FinTech Scotland chairman Stephen Ingledew has been appointed to the board of the new finance innovation body set up by the UK Government.
Mr Ingledew OBE will join the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) as an independent non-executive director, alongside Alex Marsh, former head of Klarna UK.
The pair are tasked with driving the growth plans for the organisation, which was recommended as part of the influential Kalifa Review of the fintech sector in 2021.
The appointments follow the recent launch of CFIT in Q1 2023, which was set up to unblock barriers to growth for financial technology and positioning the United Kingdom as a global leader in financial innovation.
Sitting at the intersection of government, regulators and industry, CFIT is a central
convening force, leveraging expertise from across the financial innovation space to set priorities, drive forward solutions and advance growth within the UK fintech sector.
The NED appointments will serve to strengthen CFIT’s governance as it embarks on bringing together time-limited ‘coalitions’ of experts from finance, technology, academia and policy to drive better outcomes for consumers and SMEs. CFIT’s first coalition will consider the opportunities within Open Finance.
Ingledew OBE is an influential advocate of making the financial world more open, creative and inclusive through innovative initiatives and progressive ways of collaborating across diverse stakeholders and organisations. He is Executive Chair of FinTech Scotland and is also one of the founders of the FinTech National Network which facilitates collaboration across all UK regional fintech clusters.
At CFIT he will set up and chair the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, responsible for overseeing the nomination of board members and executive directors, ensuring that they have the appropriate balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge.
Alex Marsh, former head of Klarna UK, is a well respected leader in the banking, fintech and retail sectors, a CEO, NED and Board Advisor. A strong believer in the power of innovation and
collaboration, Alex has been an active member of the UK Fintech Strategy Group, the International Fintech Group and NED of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the UK. At CFIT, he will be responsible for chairing the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, which will oversee risk management, financial reporting and compliance processes.
Charlotte Crosswell OBE, chair of CFIT, said: “We are delighted to welcome Stephen Ingledew OBE and Alex Marsh as independent non-executive directors to the CFIT team. Their joint experience is incredibly relevant for us as we embark on work to support the growth and development of the UK fintech sector.”
“Alex brings significant experience of working within start-ups and scale-ups, understands the
barriers they face and has great financial and risk management expertise, which is crucial to us as a publicly-funded body.”
“Stephen’s experience in setting up and driving national fintech coalitions is invaluable to us. His four-decade long career facilitating collaborations across all UK regional fintech clusters will be instrumental in shaping our operating model going forward.”
Stephen Ingledew OBE, chairman of FinTech Scotland, said: “I am thrilled to have been
appointed NED for CFIT. Having set up Fintech Scotland in 2018 to deliver positive economic
outcomes through financial innovation, I have first hand experience of driving collaborations across diverse stakeholders and organisations and can bring my expertise to the team as we, jointly, lead the charge for fintech innovation across the UK.”
