Starling Bank’s CEO Anne Boden to step down

Anne Boden, the founder of UK-based Starling Bank, is stepping down as chief executive officer at the end of June, after nearly a decade.

Starling’s chief operating officer John Mountain will take over as interim chief executive officer, while the digital bank conducts an international search for a permanent chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, Boden will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank

In a statement issued today (25 May) Boden said her “dual role” as founder and chief executive officer “is unique in UK banking”.

“Now that we have grown from being an aspiring challenger to an established bank, it is clear the roles and priorities of a CEO and a large shareholder ultimately differ and require distinct approaches,” she said.

“As Starling continues to evolve and grow, separating my two roles is in the bank’s best interests.

“Handing over my responsibilities to John Mountain will enable me to focus on my position as a shareholder, championing Starling and ensuring we hold true to our values and vision of changing banking for the better.”

News of Boden’s decision came as Starling reported record pre-tax profits of £195 million for the year to 31 March 2023, a six-fold increase on the previous year’s figure of £32 million.

The bank’s revenue more than doubled to £453 million, up from £216 million the previous financial year on the back of a 17% increase in customer deposits to £10.6 billion.

David Sproul, chair of Starling Bank, added: “Anne is a brilliant and inspirational leader. She has built Starling from nothing and has led it to become the UK’s leading digital bank in the space of just eight years. It is an astonishing achievement and we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

“One of Anne’s great strengths is building extraordinary talent. We are confident that Starling is well-positioned for its next phase of growth and the bank’s relentless focus on our customers will not change.”

Mountain is a director of Starling’s Software-as-a-Service subsidiary, Engine, and is a past director of Pay.UK.