Giles Andrews

Co-founder of Zopa, Giles Andrews led the company through a period of dramatic growth which saw it established as a real threat to the banks. His keynotes cover his entrepreneurial journey from where he demonstrates that Social Lending works on a large scale, and explains how and why Zopa has changed the financial sector for good.

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"Giles was excellent and knew his subject very well. He interacted well and had some great discussion points."

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Keynote Speakers Business, Finance & Economics, Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur and co-founder of the Social Lending online business Zopa, Giles Andrews has led the company through a period of dramatic growth which has established it as a real threat to the banks. A sought after corporate speaker , Giles is an expert on numerous topics including customer service, leadership and branding.

Giles spent the first decade of his career in the motor industry, it was during this time in which he co-founded Caverdale in 1992, a start-up taken to a £250m turnover motor retailer and sold in 1997. After an MBA at INSEAD he set up his own consultancy business whose clients included Tesco and Tesco Personal Finance.

Giles co-founded Zopa, a social lending website which connects people who want to borrow money with people who want to lend it, in 2004. He led 4 fundraisings as CFO, raising a total of $33m from European and US investors. UK Managing Director since July 2007, CEO since January 2009, and Chairman since August 2015 Giles has led the company through a period of dramatic growth that has seen it established as a real threat to the banks.

According to Giles, social lending is a smarter, fairer and more human way of dealing with money. It's like borrowing and lending with your friends and family - except there are thousands of people you can lend and borrow with.

Both lenders and borrowers get better rates, because the process is more efficient than the traditional banking model. Banks have massive overheads, with thousands of employees to pay and hundreds of branches to maintain. So, they have to take large margins on the money that passes through them.

This means an online marketplace where people meet to lend and borrow has huge cost advantages, hence why Zopa can ensure competitive rates.

Changing the financial sector, Zopa has won numerous accolades and awards for its innovative business model.

Giles is also the Chairman of Bethnal Green Ventures an accelerator for businesses using technology to make social or environmental impact. Investing in start-ups Giles can recognise the potential for a good business model when he sees one.

An expert in entrepreneurial business, social lending and customer service, Giles is an ideal business keynote speaker.