By Amelia Isaacs on Tuesday 3 January 2023
NatWest’s Alison Rose and FinTech Scotland’s Stephen Ingledew were named in the King’s first New Year Honours list.
A few familiar fintech names have featured on the New Year Honours list again this year, with NatWest CEO Alison Rose most notably receiving a damehood.
Rose, who became the first woman to lead a top UK lender when she took over as CEO in November 2019, received the honour for her contribution to financial services.
She has been an ardent champion of diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly pushing to improve female representation in the financial sector.
In 2019, the government invited her to review the barriers facing women in business, and she subsequently penned the report ‘The Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship’ addressing the gender gap.
Three years on, the review has led to the number of women-run businesses increasing by 33 per cent.
“It is a tremendous privilege to receive a Damehood in His Majesty’s New Year’s Honours List and I am immensely proud to lead an organisation that plays such a positive role in the lives of people and families across the UK,” Rose wrote on LinkedIn.
“This honour is a reflection of the fantastic work of all my colleagues at NatWest Group and the support we provide for the customers and communities we serve; promoting enterprise, building financial capability and channelling the power of finance to tackle climate change.”
With her damehood, Rose joins fellow fintech leaders Sir Ron Kalifa and Sir António Horta-Osório who have both been knighted in the last few years.
Elsewhere in finance, Stephen Ingledew, executive chair of FinTech Scotland, was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the financial technology sector.
Ingledew founded FinTech Scotland in 2018 and has led it ever since, advocating to make the financial world more open and inclusive.
He is one of the founders of the FinTech National Network, facilitating collaboration across UK fintech clusters, and sits on the UK Government’s Business Innovation Forum and Scottish Government’s Innovation Steering Group.
“I am honoured to receive an OBE for services to financial technology. To be recognised for doing something I am passionate about is incredible and I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many people who have provided valuable support to me,” Ingledew said.
“It is a huge privilege to be at the heart of financial innovation leveraging expertise across all UK regions to grow the economy, attract inward investment and develop export opportunities, all of which further reinforces the UK’s role as global fintech leader.”
21 March 2023
Daniel Lanyon