{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-04/funding-circle-rob-straathof-ceo","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-04/funding-circle-rob-straathof-ceo.md","title":"Funding Circle Names Rob Straathof CEO for 2027","headline":"Funding Circle Appoints Rob Straathof as CEO to Succeed Lisa Jacobs in 2027","description":"Funding Circle appoints Rob Straathof as CEO, subject to regulatory approval, to succeed Lisa Jacobs, who steps down by September 2027.","section":"Leadership","published_at":"2026-11-04T10:17:25+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-04T10:17:25+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Funding Circle appointed Rob Straathof as CEO, subject to regulatory approval, with a start date in H1 2027.","Straathof spent a decade as CEO of Liberis and is currently CEO of Grover.","Lisa Jacobs, who announced her intention to step down on 8 September 2026, will leave by no later than September 2027."],"companies":[{"name":"Funding Circle","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000e4v/funding-circle","website":"http://www.fundingcircle.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"GlobeNewswire","title":"Funding Circle Holdings plc (\"Funding Circle\" or \"the Company\") CEO appointment","url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/04/3395054/0/en/funding-circle-holdings-plc-funding-circle-or-the-company-ceo-appointment.html"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Leadership","Funding Circle"],"body_markdown":"Funding Circle appointed Rob Straathof as chief executive officer, subject to regulatory approval, to succeed Lisa Jacobs, the company said in a [GlobeNewswire](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/04/3395054/0/en/funding-circle-holdings-plc-funding-circle-or-the-company-ceo-appointment.html) announcement on November 4, 2026. Straathof will join in the first half of 2027, with his appointment date to be confirmed.\n\n## Straathof's Liberis and Grover Background\n\nStraathof spent a decade as CEO of Liberis, where the company said he led its growth from a UK small business lender with a single partner into a global embedded finance platform offering multiple products and providing over $4 billion of funding to more than 100,000 small businesses. He is currently CEO of Grover, a European technology subscription platform based in Germany.\n\nThe appointment followed a search led by the Nomination Committee and supported by an independent executive search firm, which considered a strong field of candidates. Ken Stannard, Chair of [Funding Circle](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000e4v/funding-circle), said: \"Rob brings a deep understanding of small businesses, strong credit expertise and a proven track record of leading fintech businesses, in particular his decade scaling Liberis into a multi-product platform.\"\n\nJacobs, whose intention to step down was announced on 8 September 2026, will continue to lead the business and ensure a handover before stepping down by no later than September 2027. Straathof said: \"Lisa and the team have built an outstanding business: a profitable, capital-light platform with distinctive strengths in credit and technology, and a growing range of products that meets more of small businesses' financial needs.\"\n\n## Funding Circle's Lending Platform at the Handover\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Funding Circle completed SBOLT 2026-1 in June 2026, its tenth public SME loan securitisation since 2016, bringing cumulative issuance to approximately £2.5 billion and marking British Business Bank's first participation in a Funding Circle public securitisation. The same records show the company renewed a £200 million forward flow agreement with Deutsche Bank in June 2026, extending a partnership that originated in 2014.\n\n## Jacobs's Exit and the Profit Forecast\n\nOn 8 September 2026, CityAM reported that Jacobs will step down by September 2027 as the firm lifted its profit forecast. Revenue jumped 50% to £138m and pre-tax profit quadrupled to £24.1m over six months, with the company expecting over £40m for the year, and it announced a £25m buyback.\n\nOn 19 October 2026, Index Ventures V Limited crossed the 15% voting rights threshold in Funding Circle Holdings, holding 44,017,600 shares representing 15.007125% of voting rights, FinanzNachrichten.de reported.\n\n## Straathof's Start Date\n\nFunding Circle said Straathof's date of appointment will be confirmed in due course, within the first half of 2027.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}