Paul David Pester (born 14 January 1964) is a British businessman and executive. He is currently the Chairman of Tandem Bank. Pester is also a non-executive Director and co-founder of FinTech accelerator, Archie. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of TSB Bank from 2013 to 2018.[1][2]
Paul Pester | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 January 1964 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Virgin Money TSB Bank Tandem Money |
Early life edit
Pester grew up in Plymouth.[3] He was educated at Tamar High School, Plymouth.[4] He has a first class honours degree in physics from the University of Manchester, and a doctorate (DPhil) in mathematical physics from Brasenose College, University of Oxford in 1988.[1][5]
Career edit
Pester was employed by McKinsey & Co as a management consultant, before being appointed Group CEO of Virgin Money. During Pester's tenure as CEO, Virgin Money Group launched in Australia.[6] He then began working in various senior roles for Lloyds TSB, Santander and Lloyds Banking Group.[7]
In May 2011, Pester was appointed as the CEO of Project Verde and tasked with moulding a group of 632 bank branches Lloyds was being forced to divest by the European Commission as a penalty for receiving State Aid from the UK Government during the 2008 banking crisis, into a new bank. The new bank was eventually named TSB.[8][9]
Pester was appointed in 2013 to launch TSB for the Lloyds Banking Group and, in June 2014, listed the bank on the UK stock market. During this time, the BBC reported that he could earn more than £1.6 million that year in pay and bonuses.[10] He stepped down after a significant IT failure at the bank, which he claimed ultimate responsibility for. On stepping down, Pester took a substantial bonus. This was eventually found to be a ‘contractual severance pay agreement’ .[2] Pester participated in subsequent investigations into the causes of the IT issues by the FCA, PRA and law firm Slaughter & May. Ultimately the root causes of the issues were identified as a failure by Sabadell’s IT subsidiary. Pester was not found to have committed any wrongdoing by the FCA, PRA, and Slaughter & May.[11][12]
In October 2015, Pester was appointed as an advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and HM Treasury on competition issues in banking, sitting as a member of the High Level Treasury Advisory Group.[13]
Pester co-founded Loop, a money sharing social networking app, in 2021.[14] He was appointed chairman of Tandem Money in 2022.[15] Tandem acquired Loop in April 2023.[16] He has also advised private equity groups including KKR, Centerbridge, and Pollen Street Capital.[17]
In 2023, Pester co-founded the Fintech accelerator Archie.[18]
Personal life edit
Pester lives in London with his second wife, having divorced in 2015 and remarried in 2017.[3]He is also a competitive swimmer and triathlete, having represented Team GBR in the 2022 European Aquathlon Championships in Bilbao.[19]
References edit
- ^ a b "Paul Pester". Businessweek. Retrieved 11 June 2014.[dead link]
- ^ a b "TSB boss to step down after IT fiasco". BBC News. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ a b Emma Haslett, Emma Haslett (28 April 2014). "By Emma Haslett Monday, 28 April 2014 Clean living and twinkly-eyed: The new TSB CEO is determined to change the face of banking". Management Today. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ Armitage, Jim (10 September 2013). "TSB to boldly go back to local banking". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Brazen Futures - Career Events". Brasenose College. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Lloyds prepares IPO option if branch auction flops". Reuters.
- ^ "LLOYDS BANKING GROUP ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR ITS VERDE BUSINESS" (PDF). Lloyds. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ Haslett, Emma. "TSB's Paul Pester: Before the IT meltdown". Management Today.
- ^ "Integration guru Paul Pester to oversee Lloyds sell-off". The Scotsman.
- ^ "TSB boss defends potential £1.6m pay package". BBC. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Former TSB chief information officer fined £81,000 over IT meltdown in 2018". The Guardian.
- ^ "Poor IT integration leads to M&A failures". Raconteur.
- ^ Wallace, Tim. "Treasury will meet challenger banks four times a year amid concerns sector is not a level playing field". Telegraph.
- ^ Kleinman, Mark (5 December 2021). "Former TSB CEO Pester joins fintech frenzy with launch of money-sharing social network Loop". Sky News. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Challenger bank Tandem poaches finance chief from rival Atom". Sky News. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ Duncan, Ellie (5 April 2023). "Tandem Bank buys money-sharing app Loop". Open Banking Expo. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ "Former TSB chief Paul Pester moves into fintech with social network for money". Finextra.
- ^ "Archie Launches In London". AltFi.
- ^ "Results: 2022 Europe Triathlon Aquathlon Championships Bilbao - Bizkaia | 55-59 Male AG". Triathalon.org.
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