UK neobank Revolut has hired Italian entrepreneur Francesca Carlesi to take over from James Radford as the CEO of Revolut NewCo, the entity intended to house its long-awaited UK banking licence.
Carlesi, the former cofounder and CEO of mortgage lender fintech Molo, will step into the role in December after spending almost seven years leading her own fintech company in London.
“Revolut is the future of digital banking. With nearly eight million customers in the UK and a diversified product offering, the company is at the forefront of change in financial services,” said Carlesi.
Carlesi’s appointment comes after James Radford resigned from his position as UK banking chief in March after three years at the bank. He joined almost a year after Revolut applied for its UK banking licence in January 2021 — which it’s still waiting for.
Before founding fintech Molo, Carlesi, who holds a PhD in banking and finance from the University of Rome, spent more than 15 years in financial services. Carlesi has held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Barclays, as well as at McKinsey and Bridgepoint Capital.
The news also marks a rare appointment of a woman into a senior leadership role at the neobank: Carlesi joins just two other female senior leaders at Revolut — India country head Paroma Chatterjee and Japan country head Yoko Makiguchi.
It comes after former economic secretary to the UK treasury, Kitty Ussher, resigned from her role as a non-executive director on the board of Revolut’s UK banking entity this week, after three years in the role. Usher left to take up a new post as Managing Director, Head of Strategic Policy Development at Barclays.
