Recognise Bank’s leadership team is made up of highly talented individuals with a wide range of exceptional experience. Get to know them below, and if you like what you see, why not check out our live vacancies?
That’s how many collective years of financial services experience our executive team has.
You’re in safe hands with us.
Recognise Bank Limited is a company registered in England and Wales (CRN 10603119), at Augustine House, 6a Austin Friars, London, United Kingdom, EC2N 2HA. Recognise Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under FRN 849404.
Eligible deposits with Recognise Bank are protected up to a total of £85,000 for individuals by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. Visit the FSCS website to see how your money is protected.
Loan facilities offered by Recognise Bank are non-regulated contracts under the Financial Services and Markets (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and the Financial Services and Markets Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2015. Your property is at risk if you fail to make payments on a mortgage contract.
All products and services are subject to Terms and Conditions. Recognise Bank reserves the right to withdraw any product from sale at any time.
© Recognise Bank 2025
Simon has over 30 years of experience in driving transformational change and scaling high-growth businesses in financial services. With a strong technical background and a passion for building exceptional teams, Simon has held leadership roles at several prominent financial institutions.
Before joining Recognise as CEO (subject to regulatory approval), Simon was CEO of Nomo Fintech, where he led the technology company that develops and supports Nomo Bank, the fully digital international sharia-compliant brand of Bank of London & The Middle East.
Previously, Simon was CIO and part of the founding team at Allica Bank, CIO at Harrods Bank, and held senior technology roles at Aldermore, Lloyds Banking Group and the Santander Group.
Simon is also a Non-Executive Director at Health Shield Friendly Society Ltd.
Tristan has over 20 years of international executive and consulting experience with a breadth of knowledge in both banking and the SME sector.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds an MA from Oxford University.
Before joining Recognise as CFO (subject to regulatory approval), Tristan was Head of Finance at StreamBank Plc, a specialist lender, where he helped to build the Finance and Regulatory functions of the bank from concept through to fully operational.
Prior to this, Tristan spent several years as an independent consultant, covering multiple industries and countries, following roles looking after Accounting Policy at MUFG and Fixed Income products at Morgan Stanley.
Simon is a seasoned risk executive with over two decades of experience in the UK and EU banking sectors with expertise in enterprise risk management, credit, operational, and other prudential risks. Simon started his banking career working for Santander, Barclays and RBS.
He subsequently spent 9 years in specialist risk consulting before becoming Chief Risk Officer at Fiinu Bank Limited, a FinTech banking startup, in 2022. Most recently, Simon served as the CEO Designate for a new bank startup, where he led the development of the regulatory business plan and the preparation of the banking licence application.
Simon holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and a MEng from the University of Birmingham. Outside of work, Simon enjoys judo, cycling, cooking, music, and watching rugby.
Georgina qualified as a Real Estate solicitor with Linklaters in 2004 before joining Citigroup in 2006 where she held senior legal and compliance roles within Corporate Finance and in Financial Crime across all business lines.
Following her stint in a big bank environment she joined the challenger bank community in 2014, first at Tungsten, then B&C Plc where she held positions of CRO, General Counsel, Company Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer & MLRO. She was a Board Director in both institutions.
Caroline has over 25 years of experience in SME banking. Caroline many years of experience working with start-up and challenger SME banks, she was part of the executive team taking Ashman Bank to AWR and also built and led the Commercial Mortgages team as Aldermore Bank. Caroline is known in the market for developing and delivering market facing propositions that support SME’s achieve their goals.
Ronelle has worked in several senior management and operational roles across the investment, real estate, and financial services sectors, both in the UK and overseas and has led complex financing of over £500m in debt.
Ronelle volunteers as a Senior Project Manager for The Parasol Foundation Trust, a charity helping disadvantaged women succeed in the business world, and she also leads the Bank in its partnership with Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF).
Prior to this, Ronelle spent five years in operational roles within the Air Force – managing large teams, projects, and operations.
Steve has had an extensive executive career in banking, leading corporate and commercial banking businesses at RBS/NatWest, managing Santander’s UK banking businesses and as CEO of Shawbrook Bank, Hodge Banking Group and most recently successfully leading the banking licence application for StreamBank.
