Our leadership

Andrew Learoyd

Chairman of the Board

Term of office
Appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in February 2010 and became Chair of the Board in May 2016.

Committee membership
Andrew has chaired the Nomination Committee since September 2018 and is a member of the Remuneration Committee and the Market Disclosure Committee. He also chairs the ESG Committee, and attends meetings of the Risk and Compliance Committee and Audit Committee by invitation.

Independent
On appointment.

Skills and experience
Andrew spent 23 years working in investment banking as a research analyst, in corporate finance, equity capital markets and finally as Chief Operating Officer of the Equities Division in Europe of Goldman Sachs. He retired as a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs in 2006. Andrew has been involved as an angel investor, Non-Executive Director and consultant to several start-up businesses.

External appointments
Andrew is also an independent Non-Executive Director of Funding Circle Ltd. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Threshold Sports Limited, which creates and delivers outdoor events for the public, corporate and charity sectors. Andrew is also a director of WLG Learning Ltd which provides educational services for children with special learning disabilities.

Lisa Jacobs

Chief Executive Officer

Term of office
Lisa was appointed to the Board as Chief Executive Officer on 1 January 2022.

Committee membership
Lisa is a member of the Market Disclosure Committee and attends meetings of the Risk and Compliance, Remuneration, Audit and Nomination Committees by invitation.

Independent 
Not applicable.

Skills and experience
Lisa joined Funding Circle in 2012 and was previously UK Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to Funding Circle, Lisa worked as a management consultant, both independently and for the Boston Consulting Group, where she had a financial services focus. She has had roles in NGOs in Tanzania and India.

External appointments
None.

Tony Nicol

Chief Financial Officer

Term of office
Tony was appointed to the Board as Chief Financial Officer on 1 January 2025.

Committee membership
Tony is a member of the Market Disclosure Committee and attends meetings of the Remuneration and Audit and Risk Committees by invitation.

Independent
Not applicable.

Skills and experience
Tony has spent the majority of over 25 years’ experience working in financial services and auditing. He was formerly the Director of Finance here at Funding Circle and was part of the team leading the IPO. Prior to Funding Circle, he was the Group Financial Controller at IG Group Holdings plc, where he was responsible for all financial reporting including budgeting and forecasting. Before then, Tony worked at PwC as an Assurance Director auditing and advising listed and private businesses in a number of sectors. Tony is an FCA of the ICAEW and holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Bristol.

External appointments
None.

Lucy Vernall

Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary

Term of office
Lucy was appointed Company Secretary in July 2014.

Independent
Not applicable.

Skills and experience
Lucy is responsible for the Legal, Compliance, ESG and Communications functions of the business, in addition to being Company Secretary. Prior to joining Funding Circle in 2014, Lucy was one of the founder members of Kemp Little LLP, a technology focused City law firm. She was managing partner of the firm from 2009 until 2011, when she became Wonga’s first General Counsel.

External appointments
Lucy serves on the Board of the charities Bardhan Research and Education Trust of Rotherham and The Emerson Trust.

Hendrik Nelis

Non-Executive Director

Term of office
Hendrik was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2013.

Independent
No.

Skills and experience
Hendrik joined Accel in 2004 and focuses on software, FinTech and consumer internet companies. He led Accel’s investments in KAYAK (NASDAQ: KYAK, acquired by Priceline), Showroomprive (EPA: SRP), Funding Circle (LON: FCH), Callsign, Celonis, CHECK24, Instana, Miro and Zepz.

Hendrik started his career in Silicon Valley as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard before founding a venture-backed software company. He is from the Netherlands and graduated from Harvard Business School and Delft University of Technology.

External appointments
Hendrik serves as Manager, Partner Director and/or Member at a number of Accel entities, as well as a Director or supervisory board member of several other companies.

Neil Rimer

Non-Executive Director

Term of office
Neil was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in March 2011.

Committee membership
Neil is a member of the ESG Committee.

Independent
No.

Skills and experience
Neil is a Co-Founder and Partner of Index Ventures. Before starting Index Ventures, he spent four years with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco. Neil was previously a Director of Photobox Holdco Limited, Supercell Oy and The Climate Corporation.

External appointments
Neil is currently a Director on various boards of companies based in the UK, Europe, the Cayman Islands and the US including Raisin GmbH, Nexthink SA, Pitch Software GmbH, Sofia Holdings Limited, Taxfix GmbH and Typeform S.L. He is also the Co-Chair of Human Rights Watch.

Geeta Gopalan

Senior Independent Director

Term of office
Geeta was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in November 2018. She became Chair of the Audit Committee in November 2018. Geeta was appointed as Senior Independent Director in May 2021.

Committee membership
Geeta chairs the Audit & Risk Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee and the Market Disclosure Committee.

Independent
Yes.

Skills and experience
Geeta has over 25 years of experience of financial services and retail banking, particularly payments and digital innovation. Geeta was formerly Executive Chair of Monitise Europe. Among the many roles in her career, Geeta was Director of Payment Services with HBOS plc and previously Managing Director, UK Retail Bank and Business Development Head EME at Citigroup. She is a chartered accountant.

External appointments
Geeta is a Non-Executive Director of NatWest Group plc and Auto Trader Group plc. Geeta is also a Trustee for the Old Vic Theatre.

Helen Beck

Non-Executive Director

Term of office
Helen was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in June 2021.

Committee membership
Helen chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee, Audit & Risk Committee and ESG Committee. Helen has also taken on the role of designated Non-Executive Director for workforce engagement.

Independent
Yes.

Skills and experience
Helen has over 25 years of experience in financial services, particularly in remuneration design, regulation and human resources. Helen was formerly a Partner at Deloitte and, among her previous roles in her career, Helen was Global Head of Reward at Standard Bank, Head of McLagan Europe (part of Aon) and held roles in human resources at Fidelity International.

External appointments
Helen serves as Non-Executive Director of Ashmore Group PLC (where she is Chair of the remuneration committee), Non-Executive Director of Picton Property Income Limited (where she is Chair of the remuneration committee), Governor of the University of Bedfordshire and independent member of the remuneration committee for The British Olympic Association.

Ken Stannard

Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate

Term of office
Ken was appointed to the Board as Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate on 1 January 2025.

Committee membership
Ken is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

Independent
Yes.

Skills and experience
Ken brings 30 years’ experience in credit, lending and payments, having held senior executive roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Capital One and American Express. Most recently, as CEO of Cabot Credit Management. Prior to his executive roles he was a partner at Oliver Wyman LLC. Ken has an MBA from INSEAD and an MA in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford.

External appointments
Ken is currently Chairman of Castle Trust Capital Plc & Holdings Limited and Viewture Limited. He is currently also a Non-Executive Director of Verastar ltd. and Chair of its Remuneration Committee. He is also a Lead Director of Cepal Hellas Financial Services S.A.