Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus steps down as chair

Taavet Hinrikus, the co-founder of British payments fintech Wise, is stepping down from his role as chair and director of the business.

Hinrikus, one of the UK’s most well-known fintech founders and a prolific angel investor, will be replaced by former Netflix chief financial officer David Wells, who has sat on Wise’s board since 2019.

Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, had said in July that Hinrikus would leave his role within a year as part of its prospectus for the business’ direct listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange.

The move was intended to strengthen Wise’s corporate governance, with UK rules recommending that at least half the board of directors of a public business be classed as independent.

READ London’s Silicon Roundabout is over — say hello to the Tech Belt

“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved over the last decade and I’m excited for what lies ahead. While I’ll always remain Wise’s co-founder, I’ve completed my entrepreneurial circle at Wise,” the Estonian entrepreneur said in a 9 December statement.

The departure comes after Hinrikus sold off a hefty £81.5m chunk of his personal stake in the fintech company in October, with plans to use the funds to finance his growing pool of startup investments.

READ Wise co-founder cashes in £81.5m stake to fund new tech bets

The sale came amid a long-running downturn in Wise shares, which have fallen more than 34% from their late September peak. Wise shares were trading up 0.65% at 772p following the announcement of Hinrikus’ departure.

Wise also said on 9 December that it had appointed Terri Duhon as a non-executive director, fulfilling another pledge from its listing prospectus to appoint more independent directors within six months of going public.

Duhon, a former Wall Street derivatives trader who also serves as a non-executive on the boards of Morgan Stanley and Rathbones, is now a lecturer at the University of Oxford.

“Wise has benefited greatly from Taavet’s leadership and I’m excited to see what he does next,” said Kristo Käärmann, Wise co-founder and chief executive.

“David has a wealth of experience operating and scaling disruptive companies, and I look forward to working with him even more closely as we enter a new phase of growth at Wise. Likewise, Terri has a deep understanding of the financial industry and a track record in pioneering new products in global markets.”