This content is from: Portfolio
The 2015 Fintech Finance 35: Lawrence Wintermeyer, Innovate Finance
No. 34


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.
![]() 2. Jane Gladstone Evercore Partners ![]() 3. Matthew Harris Bain Capital Ventures ![]() 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 |