LendInvest CEO

LendInvest names new CEO as Christian Faes becomes executive chairman




It has been announced that LendInvest's co-founder and CEO Christian Faes (pictured above, centre) is handing over the day-to-day management of the business to Rod Lockhart (left).

Rod — who joined the marketplace for property finance in 2015 — became CEO today (13th January) and joins the company’s board of directors.

Christian “remains fully committed to the business” in the role of executive chairman.

“After 11 years, my co-founder [Ian Thomas, right] and I are extremely proud of what we’ve built,” said Christian.

“The company is in an excellent position and no one is better placed than Rod to take over [the] day-to-day management of the business.

“This will allow me to focus on what I love doing as a founder and entrepreneur, which is the outward facing work for the company and working on our strategy and vision.

“LendInvest remains a founder-led business and I am still completely committed to building the leading mortgage lender in the UK.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with Rod, the wider team and the board as we roll out the company’s long-term strategy.”

Under Rod’s direction, LendInvest’s lending capital base has increased to £1.8bn in the past four years, and he has personally overseen the lender’s £259m RMBS securitisation, in addition to a number of investments from investors such as HSBC, Citigroup, Nomura and National Australia Bank. 

Before joining LendInvest, Rod acted as its external fund manager while working as a senior director at CBRE.

“I’m honoured to become CEO of LendInvest at such an exciting time in its growth,” commented Rod.

“Under Christian’s leadership, LendInvest has become a powerhouse for UK fintech — one that is consistently profitable and able to demonstrate its sustainability, while investing in innovation and continually challenging outdated industry norms.” 

Chris Barnes, partner at Atomico and board director at LendInvest, added that it was delighted to see the natural shift in the LendInvest leadership team.

“The company and its shareholders will continue to benefit from the clarity of Christian’s vision for LendInvest over the long term, and will reap the rewards of Rod’s stewardship at an operating level.

“This is promising news for one of UK fintech’s biggest success stories.”

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