London-based FinTech ClearBank has appointed former CFO Mark Fairless (pictured, right) as its new CEO.聽
He will replace co-founder Charles McManus (left), who will continue to play an active role in driving the business strategy as a non-executive member of the group board after stepping down from his role as chief executive.聽
Fairless has been appointed CEO after serving as the group鈥檚 CFO and as a board member since January 2023, where the firm says he has been instrumental in implementing the business鈥檚 long-term strategy, driving optimisation, and positioning ClearBank for scalable growth.
Prior to joining ClearBank, he was CFO of the M&G Heritage 老九品茶, a leading international savings and investments business. He has also previously held senior positions at Santander UK and Barclays Investment Bank and has more than two decades of experience in the sector.
After co-founding the business in 2015 and building the business to serve more than 250 customers in the UK and Europe, McManus has stepped away from the day-to-day running of the organisation.聽
He will continue to support the business with his role on the ClearBank group board and remain as co-chair of the Innovate Finance Unicorn Council.
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鈥淢ark is a proven leader with a track record spanning over two decades in financial services. With our European banking licence in place and plans in place to expand into additional markets, we are excited to enter a new chapter at ClearBank under Mark鈥檚 leadership,鈥� said Peter Herbert, group chair of ClearBank.
鈥淢ark鈥檚 deep understanding of our business, coupled with his strategic vision, makes him the ideal person to build on our foundations and guide ClearBank towards even greater success.聽
鈥淚鈥檇 like to thank Charles for his outstanding contribution to ClearBank since its establishment. Under his leadership, we have achieved significant milestones and firmly established ourselves as a market-leading clearing and embedded banking provider.鈥�
On his appointment, Fairless said: 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to lead ClearBank as CEO. This is a business that has made significant strides in recent years and which has huge potential to go further.聽
鈥淲ith such strong foundations, we鈥檙e primed for the next phase of ClearBank鈥檚 evolution, with high calibre clients and with the business well placed for further growth.鈥澛�
Departing CEO McManus added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a huge privilege to lead ClearBank during the last nine years. I hand over to a trusted partner who has been at the centre of the business during the last two years and who will be a brilliant leader as we continue to evolve and prepare for further growth.聽
鈥淢y commitment to and belief in ClearBank remain unwavering. Given our great momentum, now is the time for me to take a step away from the business鈥� day-to-day operations, while continuing to represent the industry as a whole via my involvement with the Unicorn Council.鈥�
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