Goldman Alum and Blankfein Ally Joins $5.5 Billion Fintech Revolut

(Bloomberg) -- More than three years after leaving Goldman Sachs Group Inc., high-profile British banker Michael Sherwood is joining London's most prominent fintech.

Revolut Ltd. said Thursday that the 54-year-old Sherwood, once one of Lloyd Blankfein's right-hand men, will become a director. A week ago, Revolut raised $500 million from investors, valuing it at $5.5 billion -- and making it one of Europe's most valuable startups.

Founded by 35-year-old Russian-born physicist Nik Storonsky, Revolut started in 2015 with an app and a series of retail financial products -- most notably, a pre-paid debit card that didn't charge customers transaction fees when traveling.

After his firm weathered some growing pains and regulatory scrutiny, Storonsky has been tapping the expertise of senior figures from traditional finance. Last year, Martin Gilbert, who spent three decades building Aberdeen Asset Management into a U.K. fund giant, joined as chairman. Revolut also said Ian Wilson, a former executive at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Banco Santander SA, will join its board.

“Having Michael and Ian's vast experience and knowledge will be invaluable,” Storonsky said in a statement. “Both are major assets to Revolut and our customers as we work to become the world's first truly global bank.”

Read More: Revolut Hits $5.5 Billion Valuation

Despite its unprofitability for now, Revolut plans to take on the world's largest banks and wants to boost its customer base tenfold to 100 million within five years. Speaking on Bloomberg Television last week, Storonsky said the company would hire 1,000 more staff this year, adding to its already 2,000-strong workforce.

Sherwood spent 30 years at Goldman Sachs and was a close ally of Blankfein, the Wall Street firm's longtime chief executive officer. Both men rose through the ranks of the fixed-income department. Sherwood became one of Goldman's youngest partners and eventually co-headed the firm's trading business and then its international arm.

Revolut has raised $836 million from investors, with the most recent funding round led by U.S. venture capital firm TCV. That investment put the company at more than double its April 2018 valuation of $1.7 billion.

In results for the 2018 financial year, Revolut said its losses more than doubled to 32.8 million pounds ($42 million). Revenue surged to 58.2 million pounds from 12.8 million in 2017.

To contact the reporter on this story: Harry Wilson in London at hwilson57@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Keith Campbell

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.