Wise saw its shares dip Monday after management announced that long-serving CFO Matt Briers would leave the company early next year.
Shares of British fintech firm Wise (LON: WISE) slipped 4% on news of CFO Matt Briers’ resignation next year. The London-based company’s stock slide also comes amid reports of CEO Kristo Kaarman’s paternity leave which begins in September. Wise’s shares are changing hands at 590 GBX after management made the announcements.
Briers’ pending departure in 2024 comes after an eight-year tenure with the UK fintech powerhouse. During that period, Wise transformed from a small-time promising business venture to a fintech giant with a listing on the London Stock Exchange. Today, the company also boasts millions of users and a revenue stream that typically exceeds 500 million GBP.
Wise Begins Immediate Search for New CFO amid Shares Decline
Amid its current shares development, and in a Monday update to investors, Wise revealed an immediate “comprehensive search for a new CFO.” The company’s management also detailed the extent of CEO Kaarman’s planned paternity leave. The Wise chief executive and co-founder will be away between September and December to spend time with his family. However, Wise’s Chief Technology Officer, Harsh Sinha, will assume the CEO role interim.
Briers exits his CFO role at Wise in March of next year to fully recover from a cycling accident he suffered in 2022. By the time he leaves, Kaarman is expected to have since returned from his sabbatical break.
In a statement, the outgoing Wise CFO looked forward to the future and reflected on his time at Wise. Briers stated:
“After almost eight years, it’s time to think about my life after Wise. I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved in these early chapters at Wise and could not be more excited about what is ahead for the business. Wise is growing fast, with a massive opportunity in front of us, and we’ve bucked the trend by working out how to do this profitably.”
Briers also added that his departure could spark the beginning of ongoing transitional changes in management at Wise for decades to come. As the departing CFO put it, the company “could have many CFOs in its first century,” Furthermore, he stressed, “This is simply me starting the process of handing over the reins to the next one.”
Briers suffered a severe cycling accident in February last year where he went under the wheel of a bus. At the time, while the CFO recovered at home, Wise appointed an interim finance chief in his place. Briers is largely credited with playing a pivotal role in transforming Wise’s fortunes.
CFO Departure Second of Its Kind in UK Tech Industry in May
The announcement of Briers’ departure is the second of its kind this month, where a CFO position at a leading British fintech platform became vacant. Less than two weeks ago, London-based private neobank Revolut announced the departure of its own CFO, Mikko Salovaara, after just two months on the job.
On May 11th, Revolut said Salovaara’s departure was due to personal reasons.
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