Zilch Appoints AMEX Veteran as Chief Operating Officer

Zilch, the London-based fintech transforming the way people pay, today announces the appointment of Boriana Tchobanova as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) as it continues to strengthen its world-class management team. 

Tchobanova joins from American Express Global Business Travel, where she served as Chief Transformation Officer, leading the business’ post pandemic recovery and industry transforming M&A, and paving the way for its successful multiple billion-dollar IPO in 2022. Prior to this, Boriana spent almost 15 years with American Express across multiple senior roles in strategy, transformation and operations, including as COO of the company’s digital business. 

This appointment comes on the heels of Zilch doubling revenues to £110 million for the year ending March 2025 – marking a fourth straight year of 100% growth – with gross profit surging 143%. Zilch was recently recognised as EMEA’s fastest-growing tech unicorn by Deloitte and ranked the UK’s fastest-growing $1bn+ fintech by both the Financial Times and The Sunday Times. This impressive growth trajectory has seen the business attract a wide range of industry leading talent to turbocharge the next stage of its journey. Tchobanova’s appointment follows the appointment last year of Mark Wilson, BlackRock main Board Director and former CEO of FTSE 100 insurer Aviva, to the Board. 

Tchobanova will work closely with the CEO and business line leaders to drive operational excellence, transformational change and strategic delivery. Bringing her two decades worth of Fortune 100 experience, she will work with the team to deliver major initiatives that will support the organisation’s growth, unlock new revenue opportunities and improve efficiencies. 

Philip Belamant, CEO and Co-Founder of Zilch, said: “Zilch has achieved exponential growth over the past five years by pioneering a model that delivers better outcomes for consumers while building very strong operating leverage. This puts us in a powerful position as we enter the next phase of our journey, scaling a business built to stand among the most significant players in global finance. Attracting leaders from major incumbents is always a positive sign, but the real test is finding those who can bring deep institutional knowledge without being held back by the cultures, technologies or beliefs of those very institutions. We believe Boriana is one of those rare people, and I’m delighted to welcome her as we shape the future of Zilch.” 

Commenting on her appointment, Boriana Tchobanova said: “Zilch’s mission to eliminate the high cost of consumer credit for the mass-market and accelerate financial inclusion through advanced technologies is deeply meaningful to me. In just five years, the company has delivered record-breaking growth and is now building a category-defining business. The next phase – launching bold, customer-centric product innovation, pursuing transformative M&A and preparing for a potential listing – will demand operational excellence at scale. I’m supercharged to join Phil and his exceptional team for the road ahead.”

Zilch has also appointed industry leading, full-service communications agency, MHP Group, who will deploy its specialist advisors across strategic communications, public affairs, creative campaigning and capital markets advisory. Its Financial Services team has supported fast-growth, pre-IPO fintechs on their journeys to going public, including Coinbase and Airwallex, with its Capital Markets and Corporate Advisory team ranked as one of the leading communications advisers. 

Alex Bigg, CEO of MHP Group commented: “We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Zilch, the UK’s fastest growing fintech unicorn. The business is on an extraordinary growth trajectory with ambitions of becoming a listed business. MHP Group has a long history of working with some of the most exciting high-growth private businesses and major listed brands, and our unrivalled depth of expertise and specialisms will see us support Zilch as it continues to build something truly powerful.”