Rebecca Schot-Guppy to step down as FinTech Australia CEO

FinTech Australia chief executive Rebecca Schot-Guppy is stepping down after three years in the top job.

Schot-Guppy is expected to leave the role in November this year to join Firemark Ventures, the venture capital fund of insurer IAG.

A global search is now underway for a new chief executive for the fintech industry association, with expressions of interest open as of today.

FinTech Australia chair Simone Joyce praised Schot-Guppy’s “remarkable job” in leading the organisation, saying it is “the strongest it has ever been”.

She praised the outgoing CEO for firmly placing FinTech Australia at the centre of policy debates in the industry, such as those around the Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology.

FinTech Australia’s membership has also been steadily increasing under Schot-Guppy’s leadership, and the number of corporate partners have tripled, she added.

“I want to thank Rebecca for her tireless efforts in growing the ecosystem and championing it,” Joyce said.

“She will be missed,” Joyce said.

Schot-Guppy said it has been “an absolute privilege and pleasure” heading up FinTech Australia.

“Fintech has grown from being considered a niche part of the startup ecosystem to an industry in its own right,” she noted.

“So much work behind the scenes has gone into stewarding that growth and ensuring that the policy and profile supporting it trends in the right direction … This wouldn’t be possible without the team supporting my work and the contributions of our members, to whom I am incredibly grateful.

She added that this is an “incredibly exciting” time for the FinTech sector.

The past 12 to 18 months has witnessed a huge boost for Australian fintech startups, with listed players seeing their share prices soar. Others secured huge capital injections, and a swathe of new entities emerged.

Just this week, we saw Afterpay’s mammoth $39 billion acquisition, something Schot-Guppy said is testament to the strength of the ecosystem, and could see activity in the sector, and international investment, skyrocket.

“The next CEO will be championing what I believe will be a golden era for Australian fintech,” she said.