Ben Chisell

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OakNorth

Product Director

As Starling’s Product Director, Ben jointly manages the product and design team, using data to improve the relationship between customers and their money, and to help the business make better decisions. Ben was previously Product Lead for Amazon Video, and is keen to bring their brand of Customer Obsession to Starling. After graduating in aerospace engineering from the University of Cambridge, Ben spent four years in London and California leading the development of eBay’s search engine and its first steps into machine-learning. Stints at Skimlinks and Arthur D Little followed. After a while working for large, US-headquartered tech companies, Ben joined Starling because he wanted to solve problems that could have a meaningful impact on people’s lives, and to help develop an exciting new tech brand in London from the ground up. If he wasn’t at Starling, Ben would probably be travelling around the world watching sport and sampling the local cuisine.

Event Sessions Featuring Ben Chisell


Roundtable (Breakout)

Making the Marketplace ‐ Round Table Discussion

London Summit 2018 - Monday 26 March 2018

  • All in attendance were in agreement: marketplaces are something we can expect to see coming out of every digital bank, sooner or later. But will the model become a money maker? Clark doesn't think so, suggesting that Tandem prefers to see its marketplace as simply a "benefit to the customer" over a tool for profitability. Myatt also pointed out that we have yet to determine an exact and widespread definition of what we mean by 'marketplace': does it refer to only third-party products being sold by a bank, or will banks eventually sell their own services and products within their apps too? 
  • In essence, the marketplace model should be about "putting the customer's data back in their hands" and allowing them to get the most out of it, said Barbosa. Indeed, both Chisell and Magliulo added that a marketplace should be about "giving way" to those who are specialised, in order to create the most value for their customers. Campbell mentioned that Bud has found higher traction from users sits on non-core products and services: things like energy-switching, travel perks and insurance. 
  • However Plumb warned that at times the marketplace has become a "sexy term" for a bank's partnership strategy, when what they're really offering is not a true marketplace at all. Often we speak about marketplaces as if they are just one generic product, but as in the case of robo advisors, not all marketplaces will be a good fit. Bibas suggested that each bank should develop a specific strategy for different partners, allowing them to create true customer value.
  • For the future, Moreni highlighted the need for banks to be focusing on what value in a marketplace really means to their customers. Whether you give a customer 10 or 3 choices for a service, "it doesn't matter unless you know what it is your customer needs from you," said Dallas. Muis agreed, sayng that if you want people to give up their data, banks will have to show them the value they're going to gain as a result. While a partnership strategy is a no-brainer for most, it'll be the new categories that come out of the marketplace model that will be the most exciting to watch.



Articles Featuring Ben Chisell

Paysend launches two new products to help users build credit scores

6th April 2022 | Amelia Isaacs

Exclusive: OakNorth poaches senior Starling Banker

10th July 2019 | Daniel Lanyon

Fintech rising star poached by Barclays

8th January 2019 | Roger Baird