Starling CEO steps down after delivering profit boost

John Mountain, Starling’s COO, will take over as interim CEO to lead the digital bank into its next phase of growth.

The move comes as Starling reports revenue of £453 million for the year to 31 March 2023, more than double last year’s figure of £216 million.

On top of that, Starling reported record pre-tax profits of £195 million for the year to 31 March 2023, a sixfold increase on the previous year’s figure of £32 million.

Anne Boden said: “When I started Starling in 2014, I was told no one ever starts a bank, nobody wins market share and you’ll never make a profit. Today’s results prove them wrong.

“We’ve succeeded in disrupting an entire industry. I’m immensely proud of these results, which are a testament to how far we have come as a team and how fast we’ve moved as a business.

“To the team, thank you. Together we have revolutionised the face of banking. To our 3.6 million customers – thank you for believing in and trusting us.”

David Sproul, Chair of Starling Bank, said: "Anne is a brilliant and inspirational leader. She has built Starling from nothing and has led it to become the UK’s leading digital bank in the space of just eight years. It is an astonishing achievement and we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

“One of Anne’s great strengths is building extraordinary talent. We are confident that Starling is well-positioned for its next phase of growth and the bank’s relentless focus on our customers will not change.”

John Mountain, interim CEO, said: “Anne has created a company that I’m really proud to work in and is genuinely different. What makes Starling stand out is that we’ve succeeded in making it both customer-led and technology-led throughout. We’ve firmly established a sustainable business model and I look forward to continuing our work of changing banking for good.”