TransferWise Co-Founders Switch CEO Role

TransferWise, the U.K. FinTech startup, announced news on Tuesday (July 18) that the two co-founders have switch the CEO role.

According to a blog post from co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, Kristo Kaarmann, the other founder, is taking over as the CEO of the money transfer startup. Hinrikus said in the post that in order for TransferWise to have the biggest impact, it has to not only be financially successful but also sustainable.

“What was an idea seven years ago is now a company that will do $100M+ in annual revenue. Next up $1B in revenue? In a few years, it will be time to think seriously about becoming a public company like the strongest and most trusted financial institutions are. But when we do that we will explore that through our own lens  —  how will it help our customers? How will it help us achieve our mission faster?” wrote the co-founder. “Now I’m handing the day-to-day running of the company and the role of CEO over to my co-founder, Kristo [Kaarmann]. I will take the role of chairman.”

The executive said that while his job as chairman and a board member is part-time, he will be closely involved with TransferWise in terms of shaping the direction the FinTech takes, working with external parties and supporting the product teams. He said that in addition to TransferWise, he will spending more time doing what he loves: “focusing on disruption and helping the tech ecosystem flourish … and surely there are other great things in life? A continued need for learning drives me on.”

Taavet Hinrikus also laid out what is coming down the pipe for TransferWise, highlighting ongoing expansion into new countries.

“TransferWise has 10 percent market share in the U.K., and I don’t know of any other FinTech business [that] has reached that anywhere. Now we’ll work towards gaining 10 percent market share globally. And in [the] U.K. we’ll be the biggest provider pretty soon,” he wrote in the blog post.