Ron Kalifa.
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Sir Ron Kalifa and Allica Bank chairman on Queen’s Birthday Honours list
Having already received an OBE in 2018, Kalifa now adds a Knighthood to his honours.
Among a long weekend of celebrations across the country for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee came this year’s list of Birthday Honours celebrating extraordinary services and contributions to people in the UK.
Most notably for the fintech space, Ron Kalifa, author of the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech, added a Knighthood to his existing OBE, which he received in the New Year Honours in 2018.
The Kalifa Review was published in February 2021 and was described by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak as a “seminal review” after it was presented in Parliament.
It highlighted the opportunity to create skilled jobs in the UK, boost trade and nurture the UK’s status as a fintech hub.
Kalifa's Knighthood means the financial services leader can use the title "Sir" to precede his name.
Also featured on this year’s list was Allica Bank’s Chairman John Maltby.
He has been awarded an MBE for services to young people, having been on the board of trustees for the National Citizen’s Service Trust for the last four years.
The two add to a growing list of fintech names featuring on the Queen’s Honours, including a few additions in January’s New Year Honours, such as co-founder of financial wellbeing provider Neyber Ezechi Britton, who received an MBE.
Maltby joins the likes of Charlotte Croswell, chair and trustee of the Open Banking Implementation Entity, John Freeman Collins, chief legal and regulatory officer at Santander and Jasjyot Singh, managing director of consumer and business banking at Lloyds Banking Group, who all received OBEs in last year’s honours list.
In the world of knighted fintech leaders, Kalifa joins António Horta-Osório, who also received the highest honour last year.
William Russell, former Lord Mayor of the City of London and an advisory council member at Innovate Finance, also received a knighthood in this year’s New Year’s Honours.
Other fintech leaders to have won a nod from the Queen in previous years include Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling Bank, who received an MBE in 2018 for services to financial technology.
Rhydian Lewis, co-founder and chief executive of the now-defunct RateSetter was also given an OBE in June 2017.
Peer-to-peer lending pioneers Giles Andrews, founder of Zopa, and Samir Desai, founder and CEO of Funding Circle were awarded an OBE and CBE respectively, back in 2015.
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