Sameer Desai, co-founder and former CEO of Funding Circle, is stepping down from the board of the small business lending company, further distancing himself from the company he helped build.
Desai, 41, was instrumental in founding the peer-to-peer lending platform in 2010 alongside Andrew Mullinger and James Meekings. After serving as CEO for 12 years, he moved to a non-executive director role in 2022 but will now leave the board entirely within a month.
Desai’s departure marks the end of the involvement of the three original founders, marking a major shift at Funding Circle. The company, once a star in Britain’s fintech sector, has faced challenges since its 2018 IPO, with its shares falling dramatically from its listing price of 440 pence. The company has struggled with profitability, turning a profit in just one year since its IPO, and has been hit even harder by the pandemic and regulatory pressures, prompting it to shutter its peer-to-peer retail operations in 2022.
Desai’s exit follows the departures of Meekings, who left in 2019, and Mullinger, who left in 2016. Desai is now focusing on his new venture, Super Payments, but retains a 4.9% stake in Funding Circle. Meanwhile, current CEO Lisa Jacobs is leading efforts to turn the business around, with plans for profitability on the horizon after a period of job cuts and the sale of the company’s US division.
Funding Circle is also looking for a successor to its long-time boss, Andrew Learoyd, who will step down by March 2024.
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