ANNE BODEN
DIGITAL BANKING
“ The roles and priorities of a CEO and a large shareholder ultimately differ and require distinct approaches”
Anne Boden, Founder, Starling Bank; AI by Boden
As Chair of the Women-Led High- Growth Enterprise Taskforce and author of“ Female Founders’ Playbook”( 2024), she addressed barriers facing women in business, inspiring a generation of female entrepreneurs who previously saw finance as impenetrable.
Most significantly, Anne changed how millions think about banking.
She took an industry notorious for poor service, complex fees, and technological backwardness, and showed it could be simple, transparent and genuinely helpful.
ANNE BODEN
TITLE: FOUNDER
COMPANY: STARLING BANK; AI BY BODEN
INDUSTRY: FINTECH, AI
Anne Boden MBE founded Starling Bank in 2014, becoming the first woman to establish a British bank. After 30 years in corporate banking, she stepped down in 2024 to pursue AI ventures.
The next chapter In June 2023, Anne surprised many by stepping down as CEO, explaining that“ the roles and priorities of a CEO and a large shareholder ultimately differ and require distinct approaches.”
By July 2024, she had left Starling’ s board entirely to focus on AI by Boden, a company she registered in 2023. While she describes it as“ my platform for my personal interests in AI and industry disruption,” specific details remain private.
At 65, she’ s not settling into retirement but exploring new territory. The steelworker’ s daughter from Swansea rewrote British banking’ s rules once.
Whether her next chapter proves equally transformative remains to be seen, but her track record suggests the industry should pay attention.
In a sector that rewards playing it safe, Anne’ s greatest achievement may be proving that the biggest risk is not taking one.
Her legacy lives on not just in Starling’ s continued success, but in the fundamental shift in expectations she created: that banking should serve customers, not the other way around.
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