UK
Ireland
Event
Fintech unicorn insight and opportunities: Panel and networking drinks
Join fellow fintech founders, executives and finance leaders at S&W’s annual flagship event for an evening of insight, discussion and networking at one of London’s most impressive riverside venues, offering outdoor balconies for drinks and stunning views across the city.
About the event
S&W is delighted to announce the speaker line-up for our exclusive fintech unicorn insights panel and networking drinks, bringing together senior leaders from some of the UK’s most successful fintech unicorns.
Meet the panel:
Charles McManus – Co-founder and former CEO, ClearBank
Emma Alley – CFO, Marshmallow
Adnan Ahmed – Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, Starling Bank
Ryan Mendy – Co-Founder, Unicorn Council & Strategic Adviser to CEO, Zilch
Steve Hulme – CFO, Zopa
Join fellow fintech founders, executives and finance leaders at S&W’s annual flagship event for an evening of insight, discussion and networking at one of London’s most impressive riverside venues, offering outdoor balconies for drinks and stunning views across the city.
Time & Location
8 September 2026
5:30 - 9:00pm
58VE, 58 Victoria Embankment, Temple, London EC4Y 0DS
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Agenda
Our panel brings together leaders from some of the leading fintechs in the UK to share their views on the opportunities and challenges facing the future of the industry:
- The scale-up journey to unicorn status – What were the defining moments that accelerated growth?
- Regulation: barrier or enabler? – How do fintechs maintain agility while navigating increasing compliance requirements?
- Profitability vs growth – What does sustainable growth look like in today’s funding environment?
- AI and the next wave of financial services – Where is AI already delivering measurable value?
- Talent, leadership and culture – How do businesses preserve entrepreneurial culture as they scale?
- The UK’s global fintech opportunity – What makes the UK a fintech leader, and what policy changes are needed to maintain its position?
- Defining what’s next: Whether the destination is an IPO, private equity investment, strategic acquisition, or remaining private, CFOs often have to prepare the business for outcomes that may never materialise.
Speakers
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Charles McManus
Co-founder and former CEO, Clearbank
Charles co-founded ClearBank in 2015 and led it as CEO for nine years - building the UK's first new clearing bank in more than 250 years into a business serving over 250 customers across the UK and Europe, reaching profitability in 2023 and securing a European Credit Institution licence. He remains on ClearBank's Group Board as a non-executive director. He is now Chair and an adviser to several fintechs including Ephelia, Superset, BPX Markets and Freedom - all innovating in the digital, tokenisation and AI arenas. He continues as Co-Chair of the Innovate Finance Unicorn Council, working at the intersection of fintech, policy, and the next generation of financial infrastructure. -
Emma Alley
Group CFO, Marshmallow
Emma is Group CFO at Marshmallow, the tech-led motor insurance and financial services group, where she oversees Finance, Compliance and Legal across the group's UK and Gibraltar-regulated entities. She joined Marshmallow from Moneycorp, the global cross-border payments and FX business, where she spent over a decade in senior finance and operating roles, culminating in six years as Chief Operating Officer. During that time she helped transform Moneycorp from a UK bureaux de change business into a global payments group with £80bn in annual flow, sat on the Group Board and Risk & Audit Committee, and held board director roles in Ireland and Brazil. -
Adnan Ahmed
Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, Starling Group
Adnan has led strategy and corporate development at Starling since 2019, joining when the business had fewer than 100 employees. Having helped the business raise over £700m, Adnan has been central to shaping the equity story and supporting on the execution of the business plan. -
Ryan Mendy
Co-Founder, Unicorn Council & Strategic Adviser to CEO, Zilch
Ryan is Co-founder and Strategic Adviser to Zilch CEO and Co-founder Philip Belamant, helping shape the company's long-term growth, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement. Since 2019, Ryan has worked closely with the founders and leadership team, helping to scale the business from a startup concept into the UK’s fastest-growing unicorn, as recognised by the Financial Times. Ryan is also a founding co-chair of the Unicorn Council for UK Fintech (UCFT) executive committee. Collectively valued at over $150 billion, the council is a market-first body uniting CEOs and leaders of over 25 of the UK's most valuable, late-stage and fastest-growing fintech firms with IPO potential. -
Steve Hulme
Chief Finance Officer, Zopa
Steve leads Zopa's finance and legal teams. He was pivotal in Zopa achieving its banking licence, working tirelessly to successfully take the company from a P2P loan provider to a fully-fledged UK bank. Since the bank launch he’s led multiple rounds of investment, most recently an equity round in Q4 2024 and £80m of additional capital instruments in May 2025. He joined Zopa at the start of 2018 having spent nearly two decades in financial roles with a range of innovative financial services companies. Prior to joining Zopa, Steve was CFO at Tandem Money, CFO for PayPal's global credit business and CFO for Capital One's UK and Canadian business.
