Starling Bank Limited

Banking was broken – so we decided to fix it. The vision? Fast technology, fair service and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time.

We built Britain’s first digital bank.

One hard-won banking licence later, we set about giving people a new way to spend, save and manage their money (and take better care of the planet, too).

We’re changing banking for good.

Back then, we were obsessed with unravelling the knotty world of finance and solving people’s problems rather than selling them stuff. We still are.

Since then, we’ve grown. A lot.

Over four million accounts (and four account types!). A team of thousands. Four offices in London, Cardiff, Southampton and Manchester. Still zero branches.

Fast. Fair. A joy to use.

From reimagining the banking stuff you know (hey there, revolutionary new ways to pay, save and spend) to inventing never-before-seen features (meet the Connected card) we ask what you actually need. Then build it, fast.

Fixing finance. Forever.

Changing financial culture means making money equal for everyone. We campaign against financial stereotypes in the media, talk about money in plain English and democratise financial education, so everyone’s included.

Business as a force for good.

Fees? We prefer not to charge them, but if we do, we’ll tell you what they’re for, and how much, upfront. Our investments? Never in harmful industries. From policy to partnerships, we’re on a mission to make value-led banking the industry standard. What it’s like to work here.

Redesigning an industry starts from within. We give clever, curious people the chance to experiment and take risks (and don’t blame them if things don’t always go to plan!).

We take ownership, embrace different perspectives and treat each other with kindness and respect – even when we’re challenging each other.

The team

We’re technologists, money experts, developers, designers, marketers, customer service experts and more – all working together to build the best bank in the world.

David Sproul, Chair of the Board and Chair of the Board Nomination Committee

David has more than 30 years’ experience in key leadership roles across the financial and professional services sector. He brings extensive experience of strategy, risk management, M&A and organisational and operational transformation.

David served as global deputy chief executive of Deloitte following his 8 year term as chief executive and senior partner of Deloitte UK and North West Europe. During this time, he led the firm’s globalisation, transformation of its market positioning to be a leading professional services firm and drove changes to create a more inclusive culture, focused on opportunity for all.

David is chair of Pennon Group, a director of Safanad, chair of the board of governors at the University of Hertfordshire and a senior adviser to Bridgepoint Group.

Raman Bhatia, Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer

As Group CEO, Raman is responsible for leading the business and setting Starling’s strategy with the board.

Before joining us in summer 2024, Raman was the CEO of OVO, one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers. He led OVO’s acceleration into green and sustainable technology and successfully campaigned for government support for customers during the energy and cost of living crisis.

Prior to OVO, Raman was the Head of Digital Bank for HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management in the UK and Europe. As a member of the Executive Committee, he led innovation, new digital ways of working, risk management and the design, development, deployment and commercialisation of digital platforms, products and channels within the UK and Europe.

Before HSBC, Raman worked in consumer tech as VP at HouseTrip and Director of Strategy at Expedia for EMEA. Earlier in his career Raman worked as a management consultant at Bain as well as an advisor to governments and international development agencies on urban governance and planning.

Raman holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is also a Trustee at Business in the Community.

Declan Ferguson, Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer

As Group CFO, Declan manages the Group’s overall financial operations and is responsible for the financial management of the UK Bank and Engine. He also has responsibility for the Group’s strategic and corporate development activity, capital raising and allocation as well as longer term financial and business planning.

Declan joined Starling in 2017 as Head of Strategy later becoming Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to this, Declan trained as a chartered accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he worked across a range of business lines, but was latterly focused on leading engagements in the turnaround and restructuring of European banks as well as on a range of large loan portfolio and other credit-related transactions involving UK and European banks.

Tracy Clarke, Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Board Remuneration Committee

Tracy brings considerable international banking and financial services experience to the Board, following a 35 year career with Standard Chartered Bank, where she held a portfolio of leadership, compliance, human resources, corporate affairs, brand and marketing positions, culminating in the role of chief executive officer, Europe and Americas and global chief executive officer, Private Banking.

She is a director of TP ICAP, chair of Olex.ai an online learning platform and a director, chair of the board remuneration committee and member of the board audit committee of Haleon, a consumer healthcare company.

Lazaro Campos, Investor Non-Executive Director

Lazaro is a fintech investor and entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ experience in global finance. Until 2012, he served as chief executive officer of SWIFT, the global banking network, where he led its re-positioning as a commercially driven, innovative and customer centric cooperative.

He is the chairman of the advisory board of PPRO Holdings, a non-executive director and senior independent director of IWG, an independent member of the Payoneer Europe board and co-founder of FinTechStage International.

