Germany’s N26 appoints new chief risk officer, Carina Kozole
German digital bank N26 has named Carina Kozole as its new chief risk officer (CRO) and managing director of N26 AG.
N26 names Carina Kozole as its new chief risk officer
Kozole will take over the role from Jan Stechele, who has served as CRO in an interim capacity since April 2023 following the departure of the company’s previous chief risk and banking officer Thomas Grosse, who quit the firm for personal reasons.
N26 says Stechele will remain at the bank as a managing director and will “collaborate closely with the chief risk officer on the topics anti-money laundering and compliance”.
Kozole, who will officially begin her new role later this year, has spent the last 17 years at UniCredit Group, where she has held a number of senior positions. She most recently served as senior vice president and head of credit risk operations (Europe, Americas, Asia) of HypoVereinsbank – UniCredit Bank AG in Germany.
The neobank adds that Kozole has “multiple years of experience working with financial regulators across Europe, Asia and the Americas” and will “assume responsibility for risk management” at the firm.
N26 CEO Valentin Stalf says Kozole’s “comprehensive expertise and experience will further strengthen our focus on risk management and compliance”.
The appointment follows reports that Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, is extending measures put in place at N26 to tackle money laundering.
C-suite changes
The neobank has experienced a number of changes to its C-suite in recent times, with chief financial officer (CFO) Jan Kemper leaving the firm at the end of January to be replaced by Arnd Schwierholz later that month.
N26 co-founder, Maximilian Tayenthal, also took over as COO following Kemper’s exit. Kemper stepped in as interim COO following the departure of Adrienne Gormley last year.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Alexander Weber is stepping down as chief growth officer (CGO) after nine years with the firm.
N26 also announced it was cutting 71 jobs – around 4% of its total workforce – back in May.
