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Sir Rohinton Minoo "Ron" Kalifa OBE (born April 1961)[1] is a British entrepreneur. He is the chairman of Network International, and formerly served as the chief executive officer of Worldpay Group from 2002 to 2013, continuing as vice chairman. Kalifa was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 New Year Honours for his work in financial services and technology.[2] He was later knighted in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours.[3]

Career

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Before becoming CEO and then later Vice Chairman and Board Director of Worldpay, Kalifa held various roles within RBS where he built the Worldpay business organically and via acquisition.[4][5] During his tenure as CEO he led Worldpay through its transition to a standalone company following its divestment from RBS in 2010 and oversaw the company's takeover by Vantiv in 2017.[6][7][8]

As a public speaker and prominent figure in the payments sector, he spoke at various Money 2020 conferences. In addition, he was featured as a keynote speaker at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in 2016 and 2018 (IFGS 2018).[9][10]

He is now Chairman of Network International, payments group in Africa and the Middle East. He joined just ahead of its IPO in 2019.[11] He is currently also Chairman of FutureLearn, the educational technology platform.[12] He is reported to be an investor in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise, Rajasthan Royals.[13]

Other activity

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Kalifa sits on various not-for-profit boards. He is a Non-Executive Director for Transport for London, where he chairs the Finance Committee.[14]

In May 2019, Kalifa was appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Bank of England’s Court of Directors.[15] In March 2020, he joined the Council of Imperial College London. In July 2020, Kalifa was appointed by the UK government to lead an independent Fintech Strategic Review.[16]

The outcome of the review entitled "Kalifa Review of UK Fintech" was published on 26 February 2021, his report highlighted the opportunity to create highly skilled jobs across the UK, boost trade, and extend the UK's competitive edge over other leading fintech hubs. It sets out a series of proposals for how the UK can build on its existing strengths, create the right framework for continued innovation, and support UK firms to scale.[17]

In January 2021, he became a member of the Government's Build Back Better Council, consisting of 30 members representing industries from retail and hospitality, to finance, science and technology. The purpose of the council is stated to be "to unlock investment, boost job creation, promote Global Britain and level up the whole of the UK."[18]

In November 2021, he was favored for a job as the Chairman of the Nominations Committee for ECB.[19]

The Kalifa Review

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During Budget 2020, The Chancellor of the Exchequer asked Ron Kalifa OBE to conduct an independent review to identify priority areas to support the UK’s fintech sector.[17] The Review subsequently launched in July 2020.[20]

The outcome of the Fintech Strategic Review entitled "Kalifa Review of UK Fintech" was published on 26 February 2021.[17] His report highlighted the opportunity to create highly skilled jobs across the UK, boost trade, and extend the UK's competitive edge over other leading fintech hubs. It sets out a series of proposals for how the UK can build on its existing strengths, create the right framework for continued innovation, and support UK firms to scale.[17][21]

The report’s recommendations included amendments to UK listing rules to make the UK a more attractive location for Initial Public Offerings, which were subsequently adopted in December 2021.[22][23] It also recommended improvements to tech visas to attract global talent and boost the fintech workforce and the creation of a regulatory Fintech ‘scalebox’ to provide additional support to growth stage fintechs. The final recommendation was the creation of a Centre for Finance, Innovation, and Technology (CFIT),[24] to strengthen national coordination across the fintech ecosystem to boost growth.[17][25] The CFIT had a soft launch in early 2022.[26] In November 2022, CFIT named Charlotte Crosswell OBE as its Chair.[27] She will start the role on 4 January 2023.

Presenting the report to Parliament in April 2021, Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, concluded his speech by thanking Ron Kalifa and his team for their exceptional work in producing this “seminal review”.[28]

Honours and awards

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In 2017 he ranked 3rd on the Financial Times EMPower top 100 Ethnic Minority Leaders list.[29]

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to financial services and technology.[30][31] He was knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to financial services and technology and for public service.[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Rohinton Minoo Kalifa". Companies House. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. ^ Megaw, Nicholas (14 March 2019). "Network appoints ex-Worldpay chief as chairman ahead of IPO". Financial Times.
  3. ^ arZan (2 June 2022). "Sir Ron Kalifa Knighted in Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Honours List". Parsi Khabar. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  4. ^ "RBS reveals new GTS team structure". Global Trade Review (GTR). 2009-07-16.
  5. ^ Clark, Simon (2015-10-13). "Bain Capital, Advent International Reap $4.9 Billion Profit From Worldpay". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
  6. ^ Goff, Sharlene (2011-12-19). "Worldpay plans ambitious expansion". Financial Times.
  7. ^ Goff, Sharlene (2016-04-05). "Worldpay set to break free from RBS technology". Financial Times.
  8. ^ Monaghan, Angela (2017-08-09). "US firm Vantiv to buy British rival Worldpay for £9.3bn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  9. ^ "UK FinTech 'ripe for opportunities'". UKTN | UK Tech News |. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  10. ^ "Innovate Finance Global Summit - Round up". The Fintech Times. 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  11. ^ Field, Matthew; Boland, Hannah (2019-04-02). "The companies making trillions as the world goes cashless". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
  12. ^ "Former Worldpay exec Ron Kalifa OBE joins FutureLearn Board as Chair". FE News. 7 February 2020.
  13. ^ "IPL: British businessmen take shot at Rajasthan Royals franchise". Sky News.
  14. ^ "Board Members". Transport for London.
  15. ^ "Chancellor announces Bank of England appointments". GOV.UK.
  16. ^ Cogley, Michael (20 July 2020). "Former Worldpay boss to lead review of UK's £7bn fintech sector". The Telegraph.
  17. ^ a b c d e "The Kalifa Review of UK FinTech". 16 April 2021. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  18. ^ "Prime Minister and Chancellor launch new Business Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Mehmooda Duke: Leicestershire chair stands down as ECB prepare to unveil 12-point inclusion plan | The Cricketer". thecricketer.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  20. ^ Harrop, Claire (March 2021). "UK fintech strategic review – focus on regulation". Passle. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  21. ^ "Innovate Finance Global Summit - Round up". The Fintech Times. 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  22. ^ Jean-Baptiste Andrieux (2021-12-02). "FCA confirms new listing rules". Money Marketing. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  23. ^ Stafford, Philip; Noonan, Laura (2021-12-02). "Sweeping overhaul of UK listing rules comes into force". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  24. ^ "Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology - Steering Committee". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  25. ^ "UK FinTech 'ripe for opportunities'". UKTN | UK Tech News |. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  26. ^ "Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology - Steering Committee". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  27. ^ "Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology appoints new Chair". Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology appoints new Chair. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  28. ^ Hansard, Parliament Uk (26 April 2021). "Kalifa Review of UK FinTech". parliament.uk.
  29. ^ "Ranking: EMpower 100 ethnic minority leaders". Financial Times. 25 May 2017.
  30. ^ "Here are all the UK tech figures named in the Queen's New Year's Honours list". Business Insider.
  31. ^ "New Year's Honours 2018 CSV - GOV.UK". assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  32. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B2.
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