financial Services, overseeing three IPO exits during his time. Before this Angel worked as an M&A banker for Lehman Brothers.
Angel started his career as a management consultant and was part of the founding team of the then largest dotcom venture capital fund in Latin America back in 1999. He holds an MBA from London Business School and is an Economist by training.
Prior to joining FinTech Growth Fund, Luisa was an investor at Octopus Ventures, where she focused on supporting European Series A/B Software businesses entering the scale-up phase of their growth. At Octopus Ventures, she held five Board Observer positions across verticals such as SaaS, Fintech and Health-tech.
Prior to joining Octopus Ventures in 2021, Luisa worked in Corporate Finance at Stifel Financial Corp., a US Investment Bank, advising global mid-market tech companies on M&A, capital raises, and growth investments. Luisa holds an MSc in Economics and Management from the London School of Economics. Throughout her studies she spent some time working as an intern in Capital Markets and Equity Research, at Investment Banks and Hedge Funds, as well as in Financial Regulation at the Bank of England. She is passionate about working with companies operating at the intersection of Technology and Financial Services, shaping the way in which people access financial products and navigate the evolving landscape of digital finance.
Prior to joining the FinTech Growth Fund, Joe was a Managing Director at BlackRock where he was Head of Banks and Digital Channels, and responsible for the UK’s Inorganic strategy. Joe spent 11 years at BlackRock, where he had a number of roles including Chief of Staff for iShares EMEA, Head of UK for iShares, and Head of Digital Wealth for Northern Europe. Prior to joining BlackRock, Joe spent his early career at Goldman Sachs where he held positions within the Securities and Investment Management Divisions.
Joe has a passion for FinTech and the crucial role it can play in enabling financial inclusion and wellbeing, helping to create a financially healthier population. Joe has seen first-hand throughout his career the importance of FinTech in driving innovation and evolution in financial services.
Prior to joining FinTech Growth Fund, Daisy was the Executive Assistant to the founders of Strategic PA Recruitment. Daisy graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2022 with a First-Class Honours degree in Law LLB.
Phil also serves as the CEO of FinTech Alliance, a non-for-profit digital platform launched in partnership with the UK Government, tasked with supporting the growth of the UK’s FinTech ecosystem by generating access to market, capital, and talent.
Previously, Phil spent over four years as Group Strategy Director at Pollinate, a growth stage FinTech focused on reinventing merchant acquiring for banks around the world. Prior to this he spent five years at HM Treasury, most recently as Head of Global Markets where he was responsible for all Financial Services activity across Asia Pacific and FinTech Globally.
Theo has 12+ years of experience in growth investing and financial services.
Before joining FinTech Growth Fund, Theo was a Partner at Mouro Capital, a $400m FinTech fund backed by Santander Bank. At Mouro Theo was responsible for UK and European origination, based on thematic research of core fintech verticals. He previously worked at Target Global, a pan-European technology investment firm with more than €3 billion in assets under management.
Theo started his career in investment banking, working at Macquarie and the Royal Bank of Canada. He holds an MBA from London Business School and he received a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Commerce, with First Class Honours, from the University of Western Australia.
Philip has had a distinguished career in British politics as a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2019. He held a range of Senior cabinet posts, most recently serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019. Prior to this, he served as Foreign Secretary (2014-2016), Defence Secretary (2011-2014) and Transport Secretary (2010-2011). He was awarded a life peerage by HM The Queen in July 2020.
Before entering Parliament in 1997, Philip had a wide-ranging business career spanning the house building and property, healthcare equipment and oil and gas sectors.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip focussed on the long-term productivity challenges facing the UK economy and was a strong advocate for the Financial Services sector, and especially for the fast-growing FinTech sector. He championed the cause of SMEs and the need for greater access to long-term growth capital to allow successful British start-ups to scale up in the UK, rather than seeking capital overseas.
Charles is a senior professional in the F&PS Sector. He retired as a senior partner of PwC in September 2020 after a 37 year career with the firm. Charles continues working with PwC, in advisory capacity, on a part-time basis. Alongside this, Charles holds a number of director, trustee and other roles.
Charles joined PwC in 1983 and throughout his career with the firm specialised in delivering audit, assurance and capital market transactions services to listed companies. He led the PwC business responsible for serving the firm’s larger listed audit clients. Other roles included sponsor partner for the firm’s Building Public Trust programme, Non-Executive representative for the UK’s Tax practise and lead partner of the UK firm’s Senior Networking Programme. Outside of PwC, he has served as the Chairman of the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the ICAEW, a member of its governing body and Chairman of the Audit Quality Forum. Charles has also served as a magistrate, a member of the Advisory Counsel for the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability project, trustee to the Mansion House
Scholarship Scheme and a governor of an academy primary school in Hackney.
Elected as an Alderman in May 2013, he served as Sheriff of the City of London in 2015/16and as the 690th Lord Mayor of London in 2017/18. His mayoral theme was “The Business of Trust”. During his mayoral year, Charles Chaired DIT’s then newly established UK FinTech steering board.
Dame Jayne-Anne is the Lead Non-Executive at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), chairs the HMRC Board, and is the Founder and Executive Chair of Snoop.
From 2007 to 2018 she was the CEO of Virgin Money.
A Chartered Accountant, she spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. Three years later, she set up the Virgin One account, which was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2001. She subsequently spent five years at RBS before returning to Virgin as CEO of Virgin Money.
