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monzo former hired Google Executive Diana Layfield will lead the digital bank after announcing the departure of its chief executive.
Current chief executive TS Anil said he saw an “opportunity” to bring Ms Layfield on board while looking for a new boss in the UK.
“I have always believed that great leaders pave the way for others,” he said.
Ms. Layfield was a general manager at Google, where she was in charge of international expansion and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities within its search engine.
Before Google, she was its boss Africa on the field standard Chartered Edge.
As well as his career in technical and financial services, he has also worked as a medical relief pilot in war zones in Africa after completing training with the Royal Air Force.
Ms Layfield will take up the role of group chief executive in February, and Mr Anil will take up an advisory role at the bank.
Mr. Anil told employees, “Through our conversations, it became clear to me that she will be a fantastic leader who can lead the business globally into its next chapter and beyond.”
“So while it wasn’t in my plans, I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss for Monzo.”
Mr Anil’s departure comes after a five-year tenure at the helm of the bank, having stepped into the role in 2020.
He took over the running of the business from its founder Tom Blomfield.
The decade-old bank is now the seventh largest bank in the UK by customer numbers.
Its subscriber base has grown to more than 13 million, up from about four million in 2020 when Mr Anil joined.
It also made its first pre-tax profit last year under Mr Anil’s leadership.
Ms Layfield said she “has admired Monzo for many years”.
“It is extremely exciting to join them to drive the potential of Monzo in the UK and internationally,” he said.