UK challenger bank Atom appoints new chairman, Lee Rochford
Atom, a UK-based challenger bank, has announced it will appoint Lee Rochford as its new chairman, subject to regulatory approval.
Challenger bank Atom appoints new chairman
He will replace Bridget Rosewell when she steps down in September this year.
“It’s with both sadness and pride that I move on from Atom after the allotted nine years I’m allowed,” she says.
She adds that Atom Bank has “travelled a distance and made significant achievements in becoming a trusted and a profitable bank”.
Rochford has significant experience in the financial services industry, including serving as chief financial officer (CFO) at Virgin Money and as CEO of financial services business Arrow Global Group. He also held senior roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland (now NatWest).
The new chairman joins Atom “at a vital point in its journey”, the bank says.
“Ahead of us lie many challenges as we build scale, profitability and maturity on our way to listing the company,” comments Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom.
“In common with everyone at Atom, he [Rochford] fully understands the importance of customers in our culture and is as energised at the prospect of changing banking for good, as I am myself.”
Last year, the bank also appointed a new chief financial officer (CFO) and chief technology officer (CTO).
Launched in 2016, Atom became the UK’s first app-based bank. It offers mortgages and savings, and secured business lending for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Based in the North East of England with a team of over 470 people, Atom states it’s on a mission “to change banking for the good, for the better, and for everyone”.
In November 2021, it introduced a four-day working week and became the largest company – and only bank – in Britain to launch the policy company-wide with no reduction in salary.
