Ten years in, the market-leading global fintech investor assembles financial services and tech industry leaders to guide its next decade of growth
Anthemis, a venture investment firm committed to cultivating change in the financial system announced the appointment of two former Barclays executives to leadership positions with Mei Lim to Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Development, and Harry Harrison as Vice Chair. Anthemis also introduced its newly established strategic advisory board whose members include Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor and former COO of Square, Pamela Thomas-Graham, former Executive Director of Credit Suisse, Baroness Helena Morrissey, Founder of the 30% Club and Bruce Aust, former Nasdaq Vice Chairman. The board will collaborate with Anthemis’ leadership team on the firm’s strategic growth plans for the next decade and extend their connectivity within financial services and adjacent markets.
“Our vision at Anthemis is to transform the financial system and the way the world interacts with it. To do that requires a diversity of thought, experience and leadership, which this impressive group brings to our second decade in business,” said Amy Nauiokas, Anthemis founder and CEO. “From day one, we have understood the value of authentic collaboration across the financial services sector and have been intentional about building an ecosystem around Anthemis that reflects this. The addition of these new leaders and advisors to our orbit will only help to accelerate Anthemis’ mission to bring about meaningful change in the financial system.”
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As CFO and Head of Corporate Development, Mei Lim will play an essential role in the firm’s operations. With over 20 years of financial services industry experience, she brings valuable relationships and insights across M&A, corporate development and finance. Most recently, Mei served as Managing Director in Finance and Business Banking at Barclays. Prior to that, she has had experience in Corporate Development, Strategy and Principal Investments at Barclays where she led on numerous mergers, acquisitions, investments and divestitures for Barclays.
Harry Harrison, Anthemis’ new Vice Chair will be responsible for the firm’s future expansion into later-stage investments, bringing to the role a long track record of building, managing and divesting businesses across a range of financial products and markets. Harry spent almost 30 years at Barclays, most recently as Head of Barclays’ Non-Core division, where he led its divestiture of $100 billion in risk-weighted assets and the sale of 19 businesses globally.
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The newly established advisory board brings additional firepower to Anthemis’ strategic growth plans and the evolution of its investment platform. The group’s collective knowledge, expertise and deep networks, together with Anthemis’ decade investing in and advising on the digital transformation of financial services, will position the firm to capture new and accelerating opportunities across financial services and adjacent sectors:
- Sarah Friar is the CEO of a neighborhood app, Nextdoor and serves on the boards of Walmart and Slack. Sarah was previously CFO at Square, SVP of Finance & Strategy at Salesforce, held executive roles at Goldman Sachs and held leadership roles at McKinsey in both London and South Africa. Sarah brings significant experience in finance and operations in the tech industry, and as the co-founder of Ladies Who Launch, she also shares Anthemis’ dedication to celebrating and empowering women entrepreneurs.
- Pamela Thomas-Graham brings to Anthemis’ advisory board decades of experience as an entrepreneur, C-level executive, public company board experience and in the financial services industry. During her illustrious career, Pamela has held roles including Member of the Executive Board at Credit Suisse,CEO at CNBC and CNBC.com and was the first black woman Partner at McKinsey & Co. In addition to her current role as founder and CEO of online publishing company, Dandelion Chandelier Digital Media, Pamela holds board positions at companies including Clorox, Bumble, Peloton, Compass, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son.
- Baroness Helena Morrissey, DBE, is known for achieving strong business results through her asset management and growth equity experience across Europe while promoting inclusion and diversity of thought. She founded the 30% Club, a campaign for more gender-balanced boards, and is Chair of the investment industry’s Diversity Project. For 15 years, Helena served as CEO of Newton Investment Management and serves on the board of FTSE100 company and Eton College.
- Bruce Aust spent over 20 years at Nasdaq in a number of leadership positions, including Vice Chairman from 2015 to 2019, in this role he worked closely with Nasdaq’s Global Listings Services business to assist clients and prospective clients worldwide. Prior to Nasdaq, he spent 12 years at Fidelity Investments in numerous roles within their retail brokerage unit. He brings to Anthemis a depth of expertise in investor relations, securities, the regulatory environment, corporate governance, corporate development, and M&A. Additionally, he is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the industry.
“Anthemis has carved out a leadership position in financial services, guiding both incumbents and digitally-native entrants toward a more inclusive, efficient, and equitable future,” said Sarah Friar, CEO at Nextdoor. “I’m excited to partner with the Anthemis leadership team to expand and deepen their position in a maturing, fast-evolving industry.”
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