Anne Boden

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

Anne Elizabeth Boden

MBE
BornJanuary 1960 (age 61)
Swansea, Wales
NationalityWelsh
Alma materSwansea University
OccupationCEO and founder of Starling Bank

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[3] with a degree in Chemistry and Computer Sciences.[4] 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.![4]

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,[3] where her career was launched.[4] This was followed by spells at Standard Chartered Bank, UBS, and as Chief Information Officer at AON Corporation.[5] Boden later joined ABN AMRO and RBS, serving as Head of EMEA and as head of Global Transaction Banking.[5] At the group, she ran a payments business across 34 countries.[6]

Boden earned her MBA from Middlesex University in 1990 while working for Standard Chartered.[7] In 2011 she served on the Board of Governors of Middlesex University, which awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in July 2018.[8]

She joined Allied Irish Banks in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer[9] to help turn round the bank's fortunes after the financial crisis of 2008.[10]

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.[11]

Starling Bank

Boden founded her online banking business in June 2014, originally named Possible Financial Services,[12] with the tagline "Bank Possible". Her objective was to create a entirely on-line bank that gave easier feedback to customers.[11]

In February 2015, Tom Blomfield the founder of rival neo-bank Monzo was fired from Starling Bank.[13] The other four directors left with him.[11]

The company rebranded as Starling in January 2016,[12] and received its UK banking licence that year.[14] The Telegraph described the company as "the Amazon of banking" after it received multiple investments from Austrian-born billionaire Harald McPike.[15]

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.[16] McPike has to date invested £75m (for a 60% stake) in the company, followed by a £50m share held by Merian Global Investors.[16] The company has raised £233m to date.[16] Boden now holds approximately 25% of the company.[16] The bank currently (Jan 2020) has a reported 275,000 customers in the UK.[5] Boden is a member of Tech Nation's FinTech Delivery Panel[5] and has spoken at industry events such as Money20/20 and Wealth 2.0.

References
  1. Driscoll, Margarette (2019-10-08). "Anne Boden, Starling CEO, on how she went from banker to fintech entrepreneur in midlife". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  2. "The 38 coolest women in UK tech". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  3. "Anne Boden". Sail: 9. 2020.
  4. Dickins, Sarah (2018-03-08). "Steelworker's daughter who started a bank". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  5. "Anne Boden". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  6. "The Future of Fintech: Advisory Board Meeting". The Telegraph. 2017-04-27. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  7. www.bloomberg.com https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/18031049. Retrieved 2020-01-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. "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 2018-10-08.
  9. "A dynamic response to digital challenges – HCL Technologies". www.banking-gateway.com. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  10. "Setting up bank easier than fixing broken system, says ex-AIB chief". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  11. Moore, Anna. "It's crazy, but I started my own bank': the story behind Starling". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. "STARLING BANK LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  13. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-01-26. Cite uses generic title (help)
  14. Wallace, Tim (2016-07-14). "Mobile-only bank Starling wins its licence". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  15. Burn-Callander, Rebecca (9 October 2018). "Starling is now the Amazon of banking. Come get an account" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  16. "Revealed: Starling Bank chief's stake slides as billionaire backer tightens grip". CityAM. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

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