Meet Oliver, our new CEO
We’re delighted to introduce Oliver Prill as Tide’s new chief executive. Oliver has joined Tide from online lender Kreditech, where he served as chief operating officer and helped to turn the business into a leading global fintech. Before joining Kreditech, he spent 20 years in leadership positions in financial services, working across banking and insurance. Here he tells us why he’s chosen to champion small businesses at Tide.
Welcome to the team, Oliver! Tell us a little bit about you.
I’m originally from Hamburg, but have strong ties to the UK having studied and lived here for over ten years previously – so it’s great to be back! Throughout my career, I’ve always taken roles that put me at the forefront of problem solving and I’m excited about the way fintechs are revolutionising the dated banking industry. Outside of work, I am very lucky to have a wonderful wife and four children.
What excites you about Tide?
In my opinion, Tide is the only fintech that is truly putting small businesses first and the potential to make a meaningful impact is huge. Banking, particularly SME banking, is crying out for change and Tide is perfectly placed to deliver it.
Tide’s founder, George Bevis, recognised this when he started Tide in 2015. Having taken the company to a strong initial position and built an outstanding team, he has decided to step back to allow me to lead the next phase of development. I see this as an enormous privilege and opportunity.
Where does your passion for helping small businesses come from?
I’ve worked with small business owners in some capacity for most of my career and have always been inspired by their energy and passion. As a trained economist, I appreciate the monumental contribution that small businesses make to the global economy. From meetings with them (including the ones I’ve already had with Tide members), I’m all too aware that smaller firms simply do not have the time to focus on banking and admin.
The big banks have never really focussed on small business. To them, small business is just side business, which leads to poor service, products and processes. Anyone who’s applied for a business bank account or loan knows what a disappointing experience this can be. My observation is that many other banking challengers are falling into similar trap of trying to serve small businesses on the side of their core consumer businesses.
What will you be focussing on in the coming months and going forward?
Member communication will be key to everything we do. We’ll start by spending a lot of time looking at our strategic roadmap. This will involve significant engagement with our members to ensure that we are addressing their needs. I’m personally looking forward to meeting more of the business owners that Tide serves.
In the short term, we have an exciting set of new features coming up, such as international currency accounts and multi-user access. Longer term, the ambition is to take Tide international.
What has surprised you the most about Tide that you didn’t know before joining?
The commitment and passion that the team at Tide has for changing small business banking is truly impressive. Everyone is driven to change things for the better.
So fintech aside… who is Oliver Prill? Quick-fire questions:
- Favourite film: Star Wars.
- Favourite app: WhatsApp… I don’t know how we ever lived without it.
- Favourite food: Chinese.
- Favourite holiday destination: Canada (I’ve got family there).
- How do you like to relax? Sudoku. I can’t get enough!
- Who inspires you? Jeff Bezos.
- Best advice you’ve ever received? Someone once told me that there’s no success without a team and I couldn’t agree more.
