Germany's Solarisbank appoints Chloé Mayenobe as Chief Growth Officer

Hot on the heels of Solarisbank’s recent news that their joint-entity agreement with the UK’s Contis was approved, the Banking-as-a-Service platform today presented their newest hire, Chief Growth Officer Chloé Mayenobe.

Mayenobe, who will drive global expansion for the Berlin-based Solarisbank starting March 1, will also join the extended management board in the second half of the year, pending approval by the German financial regulator.

She brings a wealth of experience in the European payments industry to the new job. She joined Ingenico in 2006, as VP Audit and Risks, where as Managing Director Europe she oversaw some 1,500 staff and managed €400 million in revenue from 10 countries. After 12 years at Ingenico, she moved to fintech Natixis Payments, where she worked until a few weeks ago as Deputy CEO, helping take the company from €350 million to €500 million in revenue in three years. 

So what persuaded the French manager to join Solarisbank? She told Tech.eu this week that she believes the financial industry is completely changing and that Solarisbank is the best place to be part of that transformation, as its mission is to redefine banking.

“What I like is growth and transformation, so I’ll be focusing on my roadmap, which is growth, and making sure that we put the right person at the right place with the right empowerment — I do believe that we also have to make our people grow in order to fulfil their jobs,” Mayenobe said. 

Mayenobe, who was named one of the Top 100 French Economic Leaders for Tomorrow by Choiseul for three years running, also serves on the board of directors for the Bpifrance Participations public investment fund. 

The manager, who will remain based in Paris, is looking to build up the customer base in the neobank's new markets of Spain, France, and Italy that they launched last year, by “focusing very much on bringing the right product to the right people.”

In terms of what success looks like for a chief growth officer, she stressed that it’s not about expansion at any cost – it needs to be sustainable, and that means happy customers. “If your customers don’t talk about you like you are the best, you’re not going anywhere,” she said. 

Mayenobe believes Banking-as-a-Service was originally something that really helped fintechs, startups, and neobanks shape themselves, but that moving forward it will become "mandatory" for the "old economy" of retailers and corporates to reinvent themselves. 

“Retailers and corporates need to reinforce customer loyalty and provide a seamless customer journey – embedding financial services is the ultimate means to that end," she said.

“We are excited to welcome a leader of Chloé’s caliber and expertise to our executive team, especially at this major leap in our growth story”, said Solarisbank CEO Roland Folz in a statement. “We have the momentum on our side and with Chloé driving our international expansion we are making sure that we will extend our leadership position in Europe.”