Wombat appoints ex-abrdn CEO Richard Charnock to board of directors

Micro-investing platform Wombat has appointed industry expert Richard Charnock to join its board of directors as it readies for European expansion.

The London-based startup, which launched in 2019, recently hit 300,000 users and is now gearing up to expand operations, with Charnock as its first-ever non-executive director.

Formerly abrdn’s CEO for discretionary management, Charnock retired from the company last May after more than 15 years, and brings more than four decades of experience in wealth and asset management to the board.

“Wombat had a game-changing 2022 and we are absolutely delighted to build on that progress by appointing Richard to our board of directors,” Wombat co-founder and CEO Kane Harrison said.

“Richard has seen and been part of huge generational changes across the sector as increasing numbers of investors choose to take ownership of their financial futures, and I can think of no one better to help guide the management team as Wombat continues to scale rapidly, launch new products and prepares to expand into Europe,” Harrison added. 

Before working at abrdn, Charnock previously served as CEO of Williams de Broe and CEO of Lloyds TSB private banking.

He joins Wombat following a Series A funding round in August led by Fuel Ventures, where the mobile fractional micro-investing platform raised more than £4m to support its growth plans, new product launches and international expansion.

As it now readies to expand into Europe, it estimates it has a total addressable market of 100 million users in Europe.

“Wombat is one of the fastest-growing investment platforms in the UK and it has some very exciting times ahead of it,” Charnock said.

“It is abundantly clear that Wombat has a huge opportunity not only in the UK but in Europe, with so many novice investors on the Continent lacking a truly engaging proposition to help them get started on their investment journeys.”