Zopa appoints Bruce Fletcher and Dr Paula Walter to its Board

As we continue Zopa’s rapid growth across lending, saving, everyday banking, investments and point-of-sale products, we are pleased to share that we are further strengthening Zopa’s governance and technological resilience by appointing Bruce Fletcher and Dr Paula Walter as Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs) to our Bank and Group Boards.  

Richard Goulding, an existing Board member, has also been appointed Senior Independent Director. 

Bruce Fletcher joins Zopa’s Risk Committee, bringing extensive experience in risk, compliance and regulation from senior leadership roles at major banks in the UK and US. 

Most recently, Bruce was Group Chief Risk Officer at NatWest Group, where he led a 1,700-strong risk and compliance function spanning the Group’s retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking businesses. During his tenure, he redesigned and implemented an enhanced enterprise-wide risk management framework. 

Bruce is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Risk Committee at Julius Baer Group, as well as a Senior Advisor in BCG’s Risk & Compliance practice. Earlier in his career, he held senior risk leadership positions at Citibank and HSBC, including Chief Risk Officer for HSBC’s global Retail Banking and Wealth Management business.  

Dr Paula Walter will join the Bank and Group Boards as Zopa’s technology-focused INED, succeeding Paul Cutter when he steps down at the end of the year after nine years on the Board. 

Paula was most recently Chief Technology and Information Officer at specialist lender Aldermore Group from 2022 to 2024, where she led its technology and data strategy, as well as cyber and infrastructure risk remediation.  

She is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee at Brightwell, an FCA-regulated pensions management firm with £36 billion under management. Her previous executive roles include positions at Ruffer LLP, Newton Investment Management and Goldman Sachs. 

Gordon McCallum, Chair of Zopa, said: “Bruce and Paula bring exactly the kind of experience, judgment and constructive challenge that matters as Zopa grows. Bruce has led risk and compliance at the very highest level of UK retail banking, while Paula combines deep technology and cyber expertise with the operational perspective needed to turn ambitious change into dependable outcomes for customers. 

“Both have worked at the sharp end of transformation in highly regulated environments. Their experience will be invaluable as we continue to build Zopa into the Home of Money — a bank that is as trusted as a high street lender, as innovative as a technology company, but offering more value than both. 

“I also want to thank Paul Cutter for his enormous contribution to Zopa’s success over the last nine years. Paul has been a valued Board colleague: always thoughtful, insightful and highly supportive of the Executive team through a period of huge change, including the development of Zopa’s technology infrastructure and strategic agenda. We wish him well with his other roles and responsibilities.” 

Paul Cutter, Zopa INED, said: “It has been a privilege to be part of Zopa’s journey and to see the business grow from an ambitious challenger into one of the UK’s leading digital banks. I’m incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and confident that Zopa has an exciting future ahead. I wish the whole Zopa team every success for the next chapter.” 

The appointments come as Zopa continues to deliver strong financial and customer momentum. We recently announced our third consecutive year of profitability, reporting underlying pre-tax profits of £65 million for the financial year ending 31 December 2025.