New lender lands ex-Barclays chairman

A new lender for entrepreneurs, OakNorth Bank, has appointed former Barclays Vice Chairman, Cyrus Ardalan, as its Independent Chairman…

Cyrus spent 12 years as Vice Chairman at Barclays, has four decades’ experience in banking, which includes chairing the boards of the International Capital Markets Association, the British Banking Association Strategy Group, and is currently a board member of the International Financing Facility for Immunisation.

This new role will see Cyrus lead the board and advise the executive team as OakNorth begins lending to SMEs.

Rishi Khosla, CEO of OakNorth Bank and member of the executive team, said Cyrus had wide and deep banking experience with a strong track-record.

“He completes a very well-balanced leadership team, both in terms of experience and skillset, which will deliver the vision we have to better serve small and medium-sized companies,” said Rishi.

“His appointment comes at an important time for the bank as we prepare to open our doors for business and kick-start lending in a pivotally important part of the economy.”

Cyrus added that OakNorth Bank had a unique business model to support the needs of small and medium-sized growth companies and entrepreneurs.

“These companies are the backbone of growth and employment creation in the UK with requirements which I believe can be best met through OakNorth’s specialised expertise,” said Cyrus.

“I am delighted to be joining this important new initiative in banking.”