Having been first reported to be in talks with Revolut in July, Martin Gilbert has now publicly been confirmed as the challenger bank’s new non-executive chairman.
The news comes after regulators approved of the appointment, leaving the road clear for him to step in on New Year’s Day in 2020, according to the Telegraph. He will advise the Revolut founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky until he assumes the role officially in January.
Gilbert will join Revolut after serving on the Standard Life Aberdeen board and running Aberdeen Asset Management for over 30 years.
The news comes at an exciting time for Revolut. The neobank announced its expansion into Singapore in October after tapping investment bank JPMorgan for help to raise $1.5bn in a new round.
The growth into Asia had previously been announced in September at the same time that Revolut announced it had penned a new deal with Visa, the payment giant. The agreement would empower Revolut to recruit 3,500 employees around the world. It would also see the FinTech unicorn push into 24 new markets in the Americas and Asia.
Gilbert’s appointment also comes after the challenger banks has faced some setbacks. The other week Revolut’s services went down, leaving some customers unable to access their accounts, a story which FinTech Global was first to report on.
It has also faced concerns earlier in the year regarding its compliance to anti-money laundering regulations, something that Revolut has denied.
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