He is a non-executive Director at Bank of Ireland both in the UK and Dublin and Thin Cats, a specialist SME lending business and is retained as an advisor to Black Lion Ventures. He was previously President of the Chartered Banker Institute.
Steve took up the role of Chair (subject to regulatory approval) at Recognise Bank in November 2024, having served as an Investor Non-Executive Director since January 2024.
Simon Wainwright holds the position of MD for the UK and Ireland, as well as COO for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at global reinsurer Reinsurance Group of America (RGA). Prior to this role, he occupied senior positions at HSBC, including CEO of HSBC Ireland, Head of Business Banking for the UK, and COO of Corporate and Structured Finance.
Additionally, Simon serves as a Non-Executive Director (NED) of National Counties Building Society. Within Recognise Bank Limited, he chairs the Recognise Risk Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee.
Richard Gabbertas, who joined KPMG in 1980 and later became a partner in 1995, brings extensive expertise in financial services to Recognise Bank. Throughout his career, he led KPMG’s Regional Financial Services Practice, offering audit and advisory services to a wide spectrum of institutions within the sector. Richard’s deep understanding of banking regulation has contributed to his significant role.
Currently, Richard chairs the Audit Committee at Recognise Bank and is also a member of the Risk Committee. He is also Recognise Bank’s Consumer Duty Champion.
Alison is a customer focused leader, with a breadth of financial services experience, having headed up commercial marketing teams across the Barclays Group. This includes leading both business and corporate marketing, together with the b2b Barclaycard payments business.
Alison is now Non-Executive Director, Consumer Duty Board Champion and RemCo Chair at the Stafford Building Society, a mutual providing a range of mortgage and savings solutions.
In addition to her financial services experience, Alison is a Non-Executive Director at University Hospital Southampton, a large NHS teaching hospital, and a Trustee of The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a charity with veterinary hospitals across the UK providing care for sick and injured pets.
Alison brings strong commercial marketing, digital transformation and customer experience to the Recognise Board. She is committed to delivering for customers, and is delighted to be joining a business focused on serving the SME market.
Suzanne has enjoyed a long executive career in internal audit and risk management in financial services. She is a Chartered Accountant and has held a senior role at the Bank of England along with Chief Internal Auditor roles at the Yorkshire Building Society and the investment bank, Peel Hunt.
She is also a Non-Executive Director at HBL Bank UK, a specialist bank serving the South Asian diaspora and The Exeter, a mutual life and general insurer. She was previously a Non-Executive Director at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Christopher is Chief Commercial Officer at atomos (formerly Sanlam Wealth), a position he has held since March 2022. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer of True Potential LLP, a financial service and technology firm servicing the IFA market in the UK. Prior to joining True Potential LLP in 2019, Christopher spent 10 years at Perella Weinberg Partners, a leading global independent investment banking firm, covering the wealth and asset management market in the UK and Europe. Christopher started his career at Lehman Brothers in London.
Christopher holds a Master’s Degree from École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP Business School).
Christopher joined Recognise as an Investor Non-Executive Director in November 2024.
Dan is a fintech and product leader with a track record of building high-growth lending platforms and digital infrastructure. At Amazon, he ran the B2B Lending business across the UK and EU, scaling operations, launching new markets, and leading teams across product, tech, credit, and go-to-market.
Earlier in his career, Dan worked on billing and payment system solutions for global telecom clients at Amdocs, contributed to early-stage investment activity with a US-based venture firm, and led technology teams in a government intelligence setting.
He holds an MBA from NYU Stern and a BA in Economics & Psychology from Tel Aviv University. Dan joined the Board of Recognise Bank in 2025.
Ruth Parasol is a distinguished global entrepreneur and savvy investor with a remarkable self-made portfolio exceeding $1 billion. Leading an international team in Real Estate, Asset Management, and Private Equity, Ruth embarked on her entrepreneurial journey after law school in 1993, swiftly becoming a pioneer in Fintech and Gaming, including software development in India by 1995.
In 2005, Ruth made history, guiding Party Gaming Plc to a monumental IPO on the LSE FTSE 100 as the world’s largest online poker room. Beyond business, Ruth passionately advocates for women’s advancement in science and technology. As Principal Benefactress of The Parasol Foundation Trust, she has committed over £40 million since 2004 to champion this cause globally. Within Recognise Bank she holds the position of Alternate Investor Non-Executive Director.
