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# Starling Bank appoints OVO Energy chief Raman Bhatia as group CEO
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/starling-bank-appoints-ovo-energy-chief-raman-bhatia-as-group-ceo/
- Published: 2024-03-12T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T12:54:19.000Z
- Description: The UK digital bank named the former HSBC digital banking head to succeed interim chief executive John Mountain, with a start expected in early summer 2024 subject to regulatory approval.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Executive Moves, Europe, #archive

Starling Bank announced on 12 March 2024 that it had appointed Raman Bhatia, chief executive of UK energy supplier OVO, as its new group chief executive officer. He will replace John Mountain, who has served as interim chief executive since founder Anne Boden stepped back from the role.

The appointment is subject to formal approval by regulators, and the bank said it anticipated Bhatia would start at Starling in early summer.

#### BHATIA'S BACKGROUND

Although he joins from the energy sector, Bhatia has a background in banking. He previously served as head of digital for HSBC's retail banking and wealth management business across the UK and Europe, and was a member of the executive committee of HSBC UK, which oversees the HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank brands. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Chair David Sproul said the bank saw "significant opportunities for Starling under Raman's leadership as the economy stabilises, as our truly differentiated offering for personal and small business customers wins market share in the UK, and as our Engine by Starling Software-as-a-Service business secures further international contracts." He also thanked Mountain for his stewardship of the bank over the previous eight months.

#### COMMENTS FROM BODEN AND BHATIA

Boden said she was pleased that the bank had found someone who could "take Starling into its next phase of growth while cherishing the culture and values we have worked so hard to instil in everything we do."

Bhatia said: "Starling is a company I have long admired because it believes passionately, like I do, in using the power of technology to do the right thing for its customers and its people." He added that he was honoured to be appointed and looked forward to getting started.