Digital Bank Zopa Appoints First Chief People Officer Ahead of 2022 IPO

Digital bank Zopa has announced the appointment of Helen Beurier as its first Chief People Officer.

With over 25 years’ experience across some of the largest FMCG, retail and pharma household names, Helen brings a wealth of experience to the digital bank at a pivotal point in its growth journey.

Helen will be leading all activity encompassing Zopa’s people experience, with a specific focus on strengthening key capabilities for growth. She will ensure the unique culture at Zopa continues to delight and engage as the bank expands its breadth of products, attracts new talent and solidifies its leading position as a key competitor in the banking sector.

Prior to Zopa, Helen held progressively senior HR Executive roles at household names M&S, PepsiCo and GSK, leading the delivery of HR and transformational change initiatives across the globe. More recently, Helen has partnered with founders and investors to develop people strategies for accelerated growth for challenger brands.

Helen Beurier, Chief People Officer at Zopa said: “I’m delighted to be joining Zopa at this pivotal moment in its history, and to become part of its fast-paced, growing team. Looking towards 2022, Zopa will be significantly expanding its talented team and investing in new capabilities to support its rapid growth. Zopa’s culture of community, collaboration and inclusion make it an exciting and inspiring place to be.”

Jaidev Janardana, CEO at Zopa added: “We are very excited to welcome Helen as our first Chief People Officer. She brings a wealth of experience that is crucial to building Zopa’s best-in-class talent force. Our growth plan over the next 18 months is bold. We will only achieve it by making Zopa the best place to work, and by attracting and retaining the smartest people.”

Zopa has one of the most engaged teams of people, with more than 80% of its people recommending Zopa as a great place to work, a 4-star rating on Glassdoor, and a 98% approval rate for its CEO.

Over the last 16 years, Zopa has approved over £6 billion funds in personal loans. Since the launch of the bank (June 2020), Zopa has attracted £675m in deposits for its fixed savings accounts, issued 150,000 of its British Bank Award-winning credit cards, doubled revenue per customer, and became a top 10 credit card issuer. Zopa is currently issuing around 20,000 new credit cards every month.