Leading London fintech, Revolut, has finally chosen a CFO to take the helm of the company’s finances - Mikko Salovaara, a 29-year-old Yale graduate. After a year of strategic senior hires of older and more experienced industry veterans to join the startup amid the company’s bid to earn a UK bank license, it appears this fresh hire is set to balance the senior leadership.
Salovaara has wasted no time gaining significant leadership credentials in his less than 10-year career. While he does not have experience in leading a regulated finance company, fintech, or bank, instead, Salovaara has succeeded in arguably bigger challenges as the regional CFO at the Kraft-Heinz Company both in China and the U.S. By comparison, when he was the CFO for Kraft-Heinz in China during 2017, it had a market cap of around $118 billion. A whale compared to Revolut whose valuation sits at $5.5 billion today.
Alongside his experience in the top financial position at the major consumer goods company Kraft-Heinz, Salovaara also worked in private equity and investing, both at 3G Capital in New York and Elliot Advisors in London. His stint in private equity saw him land in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the finance category during 2019. Speaking on the hire, Nik Storonsky, Founder & CEO at Revolut shared “I’m very pleased to welcome Mikko Salovaara as our Chief Financial Officer. Mikko has a strong track record in building resilient financial teams and processes in global consumer-facing industries and is focused on building our global capabilities as we address the next phase of our growth.”
First on Salovaara’s agenda no doubt will be to strategize and lead the path to profitability for the company. Fortunately for Revolut, Salovaara knows a thing or two about curbing spending. After all, Kraft-Heinz is renowned for its zero-based budgeting method. Also in the cards is another funding round for Revolut that is allegedly being supported by FT Partners.
