Fast-growing fintech firm OakNorth has appointed Google’s vice president to the role of chief executive.
Sunil Chandra, who spent the last 12-and-half years at Google in Silicon Valley, will work “closely” alongside co-founders Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman “to meet the tremendous growth opportunities of the business”, the firm said.
The firm said Mr Chandra's appointment comes at a “critical” stage of its growth, as it continues to expand overseas, with clients in the US, Europe and Asia.
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Mr Chandra will lead the platform’s expansion across the US, Europe, and Asia, while Mr Khosla will continue to lead the overall OakNorth group and OakNorth Bank in the 海角视频, the firm said.
Mr Khosla said: “The last decade has seen the growth of tremendous technology companies like Google, and Sunil was instrumental to that growth and indeed the broader industry.
“Joel and I are incredibly excited to have him join us, as we scale to meet the strong interest our platform has garnered with clients globally.
“His strong management experience and track record in scaling one of the world’s largest tech companies will help shape OakNorth’s future evolution and expansion with partner banks around the world.”
Prior to his role at Google, Mr Chandra was chief operating officer for technology at Barclays Capital, and spent seven-and-a-half years as director of administration for South-east Asia and Greater China at McKinsey & Co.
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Mr Chandra said OakNorth has “identified a key segment of the market that is underserved, proven that thesis with the profitable OakNorth Bank in the 海角视频, and is now scaling the solution globally by licensing its platform to other lending institutions”.
He said: “SMEs account for roughly half of the GDP of the world.
“By supporting their growth, we are not only helping them, but also their local communities who will benefit from new jobs and additional GDP.”
OakNorth Bank in the 海角视频 has lent around $5bn in the last four years, it said.
Mr Chandra added: “After more than 12 years at Google, I am excited about this next challenge and look forward to building the business into what will no doubt be one of the world’s premier tech companies born out of Europe.”
The appointment comes after OakNorth moved into a new office in Manchester city centre in August, and hired a dedicated lending team based in Manchester, focused on SME lending deals in the north.