< The 2015 Fintech Finance 35

On July 30, London-based membership association Innovate Finance issued UK FinTech 2020, a manifesto for establishing Britain as “the undisputed center for financial services technology and innovation.” Prime Minister David Cameron weighed in that day with an endorsement of the plan, echoing sentiments voiced 11 months earlier by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at Innovate Finance’s public launch. That kind of support is priceless for Lawrence Wintermeyer, 50, who as CEO of Innovate Finance since March is presiding over one of the fintech world’s most ambitious and aggressive advocacy organizations — an ecosystem in itself. Its formation last year, with funding from City of London Corp. and Canary Wharf Group, was “pretty prescient, looking at where fintech is now,” says Wintermeyer, a digital strategy expert who for the past seven years has run a private advisory business, Capstone Management. Innovate Finance bills itself as a bridge among commercial entities, regulators and policymakers, dedicated to smoothing the development and financing of fintech start-ups with a U.K. connection. “That lobbying is focused not just on political policy but on U.S. institutional venture capitalists to invest [in London], because most of our large institutional investors are U.S.-based,” Wintermeyer says. Innovate Finance holds so-called curated events to put entrepreneurs and their ideas in front of investors, and it stresses continuity. “Typically, hipsters go into an accelerator and get some money and coaching and end up at a demo day,” Wintermeyer says. “Quite often we’re the organization that’s around after that hoopla is over.” Earlier this year Innovate Finance created a membership category for pre–Series A start-ups. Other members include entrepreneurs, financial institutions and strategic partners such as incubators and accelerators. One of the last group is Level39, in London’s Canary Wharf district, launched with the help of Wintermeyer’s predecessor, Claire Cockerton, who is now chair and CEO of ecosystem consulting firm Entiq.

 
The 2015 Fintech Finance 35

1. James Robinson III & James Robinson IV RRE Ventures 2. Jane Gladstone Evercore Partners 3. Matthew Harris Bain Capital Ventures Solana vs. Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: How Do They Compare? Sponsored by CME Group April 29, 2025 4. Steven McLaughlin Financial Technology Partners 5. Jonathan Korngold General Atlantic

6. Richard Garman & Brad Bernstein FTV Capital 7. Amy Nauiokas & Sean Park Anthemis Group 8. Thomas Jessop Goldman Sachs Group 9. Meyer (Micky) Malka Ribbit Capital 10. Hans Morris Nyca Partners

11. Maria Gotsch Partnership Fund for New York City 12. Marc Andreessen Andreessen Horowitz 13. Barry Silbert Digital Currency Group 14. Jay Reinemann Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 15. Mariano Belinky Santander InnoVentures

16. François Robinet AXA Strategic Ventures 17. Vanessa Colella Citi Ventures 18. Alan Freudenstein & Gregory Grimaldi Credit Suisse NEXT Fund 19. Justin Brownhill & Neil DeSena SenaHill Partners 20. Rodger Voorhies Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

21. Michael Schlein Accion International 22. Kenneth Marlin Marlin & Associates 23. Rumi Morales CME Ventures 24. Mark Beeston Illuminate Financial Management 25. Vladislav Solodkiy Life.SREDA

26. Fabian Vandenreydt Innotribe SWIFT 27. Derek White Barclays 28. Alex Batlin UBS 29. Jeffrey Greenberg & Vincenzo La Ruffa Aquiline Capital Partners 30. P. Howard Edelstein REDI Holdings

31. Nektarios Liolios Startupbootcamp FinTech 32. Roy Bahat Bloomberg Beta 33. Andrew McCormack Valar Ventures 34. Lawrence Wintermeyer Innovate Finance 35. Janos Barberis FinTech Hong Kong