Fintech Awards London is designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented fintech professionals working in London.
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Fintech Awards London is designed to recognise, attract and invest in the talented Fintech Companies & professionals working in London.
Fintech Awards London will recognise the achievements of the thriving Fintech sector across the country, bringing leading innovators and digital experts together in an evening of celebration.
Last year, more than 300 fintech professionals came together to celebrate the Fintech Awards London 2025. This year, the journey begins again.
- Launch: 14th January, 2026, Open for Nominations
- Closing date for Nominations: 3rd April, 2026
- Finalists will be Announced: 17th April, 2026
- In-Person Finalists Interviews: 18-20th May, 2026
- 2026 Fintech Awards London Event: 18th June, 2026
For more information on the event, visit our Frequently Asked Questions
Judging Panel
Chris Woolard CBE
Partner, EY
Christopher Woolard CBE chairs the EY Global Regulatory Network. He leads EY EMEIA and UK financial services regulation, and UK Fintech.
Chris had a 25 year career in UK public service before joining EY including serving on the board of Financial Conduct Authority and as its interim chief executive. He was also a member of the Bank
of England’s Prudential Regulation Committee and the Financial Policy Committee, and founded the FCA’s Project Innovate and the regulatory Sandbox, which have been emulated in more than 50 countries worldwide. Internationally, he has served on the IOSCO Board and a member of the Financial Stability Board’s strategic risk
committee.
Chris was awarded a CBE by HM the Queen in 2021 for services to financial regulation and fintech. He is also a freeman of the City of London.
Janine Hirt
CEO, Innovate Finance
Janine Hirt is the CEO of Innovate Finance (IF), the industry body representing the world-leading UK FinTech sector. Having joined the founding IF leadership team in 2015 first as Head of Membership then Ecosystem Director, she moved into the COO role in 2017 before stepping up to lead the organisation in 2021.
Janine is passionate about driving transformation to create a more democratic, transparent and inclusive financial services sector for all. Her professional career has been marked by roles that sit at the intersection of policy, international relations, and industry, including senior positions at Chatham House, (the Royal Institution of International Affairs) and the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.
Janine received her BA Magna Cum Laude from Boston College, JYA at Oxford University, and her MSc from the London School of Economics. Janine is an American, British, Swiss and German national who calls London and NYC home.
Charles McManus
Co-founder and Non-Executive Director at ClearBank, and serves as Co-Chair of Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council
Charles McManus is a co-founder and Non-Executive Director at ClearBank, and serves as Co-Chair of Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council, where he plays an active role in shaping the strategic direction of the UK fintech sector to support its continued global leadership. He is also Chair and a Board Adviser to several Fintechs.
Previously, Charles was Chief Executive Officer of ClearBank for nine years, having co-founded the company in 2015. Under his leadership, ClearBank became a key player in the UK’s financial infrastructure as the first new clearing bank in over 250 years, delivering embedded banking and clearing solutions to financial institutions.
With more than 30 years of international experience across investment banking, wealth management, and retail banking, Charles has held senior leadership roles at major global institutions. Prior to ClearBank, he was Group CFO of RBS Ulster Bank Group and earlier spent 13 years at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), where he served as CFO for Europe and Asia and Global Head of Product Control.
Ryan Mendy
Chief Business Officer, Growth, Partnerships & Market Strategy at Zilch
Ryan is the Chief Business Officer, Growth, Partnerships & Market Strategy at Zilch. Appointed in October 2025, he leads the company’s global partnerships across technology, major brands, capital markets and government – driving the next stage of expansion with Zilch Intelligent Commerce and Zilch Pay.
Since 2019, Ryan has worked closely with the founders and leadership team to help scale Zilch from concept to the UK and EMEA’s fastest-growing FinTech unicorn (Deloitte 2025). Previously serving as Chief Communications Officer, he shaped corporate strategy, strengthened investor and media relations, and played a key role in policy engagement at the highest levels of government and global tech.
Ryan is also the Co-founding Co-Chair of the Unicorn Council for UK Fintech (UCFT), bringing together over 25 high-growth FinTech leaders valued at more than $100 billion to drive breakthrough policy with Innovate Finance and senior government.
Before joining Zilch, Ryan spent more than 20 years in investment banking and capital markets, including roles at Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs, and later founded a US-based equity research firm focused on activist investing. His advisory work spans 100+ equity fundraisings, IPOs and corporate spin-offs.
Louise Brett
(Ex) Deloitte Vice Chair. UK & Europe FinTech & Financial Services Innovation Lead Partner
Louise was until 2023, Vice Chair at Deloitte and Head of FinTech and Financial Services Innovation for Deloitte Europe, working across the ecosystem with Financial Services clients, government bodies, regulators, advisors, VCs and the broader FinTech community.
