Wirex Limited, the UK-headquartered payments provider, has appointed Julian Sawyer, co-founder and former chief operating officer of Starling Bank, as an independent non-executive director on its board.

Independent non-executive director roles are a standard feature of UK corporate governance, giving boards outside scrutiny from someone without day-to-day management responsibilities. Sawyer brings experience spanning digital banking, payments and digital assets. In his new role, he will provide independent oversight and challenge to the board, including in relation to strategy, risk and controls, and customer oversight.

Sawyer co-founded Starling Bank, one of the UK’s leading app-based challenger banks, in 2015 and served as its chief operating officer until 2019. During that period, he led the bank’s operations, including the launch of its card and Starling Payment Services, a platform that gives other firms access to UK payment schemes.

He later became managing director, Europe, at Gemini, the US-based crypto exchange, before serving as chief executive officer of Bitstamp, one of the industry’s longest-running exchanges, and Zodia Custody, a digital-asset custody specialist. Sawyer is also an independent non-executive director of Recognise Bank.

Chetan Shah, CEO of Wirex Limited, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Julian to the Board of Wirex Limited. He has built and run some of the UK’s most successful, regulated financial businesses from the ground up, and his independent perspective will help Wirex to continue growing safely and sustainably. The UK has been our home for over a decade, and at such an important time for the UK payment sector, I look forward to working closely with Julian on the opportunities ahead.”

Sawyer said: “Having worked across banking and payments, I’ve seen how much the industry has matured. The next generation of financial services in the UK will be built on the foundations of trust, sound regulation and reliable infrastructure, and I’m excited to join the Board to supporting the Wirex team as they continue to implement that, with a strong focus on governance and customer outcomes as the business grows.”

On 12th November, Sawyer is scheduled to speak at Full Stack London, Wirex’s new stablecoin infrastructure conference. The one-day, closed-door event will bring together founders, CEOs and technical builders to discuss what it takes to make stablecoins work in payments.

Sawyer will join Wirex Chief Commercial Officer Daniel Rowlands for a fireside chat on why infrastructure-provider models fail and the lessons the industry has learned.

Sawyer’s appointment follows the appointment earlier this week of Kulveer Ranger, The Lord Ranger of Northwood, as a board adviser to Wirex Labs. The appointments form part of Wirex’s efforts to build out its leadership for its next stage of growth.

Source: GlobalFinTechSeries