Julie Chakraverty, Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Board Ethics and Sustainability Committee

Julie brings more than 30 years of financial services and technology leadership experience to the Board. She built her executive career at UBS where she held multiple leadership roles, and created an award winning portfolio risk management platform.

Julie is an experienced non-executive director, currently serving global cyber security firm NCC Group as senior independent director, the AJ Bell board as a non-executive director and she recently joined the board of EasyJet. Previously, Julie was senior independent director and board risk committee chair at Aberdeen Asset Management (now Aberdeen Group), and served on the boards of Santander UK, the insurer Amlin, and the hospitality company Spirit Pubs (now Greene King). She was also the founder and chief executive officer of the employee engagement platform Rungway.

Julie is the Board Consumer Duty Champion.

Faisal Galaria, Independent Non-Executive Director

Faisal has over 25 years’ experience growing and leading teams in global consumer technology companies including Spotify, Kayak, Skype and Magic Leap. He has extensive experience of strategy, international growth and digital transformation and has been involved in a number of tech and Web3 IPOs in the UK and the US.

In 2022, Faisal stepped down as chief executive officer of Blippar, one of the UK’s first tech unicorns and more recently as chief growth officer of the Magic Leap. In addition to his executive roles, he previously served as senior partner at Alvarez & Marsal where he led the digital and media practices across EMEA. Faisal sits on the advisory board of Imperial College Business School.

Ian Jenkins, Independent Non-Executive Director

With over 35 years’ experience, Ian has held a range of chief financial officer, chief risk officer and chief operating officer roles within banking and financial services, including at Diem Networks, HSBC, Santander and Credit Suisse. He is a chartered accountant and brings varied finance, risk, operations, and strategy expertise to the Board. Ian is currently serving as the interim group chief financial officer of Aberdeen Group.

Cyrille Salle de Chou, Chief Risk Officer

As Chief Risk Officer, Cyrille leads Starling’s risk management strategy for the entire Starling customer journey, as well as the bank’s financial risks, non-financial risks and compliance.

Cyrille joined Starling in 2024 and brings more than 30 years of financial services and consulting experience to the bank, holding roles including Chief Risk Officer and Credit Risk Director for retail and business banks, as well as emerging fintechs.

Joe Gordon, Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, subject to regulatory approval, Joe is responsible for customer operations across the bank.

Over the last 20 years, Joe has been working to deliver great customer and business outcomes in a number of roles. Most recently, he was COO at OVO Energy, supporting a team of 7,500 and helping build a reputation for leading customer service. Prior to this, he was the CEO at first direct, and earlier in his career he held leadership roles in retail, finance and telecoms.

Adeel Hyder, Managing Director, SME Banking

As Managing Director of SME Banking, Adeel is responsible for Starling’s offering to business customers across the UK.

He joined Starling in 2024 from TSB, where he ran the Business Bank and previously served as Strategy Director. Before TSB, he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and a corporate banker at RBS Global Banking and Markets. He holds an MBA from London Business School and an undergraduate degree from the LSE.

Alexandra Frean, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

As Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Alexandra leads external and internal communications, including PR, corporate communications, social media and public affairs.

She joined Starling in 2018 after a 30+ year career in journalism, based mainly in London but also including postings to Paris, New York and Washington DC. Alexandra spent 25 years at The Times newspaper, where she served as a reporter, foreign correspondent and business columnist.

Raghu Narula, Chief Banking Officer

As Chief Banking Officer, subject to regulatory approval, Raghu is responsible for driving customer and commercial growth as well as innovation across the bank’s customer segments - both SME and retail - with a focus on the development and launch of new products, customer propositions and go-to-market strategies.

He joined Starling in 2025 from NatWest Group, where he was Managing Director, Customer Engagement and Distribution. Raghu has more than 20 years of experience across retail, wealth and commercial banking and strategy. He has worked across different regions, including Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the UK, helping to build and grow businesses in various stages of development, from initial launch to large-scale transformation.

Steve Newson, Group Chief Technology Officer

As Group Chief Technology Officer, Steve is responsible for technology across the Starling Group.

He joined Starling in 2015 as Director of Technology, later becoming Chief Technology Officer and then Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this Steve spent 12 years at a leading technology consultancy, where he worked as a software developer. After this he spent time at various financial organisations as a senior developer, with stints in CTO roles.

Address: 5th Floor, London Fruit And Wool Exchange, 1 Duval Square, London, E1 6PW United Kingdom