The new CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer and his board team face a number of challenges.
(Photo: Solarisbank)
Frankfurt Solaris continues to drive its internal restructuring – and reshuffle its Board of Directors. At the turn of the year, Ansgar Finken, who comes from BHW Bausparkasse, will take on the newly created function of Chief Risk Officer. He will also be responsible for compliance. This was announced by the Berlin fintech on Friday.
Lee Johnstone will be responsible for finance in the future. Johnstone is currently Managing Director of the British subsidiary of Solaris.
This means that Thom Rasser’s previous areas of responsibility will be divided up. Rasser had already announced in the summer that he would not be extending his expiring contract.
“Solaris has grown significantly in recent years. This also increased the requirements for risk management and the finance and compliance organization,” said a spokesman on request. Therefore, the decision has now been made to split up the areas on the board.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Founded in 2016, Solaris offers its banking license to other fintechs, who can use it to attract customers more quickly. The financial start-ups can then offer financial services under their own flag, with Solaris always in the background.
Berliners are in the middle of a transformation. The fintech announced at the end of October that the previous CEO, Roland Folz, was leaving the company on April 30, 2023. His successor, Carsten Höltkemeyer, has been with the company since November of this year as a member of the Management Board and designated CEO.
Jörg Diewald returns to the Management Board
Höltkemeyer and his board team face a number of challenges. The financial supervisory authority Bafin found some serious deficiencies in Solaris during an audit in 2020. At the beginning of the year, she sent a special auditor to the bank and also increased the capital requirements.
The company also wants to be profitable on a monthly basis by the end of the year. The customer focus is therefore to be shifted from small fintechs to large, established companies.
Solaris was recently able to gain two major partners in ADAC and Paycell. At the beginning of the year, the Berliners announced the takeover of British competitor Contis. Solaris made a loss of 42 million euros in 2021 with sales of 101 million euros.
In addition to Finken and Johnstone, Jörg Howein, Chloé Mayenobe and Jörg Diewald complete the company’s Management Board.
Diewald takes over the position of Chief Sales Officer. He only left that position in the summer of this year and has since worked for the company as an external consultant. Now he’s coming back.
Mayenobe, who has been with the company since the beginning of the year, will become the new organizational director. Previously, she was primarily responsible for the growth and international expansion of Solaris. She has been on the board since the summer and Diewald’s departure. She will continue to be responsible for international business in the future.
Howein, meanwhile, will retain his position as chief platform officer (CPO), overseeing the product and technology divisions.
Especially in difficult times, the resilience and adaptability of a company are put to the test, said the designated CEO Höltkemeyer. “In order to defend our competitive edge, continue growth and become profitable at the same time, we are realigning our organization and will successively implement our plan for the future,” says Höltkemeyer.
More: Solaris CEO Roland Folz resigns – ex-Barclays manager comes.