From 2016 to 2021 she was the UK Government’s Women in Finance Champion and continues to support and promote the Women in Finance Charter as an adviser. In 2018 she was named Leader of the Year at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards.
She is a Trustee of the Tate and sits on the Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board, the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum and Lloyds Culture Advisory Group. She was awarded a CBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list and made a Dame in the 2019 Honours list.
Lord Gerry Grimstone served as the UK’s Minister for Investment from 2020-2022 responsible for inward investment into the U.K. He was a Minister both in the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as well as having Ministerial responsibility for the Office for Investment in 10 Downing St.
Before entering politics, Lord Gerry had an extensive business career. He is the immediate past Chairman of Barclays Bank plc and also of Standard Life Aberdeen, the UK’s largest savings and investments business. He was an Independent Non-Executive Board Member of Deloitte North South Europe, a member of Deloitte’s Global Independent Non Executive Advisory Committee, and also of their UK Oversight Board. He was a Senior Adviser to Fenchurch Advisory Partners and was a member of the International Advisory Network of Natixis, the French financial services group.
He presently sits on the Advisory Board of the UK FinTech Growth Fund.
Within the UK, Lord Gerry has had a long history of serving the Ministry of Defence spanning 20 years. He sat on the Defence Board chaired by the Defence Secretary as its Lead Non-Executive. The Defence Board is the senior decision-taking body in the MoD. Lord Gerry served under 6 Defence Secretaries.
From 2012-2015, Lord Gerry served as the Chairman of TheCityUK, the representative body for the financial and professional services industry in the UK. He was a member of HM Treasury’s Financial Services Trade and Investment Board.
Lord Gerry has been deeply involved in UK-China and UK-India relations. He chaired the TheCityUK CBBC China Market Advisory Group which helped coordinate financial and related professional services activity between the UK and China. He chaired Heng An Standard Life, an Insurance and Pensions company with branches in over 80 cities throughout China. In India, he sat for many years on the Board of HDFC Life, which is one of India’s largest life assurance companies. He was the UK chairman of the India-UK Financial Partnership and also of the UK-India CEO Forum both of which were set up by the Indian and British Governments.
In the Gulf, Lord Gerry was the Board Adviser to the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. He also sat on the Board of Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products headquartered in Bahrain. He chaired Aberdeen Standard Investcorp Infrastructure Partners which invests in social and core infrastructure projects in Gulf Co-operation Council countries. In Saudi Arabia, he led, for the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince, the private sector group advising the Kingdom on corporatisation and privatisation. He presently serves on Equilibrium Gulf’s International Advisory Board which advises the Bahraini Economic Development Board on various matters.
He was previously a senior investment banker at Schroders and ran major businesses in London, New York and Asia Pacific. He specialised in mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising for major companies worldwide. Prior to that, he was an official in HM Treasury where he was responsible for privatisation and policy towards state-owned enterprises.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel was knighted in 2014 for public service, particularly to Defence and Business.
Alastair Lukies CBE is a UK businessman and entrepreneur best known as a pioneer and champion for the UK’s globally Fintech industry. He has been at the forefront of the UK’s Financial Technology industry, working with financial institutions, investors and regulators to promote collaboration and mutual benefit across the ecosystem.
Alistair is the Founder & former CEO of Pollinate International. He is also Chair of the Fintech Alliance and Vice-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council at Motive Partners.
Prior to Pollinate, Alistair founded Monetize and was awarded a CBE for services to mobile banking and charity in June 2014.
Helena has worked in financial services for over three decades. She was CEO of Newton Investment Management for 15 years and is now Chair at NYSE-listed Fidelis Insurance Group and Altum Group, a Jersey-based fund administration company. She also chairs Eton College’s Endowment Fund and is a Fellow (Governor) at the school. She is a trustee of the Lady Garden Foundation, a gynaecological cancer charity.
Helena is well known for her work on inclusion and diversity. In 2010 she founded the 30% Club, a campaign for better gender-balanced boards. Since then the representation of women on FTSE350 boards has risen from less than 10% to 40% and there are now twenty 30% Clubs through the world. Helena chairs the Diversity Project, aimed at improving diversity across all dimensions in the investment industry.
Helena entered the House of Lords in September 2020 and was appointed a Dame in 2017 for her work on improving diversity in financial services. She was named one of the 25 most influential City figures over the past quarter of a century by Financial News (2022).
Helena has written two books: A Good Time to be a Girl (William Collins, 2018) and Style and Substance, a guide for women who want to win at work (Little, Brown Books, 2021).
Phil is a portfolio Non-Executive Director working in the UK Financial Services and Technology sectors. He is a Non-Executive Chairman at Fintel PIc, the listed services provider, and is Non-Executive Chairman of BE-I0 and Kore Labs, respectively behavioural science, and product control technology businesses.
Phil was the founder and CEO of Embark Group, a start-up platform technology business. which grew to £40+bn of AuA inside of 8 years at which point it was acquired for £400m by the Lloyds Banking Group in 2022.
Earlier in his executive career Phil held Global Executive Committee positions at Barclays Wealth (Private Banking) and Fortis Investments (Asset Management), and held senior executive positions at Andersen Consulting and Prudential M&G. He has significant international experience in M&A, financial technology, product development, and business process engineering. Phil holds a 1st class BSc (Hons) in Engineering.