Open Banking firm adds hedgefund heavyweight and peer as chairman

The firm says its software platform is used by banks within their mobile apps to help them improve the financial part of their customers’ lives.

Bud has appointed Lord Stanley Fink, the former CEO of the hedge fund firm the Man Group, as the Chair of its board of directors..

Lord Fink has become increasingly involved in the UK fintech sector over recent years and is also chair of the board for the financial education company Blackbullion.

He is an investor in Bud as well as property-focused alternative lender British Pearl. This new appointment follows his involvement in the company’s Series A fundraise in February and will be made subject to FCA approval. Raman Bhatia, who previously held a seat on the board on behalf of HSBC, will also join the board in his own right following his appointment as the Chief Operating Officer at the energy firm Ovo.

Bud’s software platform is used by banks within their mobile apps to help them improve the financial part of their customers’ lives. For example, using Bud’s technology, banks can help customers to understand their finances (with Open Banking and personal financial management tools), find cheaper deals on energy by working with price comparison services, and for those customers who rent, helping them improve their credit rating through Bud’s rent recognition service. 

Lord Fink: “Of course I’m looking for a financial return on my investments, but when I choose to invest my time in a company it’s because there is more than a financial return at stake.

“It’s no hyperbole in saying that our relationship with our personal data will be one of the great challenges of the next decade. Bud is one of the few companies genuinely involved in shaping this relationship and, if we can get it right, it has the potential to affect massive, fundamental change. That’s the real goal, a platform that can set people’s data to work on their behalf, making their lives better.” 

Ed Maslaveckas (pictured), CEO and Founder of Bud: “Lord Fink’s experience building international financial companies and his deep expertise in the financial sector will be a huge asset to the team. We’re driven by a mission to turn personal data into a positive force in people’s lives. It’s a mission shared by all of our investors and partners but it’s particularly great to see someone with Lord Fink’s background buy into it in the way that he has.”