Swedish FinTech firm appoints former Nordea Head of Trade Finance as CEO

Enigio, a Stockholm-based deep-tech company, has appointed Patrik Zekkar, the former Head of Trade Finance at Nordic bank Nordea, as its new CEO. The company disclosed this news through a blog post earlier today, noting Zekkar’s role will involve heading and expanding its business. Reportedly, Zekkar is well-versed with scaling and business growth in the trade and supply chain technology field.

According to the blog post, Zekkar’s appointment is a key step in helping Enigio morph into a global provider of standardised solutions for digital, authoritative original documents. The company’s trace:original solution helps digitise trade by eliminating paper documents.

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To achieve this, the technology enables the creation of digital original documents that traders can transfer seamlessly through distributed ledger technology. Through the digital original documents, parties involved in a trade can accurately manage, verify, and record possession.

Welcoming Zekkar, Enigio’s Chairman, Carl Knutsson, said his deep knowledge of the trade finance industry and his avidity to disrupt the industry through trace:original technology would help take Enigio to the next level. Knutsson added that the company’s board fully supports and trusts Zekkar’s capacity to execute Enigio’s strategy.

Bankers continue joining the FinTech space

Elated about joining Enigio, Zekkar said,

Enigio has undeniably the best solution globally for creating and managing digital original documents, addressing the needs for fully digitalising supply chains, trade finance and logistics as well as other domains.

This news comes as FinTech companies continue poaching banking officials to help them build confidence with their users. Before Enigio’s appointment of Zekkar as CEO, San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase hired Goldman Sachs’ Co-Head of Government Affairs, Faryar Shirzad, as its Chief Policy Officer in May. Before joining Coinbase, Shirzad had worked at Goldman Sachs for 15 years.

Cryptocurrency exchange Luno also appointed Alwyn Jones as its CFO. Before this, Jones worked as the CFO of British digital bank Monzo after leaving Barclays in 2018. Bitstamp exchange also hired Starling Bank’s former COO, Julian Sawyer, as its CEO in 2020.

While the risk of moving into the FinTech sector is enormous for finance professionals, many are willing to take on the risk, according to Mark Freebairn, the CFO at executive search firm Odgers Berndtson. Per Freebairn, finance professionals are attracted to the technology behind cryptocurrencies and the chance for big paydays.