OakNorth appoints Gousto founder to board

OakNorth has appointed Timo Boldt to its board as a Non-Executive Director.

Timo Boldt is known as the founder and CEO of recipe box firm Gousto, which after being established in April 2012 went on to achieve a "Unicorn" valuation of over $1 billion, delivering 90m meals with £315 million in revenue last year.

Boldt was certainly successful at attracting investment during his time at the unicorn, which in February 2022 raised a £172m investment from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.

The founder brings a significant grounding in the world of financial services; Boldt was previously a Vice President at hedge fund Petrus Advisers and an analyst at Rothschild.

The executive also holds non-executive director positions at Comparethemarket.com, cash deposit platform Flagstone, and travel technology firm Pollen.

Boldt said that his experience as a founder who has called his own business meant that he is "acutely aware" of the challenges business owners face when it comes to their banking and finances, and this is why OakNorth's approach "really resonates" with him.

Commenting on the appointment, Rishi Khosla, CEO and co-founder of OakNorth Bank, said Boldt's deep experience in data, technology, automation, and marketing will "prove invaluable" as it attempts to expand its offering and digital capabilities.

The appointment comes as OakNorth’s finances are showing an upward trajectory. 

The challenger bank revealed a 73 per cent increase in pre-tax profits in its 2021 Annual Report, bringing numbers up to £134.5m.

Oaknorth's lending also increased by 60 per cent year-on-year, with total facilities growing by 20 per cent to £4.2bn in 2021.