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Rishi Khosla OBE

Co-Founder and CEO of OakNorth

London, UK

Rishi Khosla

Reshma Kewalramani

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

High Touch Investor Relations

Rishi’s Biography

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Rishi Khosla OBE is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of a leading financial technology company, OakNorth.

As a capitalist, he believes entrepreneurs drive innovation, social progress and economic growth, and that everyone can prosper by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.

This vision led Rishi Khosla to build his first business, Copal Partners (which later became Copal Amba) in 2002 with his business partner, Joel Perlman. Together, they grew the business to 3,000 employees across 11 markets, before selling it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014.

In 2015, they launched OakNorth on the belief that the level of depth, detail, data and analytics that has typically been limited to institutional banking can be applied to commercial banking, and in doing so, power the commercial economy of the future.

Rishi Khosla is deeply invested in fostering an entrepreneurial spirit and are creating environments for aspiring entrepreneurs through their Mentorpreneurship Programme in partnership with LSE Generate. The Programme is helping support initiatives... Rishi Khosla OBE is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of a leading financial technology company, OakNorth.

As a capitalist, he believes entrepreneurs drive innovation, social progress and economic growth, and that everyone can prosper by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.

This vision led Rishi Khosla to build his first business, Copal Partners (which later became Copal Amba) in 2002 with his business partner, Joel Perlman. Together, they grew the business to 3,000 employees across 11 markets, before selling it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014.

In 2015, they launched OakNorth on the belief that the level of depth, detail, data and analytics that has typically been limited to institutional banking can be applied to commercial banking, and in doing so, power the commercial economy of the future.

Rishi Khosla is deeply invested in fostering an entrepreneurial spirit and are creating environments for aspiring entrepreneurs through their Mentorpreneurship Programme in partnership with LSE Generate. The Programme is helping support initiatives in the educational space, working with schools and academies to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in the next generation.

Rishi Khosla believes in fostering potential at an early level. The ambition of his and his wife’s foundation, The Rishi and Milan Khosla Foundation, is to support and boost early childhood development, which is key to enabling and nurturing the agency, creativity and curiosity that unleashes potential. The Foundation is also committed to supporting diversity in the entrepreneurial space. One way in which it does this is by driving female empowerment in underprivileged communities; for example, by supporting women starting micro-enterprises in the Himalayas.

Rishi Khosla was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in HM The Queen’s 2020 New Year Honours list for his services to business. moreless

Rishi’s Newsfeed

City AM

OakNorth boss Rishi Khosla is ready for the next economic crisis

City AM reports on Rishi Khosla, founder of OakNorth, and how he is prepared for the next economic crisis.

Tearsheet

The Net Zero transition: Banks are starting to engage in the climate conversation

Fintech companies such as OakNorth, founded by Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, are developing tools to assist banks in identifying clean lending opportunities and managing their Scope 3 emissions so that they may begin decarbonising their portfolios.

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Rishi’s Background

OakNorth Credit Intelligence

Co-Founder

Sep 2015 - Present

London, UK

OakNorth Credit Intelligence is a fintech platform enabling lenders to originate, underwrite, monitor, and book bespoke loans to SMEs faster, more efficiently and with more rigour. Its cloud-based technology sources millions of data items on SMEs across various parameters, sectors, and markets, and uses machine learning algorithms to identify data that lenders need to make more informed decisions.

OakNorth Bank

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Sep 2015 - Present

London, UK

Launched in 2015, OakNorth Bank helps the UK's most ambitious firms access the rapid, flexible debt finance they need to expand, while helping savers make their money go further. With capital ranging from £250,000 to millions of pounds, the bank has lent several billion pounds to firms across a variety of sectors, directly contributing to the creation of thousands of new jobs and affordable homes.

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Rishi’s Gallery

Current Board Positions

OakNorth Credit Intelligence

Board Member

London, UK

OakNorth Credit Intelligence is a fintech platform that enables lenders to originate, underwrite, monitor, and book bespoke loans to SMEs faster, more efficiently and with more rigour.

OakNorth Bank

Board Member

London, UK

OakNorth Bank is a UK bank that provides fast, flexible and accessible debt finance to fast-growth businesses and established property developers.

Philanthropy

Rishi & Milan Khosla Foundation

Co-Founder

London, UK

The Rishi and Milan Khosla Foundation is a private family foundation founded by Rishi and Milan Khosla focused on supporting new and innovative projects which deal with some core societal issues, including early childhood development, female empowerment, the environment.

Media

Episode 486 Rishi Khosla from OakNorth

Podcast

Feb 2022

John Siracusa, the host of the Bank On It Podcast, chats remotely with Rishi Khosla, Co-Founder & CEO of OakNorth.

Rishi Khosla: A Pioneer of Challenger Banking

Podcast

Nov 2021

Rishi joins Timo Boldt on the Boldt Flavours podcast to discuss how he approaches starting a company and his views on becoming a highly successful business leader.

Interviews

OakNorth chief Rishi Khosla interview: Will my £3.8bn bank list in London? Probably!

Interviewed

Apr 2022

London, UK

In an interview with This is Money, Rishi Khosla discusses his mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Rishi Khosla on Sky News: lending smarter, faster and more

Interviewed

Apr 2022

London, UK

In this interview with Sky News, Rishi Khosla discusses OakNorth Bank and its software project, ON Credit Intelligence Suite, which enables banks to enhance their lending.