A natural innovator and practical strategist, Louise previously led Deloitte’s Strategy practice and has been at the forefront of shaping Deloitte’s response to FinTech for the benefit of our clients, the FinTechs, and the wider ecosystem. She is relentless about the power of Fintech collaboration to drive financial inclusion and financial literacy and collaborated with Innovate Finance on the Fintech for Schools initiative. Sponsoring recent research into Female Financial Equality, Louise is convening cross-industry engagement and action to accelerating female focused communications and solutions.
She co-led the National Connectivity chapter of the HMT FinTech Strategic Review, ‘Kalifa Review’ and works with clients to partner and scale FinTechs in answer to business challenges. Louise chairs TheCityUK Technology and Innovation Group, represents Deloitte on the UK’s FinTech Strategy Group, is an active Board member of The ScaleUp Institute and is proud to champion Women in VC Europe as a founding sponsor.
Louise was delighted to be recognised again this year on the IF Women in FinTech Powerlist, is active in seeking out best practice from across the globe and applying disruptive innovation principles to client challenges and consumer and SME outcomes. Formerly a banker, she sponsors Deloitte’s focus on Women in Leadership and is passionate about innovation and the potency of inclusive leadership and diversity of thought to drive superior long term commercial success. She holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, ACIB, and DipFS.
Susanne Chishti
Founder & Chair of FINTECH Circle
Susanne Chishti is the award-winning Founder & Chair of FINTECH Circle and a FTSE Board Member. As Investor and Editor of The FINTECH Book Series she lives with her family in London and is a Non-Executive Director of Crown Agents Bank, a FTSE listed wholesale bank focused on international payments and FX and an Advisory Board Member of Elevator Ventures, the VC fund of Raiffeisen Bank International, a leading European Banking Group with 45,000 employees, 19 million customers and EUR 200 billion in total assets. At CAB Payments PLC she is also the Chair of the ESG Board Sub-Committee and Member of the Nomination and Risk Board Committees.
Susanne is an in-demand keynote speaker at leading finance and technology conferences globally and the Co-Editor of the bestselling The FINTECH Book Series, which has been translated into 10 languages and is sold across 107 countries. Susanne’s awards include the “Top 100 Women in Fintech 2024”, “Top 10 global fintech influencers in 2022” (Evening Standard), “Top 5 ESG Influencers Globally” (Refinitiv) and the Fintech Champion of the Year in 2019 (Women in Finance Awards).
Mark Walker
Editorial Director, The Fintech Times
Mark is an experienced technologist, his early corporate successes led him to form his own enterprise software company, producing and selling to Universities and institutions. A hands-on role, he executed this idea from concept to maturity, while also leading the international development for an advanced engineering company before its M&A.
A former Senior Adviser at UK trade & investment, where he used his time to build contacts in technology, IoT and Smart cities sectors, as well as the investment and accelerator environment. Managing a team of seven, his role facilitated a good understanding of the London technology environment. He then continued his passion for supporting Start-up and Scale-up organisations by joining London & Partners as Head of Financial Services & Business Technology. He also led the Mayor’s international business programme for the technology & urban sector.
Having stepped back into the private sector, He has continued supporting ideas, Start-ups and Scale-ups with several of his own investments and ventures, including working with an amazing co-founder on an exclusive Fintech accelerator programme, The Fintech Power50, and running the Operations & Editorial functions at The Fintech Times, a global multimedia news outlet centred around the world’s first leading Fintech newspaper.
Joe Parkin
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, FG Partners
Joe is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at The Fintech Growth Fund, an investment firm focused on Fintech companies enabling the evolution of the global financial services industry.
Prior to founding The Fintech Growth Fund, Joe spent his career in a number of roles at Goldman Sachs and BlackRock. Joe has a passion for FinTech and the crucial role it can play in enabling financial inclusion and wellbeing, helping to create financially healthier populations.
Joe has seen first-hand throughout his career the importance of bringing together FinTech and strategic capital in driving innovation and evolution in financial services.
Kate Rosenshine
Global Technology Director, Strategic Partnerships – ISV & Digital Natives, Microsoft
Kate is currently the Director of Global Azure Technology Sales for Strategic Partnerships, Digital Natives and ISV at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2017, she worked at start-ups in Israel and the UK, where she built and developed teams, shaping both technical and commercial strategies.
Kate was an advisor to the Bank of England’s Artificial Intelligence Public Private Forum on AI, and holds a MSc and MBA.
Steve Dukes
CEO, Confused.com
As CEO I’m focused on growing and evolving both Confused.com and the group we have been a part of since our acquisition in 2021, RVU.
My passion is in synchronising marketing, product, data and technology to deliver growth and change.
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