Wise confirms Taavet Hinrikus to step down as Chair and Director
Wise plc (LON:WISE) today announced updates on the structure of its Board and change of Company Secretary.
Taavet Hinrikus will step down as Chair and Director, and David Wells, currently the Senior Independent Director, will become Independent Non-Executive Chair with immediate effect.
David Wells, formerly Chief Financial Officer of Netflix, has been a director of the Wise Board since July 2019. He has also served as a member of the Audit and Risk Committee, a role he will now step down from to ensure Wise complies with the associated requirements under the UK Corporate Governance Code.
In addition, the Board announces the appointment of Terri Duhon as an Independent Non-Executive Director, with effect from 1 January 2022. Terri Duhon holds non-executive board positions at Morgan Stanley and at Rathbones Group PLC and was previously on the board of CHAPS. A former derivatives trader, Terri Duhon is now an Associate Fellow, lecturing at Oxford University and will bring to Wise her deep understanding of the financial industry and risk management.
Terri Duhon will also be appointed as a member of the Audit & Risk Committee.
Wise also announces the appointment of Jane Fahey as Company Secretary, with effect from 1 January 2022. Currently Deputy Company Secretary, she will replace Dean Nash, Company Secretary and General Counsel, in this position.
Taavet Hinrikus, Co-Founder and current Chair, commented:
“Kristo and I founded Wise with a clear mission: to fix the international money problem by making it faster, cheaper and more transparent to move and manage money across borders. We have made huge progress on that mission, saving people billions along the way. 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. I’m now officially handing over the reins as Chairman to David, who has lots of experience working with disruptive companies such as Netflix. He’ll be a great leader for the Board as Wise takes the next steps towards achieving its mission of money without borders.”
David Wells, Senior Independent Director and Chairman-Elect, said:
“With its mission to build money without borders, Wise is fundamentally disrupting how we move and manage money in an internet-driven, interconnected world. I have had the pleasure over the last 3 years of working closely with Taavet, Kristo and other Board Members as Wise scaled globally, and marked a significant milestone earlier this year in becoming a publicly listed company. I look forward to continuing Taavet’s legacy as Chair, and helping to bring new customer first ways to move and manage money to more people and businesses around the world.”