OakNorth Bank founder offers mentoring for young entrepreneurs

Interviewed

Mar 2022

London, UK

Rishi Khosla speaks to The Times’ Richard Tyler about providing mentoring support for young entrepreneurs following his backing of an initiative with the London School of Economics’ entrepreneurship department.

Leadership & Innovator Series: In Conversation with Rishi Khosla, CEO & Co-Founder, Oaknorth

Intervieved

Jan 2021

London, UK

In this series, Innovate Finance speaks to fintech founders, global bank executives, change-makers and influencers to find out what they think the future of financial services looks like. In this installment, Rishi Kholsa shares his insights.

Fireside Chat with OakNorth's Rishi Khosla | Adapting to Thrive

Interviewed

May 2020

London, UK

Tunde Olanrewaju of McKinsey & Company chats to Rishi Khosla about key lessons learnt from the 2008 financial crises that helped weather the Covid-19 pandemic.

OakNorth ranks top in FT 1000 list by providing loans for smaller businesses

Interviewed

Mar 2020

London, UK

Rishi Khosla OBE talks to the Financial Times about the rise of OakNorth and how fintech is one of the few profitable challenger banks.

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Features

Beyond The UK Government’s Fintech Review: Scaling Digital Britain Globally

Featured

Feb 2022

Rishi Khosla OBE is quoted in this article by Forbes regarding the importance of fit-for-purpose regulation in accelerating growth in a company.

War for talent hots up as workers rate firms on their morals

Featured

Feb 2022

Rishi Khosla OBE is featured in this The Times article regarding firms searching for top talent and how buying smaller companies is a way of bringing in top talent.

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Publications

Everything banks think they know about risk is wrong

Author

Apr 2021

Rishi Khosla OBE writes for Wired about how banks need to rethink their techniques and start using real-time data to minimise lending mistakes in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Commercial Lenders Will Emerge from COVID-19 in a New Light by Embracing Digital Transformation

Author

May 2020

Rishi Khosla OBE explores the period of uncertainty caused by COVID-19 in this article for AWS Partner Network (APN), as well as how he believes additional commercial lenders will emerge as a result of digital transformation.

Awards & Endorsements

ScaleUp Awards

Business Leader of the Year

2020

London, UK

Hosted by Business Leader, the ScaleUp Awards recognises innovative, high-growth companies that are trailblazers in their markets. In 2020, Rishi was named Business Leader of the Year at the ScaleUp Awards.

New Year Honours

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

2019

London, UK

Rishi Khosla, Co-Founder of OakNorth Bank, was awarded an OBE for Services to Business.

Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Winner

2019

London, UK

Rishi Khosla won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in association with Edwardian London Hotels.

Asian Achievers Awards

Buisness Person of the Year

2018

London, UK

The Asian Achievers Awards, hosted by global advisory firm EPG, honours innovative and outstanding individuals within the South Asian community. In 2018, Rishi was named Business Person of the Year.

The Maserati 100

Top 100

2018

London, UK

Rishi Khosla was recognised alongside business partner Joel Perlman as a game-changing entrepreneur by Maserati, in partnership with The Sunday Times. The list is compiled to celebrate the positive impact entrepreneurs have on the economy and society as a whole.

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award

UK Regional Winner

2011

London, UK

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ is a global program recognizing the entrepreneurial achievement among individuals and companies that demonstrate vision, leadership and success. They work to improve the quality of life in their communities, countries and around the world.

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Speaking Engagements

Innovate Finance Global Summit

Speaker

Apr 2022

London, UK

The Innovate Finance Global Summit, held in London, brings together the best and brightest from the fintech ecosystem to discuss and debate the most pressing challenges confronting the sector and beyond.

Horasis Global Meeting

Speaker

Jun 2021

Cascais, PT

In 2021 Rishi Khosla spoke at the Horasis Global Meeting. The topic of the meeting was ‘Fostering the post-COVID Financial System’.

The Great Big Indian Money Show

Speaker

Mar 2021

London, UK

Rishi Khosla OBE discusses his journey from mediocre student to thriving entrepreneur with Shalini Khemka of E2Exchange for the Big Indian Money Show.

Finsum Fintech Summit

Speaker

Mar 2021

Tokyo, JP

The FINSUM Fintech Summit has become Japan’s largest annual gathering of financial technology leaders. The 2021 Summit explored the role of financial innovation in socio-economic recovery following one of the most turbulent periods in modern history. The Missing Middle Funding Gap is discussed by Rishi, as well as how lenders can address it.

Innovate Finance Fintech as a Force for Good Conference

Speaker

Oct 2021

London, UK

Leadership & Innovator Series: In Conversation with Rishi Khosla, CEO & Co-Founder, Oaknorth.

Oaknorth CEO Rishi Khosla on why the UK is perfect for global growth

Panelist

Sep 2021

London, UK

Rishi joins Tech Nation to share his own growth journey and to describe the characteristics that make the UK a great destination for founders from across the globe.

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Rishi’s Education

University College London

BSc in Economics

London School of Economics

Masters in Accounting & Finance