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# Funding Circle names former Liberis chief Rob Straathof as chief executive to succeed Lisa Jacobs
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/funding-circle-names-former-liberis-chief-rob-straathof-as-chief-executive-to-succeed-lisa-jacobs/
- Published: 2026-11-06T12:19:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T12:19:09.000Z
- Description: Rob Straathof, who ran Liberis as it grew into a platform providing more than $4bn of small-business funding, is due to join Funding Circle in the first half of 2027.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Executive Moves, Europe, #newsroom, #needs-photo

Funding Circle has appointed Rob Straathof as its chief executive, subject to regulatory approval, bringing in the former chief executive of Liberis to succeed Lisa Jacobs. Straathof is currently chief executive of Grover, a European technology subscription platform based in Germany.

He will join in the first half of 2027, with the date to be confirmed. Until then Jacobs will continue to lead the business and oversee the handover, before stepping down no later than September 2027\. The appointment followed a search led by the Nomination Committee with an independent executive search firm.

## AN EMBEDDED-FINANCE OPERATOR

Straathof spent a decade as chief executive of Liberis, taking it from a [UK](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/market-united-kingdom/) small business lender with a single partner to a global embedded finance platform offering multiple products and providing over $4bn of funding to more than 100,000 small businesses.

Ken Stannard, Funding Circle's chair, said Straathof "brings a deep understanding of small businesses, strong credit expertise and a proven track record of leading fintech businesses", pointing in particular to his decade scaling Liberis into a multi-product platform.

Jacobs said that over the last 16 years Funding Circle had established itself as the leading finance partner for SMEs across the UK.

## THE BUSINESS HE INHERITS

Jacobs joined Funding Circle in 2012 and was appointed chief executive in January 2022\. Her intention to step down was announced on 8 September 2026\. Sharecast News reported that Funding Circle shares slumped as the company announced her departure, despite an upgrade to full-year guidance, and were down 7.2% at 213.50p.

The company says it has extended more than £18bn in credit to over 135,000 UK businesses since 2010\. In the first half of 2026, revenue rose 50% to £138.2m, credit extended rose 52% to £1,690m and pre-tax profit grew fourfold to £24.1m.

Funding Circle raised its 2026 guidance to more than £255m in revenue and more than £40m in pre-tax profit.

## THE TGB VIEW

Funding Circle has picked a chief executive whose record is in embedded finance: under him Liberis grew from a UK small business lender with a single partner into a multi-product platform. Jacobs will lead the business until the handover and Straathof is due only in the first half of 2027, so the 2026 guidance of more than £40m in pre-tax profit is hers to deliver. The next date to watch is his start, which the company has yet to confirm.