Berlin — 16. December 2022. Solaris, Europe's leading embedded finance platform, today announced changes to its management board. This move is linked to Solaris' new target operating model following a corporate strategy update and the recently communicated CEO succession. Carsten Höltkemeyer, who took office as CEO designate on November 1, has been working with the team to finalise the future plan of the group. The new management board will start working on January 1, 2023, and will be formed by existing and new colleagues.
Dr. Jörg Howein, who recently extended his contract as a Member of the Management Board, will continue to lead the product and tech organization as Chief Platform Officer (CPO).
Chloé Mayenobe, who joined the company and the management board at the beginning of the year, will assume the position of Chief Operations Officer (COO) and will also represent the international markets.
The former Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and board member, Jörg Diewald, returns to head the global commercial organization for the group in the same role. In the past months, Diewald served as Executive Advisor for Solaris.
In addition, Ansgar Finken will join the board in the newly created role of Chief Risk Officer (CRO). He joins from BHW Bausparkasse AG, where he was also CRO and Member of the Management Board. Alongside risk management, he will also assume responsibility for the compliance area.
Lee Johnstone, currently Managing Director of Solaris' UK subsidiary, will become Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and be part of the extended management board as General Representative.
Finken and Johnstone will take over the risk and finance organizations, respectively, from Thom Rasser, who indicated last summer not to renew his contract. Rasser will hand over his tasks to his successors in the coming months and ensure a smooth transition.
It is precisely in challenging times that a company's resilience and entrepreneurial substance are put to the test. To stay ahead of the curve, maintain our growth and become profitable at the same time, we have redesigned our organization and will implement our well thought-out plan for the future. I am excited to team up with such a strong group of high-class managers and proven industry experts. Together we will write the next chapter of Solaris and exploit the vast market potential of embedded finance.Carsten Höltkemeyer, CEO designate of Solaris
As previously communicated, Höltkemeyer will officially take over as CEO from Dr. Roland Folz on May 1, 2023.
Jörg Diewald is Chief Commercial Officer of Solaris. With over 25 years of experience in banking, Jörg is an expert in the development and expansion of commercial organizations in the banking as well as fintech sector. Prior to joining Solaris, he was CCO of Targo Commercial Finance AG and, among other things, was active on the advisory board of the Berlin fintech company Billie. Jörg began his career with Commerzbank and thereafter occupied a variety of executive positions, among others at Dresdner Bank and Landesbank Sachsen. Since 2007, he was a board member and CCO for Germany and Benelux at GE Capital Bank AG, which belongs to the General Electric Group.
Ansgar Finken ist Chief Risk Officer at Solaris. Before joining Solaris Finken was CRO of BHW Bausparkasse AG and co-sponsor of the company's sustainability management. For many years, he was responsible for senior roles in risk controlling, model risk, credit as well as bank management topics in retail and investment banking at Deutsche Bank Group. Another focus of his work are transformation and merger projects as well as data & IT programs. With over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, Ansgar Finken brings the perfect profile for the complementary position on the board.
Dr. Jörg Howein is Chief Platform Officer and has been a member of Solaris’ management board since February 2020. In this position, he is responsible for Solaris’ central production platform. Previously, Jörg Howein was Chief Product Officer and VP of Projects & Growth at Solaris. He gained his expertise as a financial strategy consultant at zeb consulting, one of the leading financial services consultancies in Europe. After his time at zeb, he joined KI finance Cologne, a consulting boutique with a focus on digital banking.
Lee Johnstone is Chief Financial Officer of Solaris and also Managing Director of Solaris UK. Prior to the acquisition by Solaris in December 2021, he held the CFO role at both Solaris UK and Lithuania (formerly Contis) for over 10 years. Lee is a qualified chartered accountant with over 20 years financial experience in rapidly growing, multi-site businesses in private, public and private equity environments, with a proven leadership ability in delivering business profitability, reducing costs and tight working capital and cash management.
Chloé Mayenobe is Chief Operations Officer at Solaris, overseeing Solaris’ international expansion. Her extensive career in the European payments industry has included roles in governance as well as corporate functions in international environments and transformation phases. Most recently, she served as Deputy CEO of Natixis Payments and Member of the Executive Committee of Natixis. Furthermore, she spent over 12 years at Ingenico Group, where she was appointed Vice President Audit and Risks in 2006, before extending her responsibilities as EVP and eventually being appointed as Managing Director Europe for the retail division.
Solaris is Europe’s leading embedded finance platform empowering the future of financial services. The tech company enables businesses to easily provide trusted and innovative financial experiences to their customers. Through smart APIs, partners can embed financial services quickly and compliantly into their own product offerings. Solaris is headquartered in Berlin and employs over 750 people at eight locations in Europe and in India. Combined net revenue in 2021 exceeded 100 million euros, representing growth of over 90 percent year-on-year.