Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank, was presented with an honorary award from Swansea University on Thursday 27 July.
Born and raised in Swansea, Anne graduated from Swansea University in 1981 with a degree in Computer Science and Chemistry.
The technology know-how she gained at Swansea helped shape a distinguished career in financial services for more than 30 years, running information technology systems for some of the world’s biggest financial institutions, among other roles.
She founded Starling Bank in 2014, believing that the only way to have a truly digital bank, built around customer needs, was to start from scratch. Anne has led Starling from a fast-growth fintech start-up to a leading bank that this year announced record profits. She stepped aside as CEO in June this year but remains on the board.
Anne is widely considered as a thought-leader in the financial technology, or fintech, sector. She was awarded an MBE for services to fintech in 2018 and is chair of the government’s Women-led High-growth Enterprise Taskforce. She also sits on the Business Advisory Council of the Mayor of London.
On receiving her honorary award, Anne said: “If anyone had told me when I entered Swansea university as a fresh computer science undergraduate in 1978, that the tech know-how I gained here would one day help me to build a bank from scratch, I would have thought they were dreaming. This honorary degree marks a fantastic homecoming for me and is proof positive that dreams can come true. To receive it from Swansea is truly an honour.”