PrimaryBid, a fintech company from the capital markets industry, has appointed Fiona Richards as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO). She brings over 25 years of financial markets experience gained from the biggest investment banking brands in the world.

PrimaryBid Appoints new COO

Before joining PrimaryBid, Richards was associated with Rowan Dartington, where she also served as COO. Her career in finance began in 1997, when she joined Accenture, and then moved to UBS. In the following years, she worked at HSBC and Deutsche Bank, where she first proved herself in the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2017-2018.

"I have joined a company with a very exciting future. PrimaryBid's track record to this point speaks for itself, and I look forward to supporting the continued build-out of the company as we expand geographically and across a deeper product set," she commented in the written statement.

Richards will join PrimaryBid's executive team in London, reporting directly to Anand Sambasivan, the company's CEO. Her responsibilities will primarily include strategic planning and global business operations.

"We are thrilled to welcome Fiona to PrimaryBid. She is an industry veteran, bringing highly relevant experience at an exciting time in our company's growth," Sambasivan said.

Check the recent FMLS22 session on creating real access to the capital markets.

PrimaryBid Bets on Strengthening its Team

PrimaryBid was founded in 2016 in London as a platform that facilitates private investors' access to public companies' fundraisings. The company seeks to ensure that individual investors get access to deals at the same time and at the same price as institutional investors.

In 2019, the company signed an agreement with the London Stock Exchange and created an infrastructure that expands access to IPOs, follow-on equity capital increases and secondary block sales.

The company has focused on strengthening its team around key areas of its business in recent months, responding to increasing regulatory scrutiny of the industry and worse financing for startups and companies in late 2022.

Fintech funding across Europe and Asia slumped visibly in 2022, according to the newest industry data from Innovative finance. According to the data, global support for the industry shrank by about 30% to $95 billion.