Board member appointment

OakNorth Bank appoints industry heavyweight as new CFO




OakNorth Bank has announced the appointment of Rajesh Gupta as CFO, who will be joining the bank pending regulatory approval.

Rajesh will join from Kensington Mortgages, where he currently works and has spent five-and-a-half years as CFO, overseeing the finance function during a period of significant transformation and growth. 

Prior to Kensington, Rajesh had a 21-year career with General Electric, where he held various positions including CFO at GE Capital Bank UK, CFO at GE Money Bank in the Czech Republic, and head of financial planning and analysis for the EMEA Region. 

Rajesh will take over from Cristina Alba Ochoa who joined the Bank as its CFO in April 2017 and, after a successful journey with OakNorth, is moving to Barcelona to be closer to family. 

Cristina will remain CFO until Rajesh joins and will continue at OakNorth indefinitely, albeit in a different role.

“Rajesh has a wealth of CFO experience, leading institutions with assets up to 10 times that of OakNorth Bank,” said Rishi Khosla, the bank’s CEO and co-founder.

“In the five years since we launched, OakNorth Bank has lent over £4.5bn to hundreds of businesses across the UK, directly contributing to the creation of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs across the country.

“However, we aim to have a much larger impact in the years to come, so it is essential that we continue strengthening our leadership team. 

“We’re excited to have Rajesh on board and look forward to welcoming him in the coming months.”

Rajesh added: “I’ve been following OakNorth’s Bank’s incredible growth story for the last few years, so am excited to now be a part of it and be joining at such a seminal moment for both the company and the country. 

“I have been very impressed by the passion and energy of the people I have met at OakNorth — this is a great strength. 

“Rishi and Joel established the bank to provide financing to the underserved sectors of the SME space and, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, this proposition is now all the more critical.” 

As CFO, Rajesh is set to help ensure the bank can maintain its track record through the Covid-19 recovery and beyond. 

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