Former Standard Life executive Stephen Ingledew to head FinTech Scotland 

The chief executive of a new body set up to boost growth in the financial technology sector has been named. Stephen Ingledew will head FinTech Scotland, an organisation established by the Scottish Government, Scottish Financial Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh.

Ingledew was managing director of marketing & customers fo Standard Life and previously held senior positions at Barclays Wealth, Berkeley Berry Birch, and AMP. He has also acted as non-executive director at Scottish Financial Enterprise, The Institute of Financial Services, The Chartered Insurance Institute, The Financial Services Authority, and Marketing Edinburgh.

He said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead FinTech Scotland and help assert our capability as a leading and thriving FinTech environment. I am very much looking forward to engaging with the diverse range of stakeholders in the ecosystem and building on the valuable progress made by the SFE FinTech Steering Committee.

“The fusion of financial services and technology can deliver the economic benefits of growth and productivity, and the social benefits of employment opportunities and better consumer outcomes. Scotland has a proud heritage of creating these benefits from the combination of financial services and technology, however, the new innovations in this digital and data driven age along with changing consumer and business expectations are presenting fresh opportunities to further develop the sustainable economic and social benefits.

Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, added: “This is a very significant milestone in the establishment of FinTech Scotland. Stephen will play a crucial role in cementing Scotland’s position as a world-leader in FinTech, building on our established strengths in both financial services and technology.

“Our Programme for Government committed £250,000 to support the establishment of Fintech Scotland – split between the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise – with additional contributions from the University of Edinburgh and from established companies in the financial sector.

“The Scottish Government, together with industry and academic partners, will now work closely with Fintech Scotland to unlock what look to be significant economic benefits of a thriving fintech sector.”

Danny Cusick, director at Scottish Enterprise, said: “As home to the most important UK financial centre outside of London and one of Europe’s foremost data centres, and with a proven track record in servicing global markets, Scotland has strong heritage and world-class capabilities in banking, financial technology and data-driven innovation.

“With our partners, we aim to harness these attributes and create an effective fintech ecosystem to drive Scotland’s economic success. We look forward to working alongside Stephen to encourage the growth of Scotland’s fintech companies and inspire global fintech companies to locate in Scotland.”