Bibby Financial Services announces new leadership for its European operations
Steven Box, formally of HSBC, to lead Bibby’s growth agenda across Europe
Bibby Financial Services, the independent funder of choice for businesses across Europe, has appointed Steven Box as chief executive officer for its European operations with the aim of growing the business across its eight markets, excluding the UK.
Steven joins from HSBC where he spent 35 years with the global bank, 20 of which were in receivables finance. His most recent role at HSBC was global head of receivables finance, a role he started in November 2014 having spent the previous three years as european head of trade, receivables and equipment finance, covering 20 countries across the market. Prior to this, he was UK managing director of invoice finance from 2008 to 2012 and during this time, Steven helped to double the amount of funding to UK businesses from £1bn to £2bn, as well as growing profit before tax from £58m to £100m. His success in this role saw HSBC transfer the UK equipment finance and trade finance businesses into his UK portfolio to lead.
Simon Featherstone, global CEO of Bibby Financial Services, commented: “Steven is a fantastic, high calibre leader who brings with him much valued experience of working in the industry for 35 years. He joins Bibby Financial Services at an exciting time as we set about to deliver our ambition of growing our European operations, with a particular focus on growth markets including Germany, France and Poland.”
Steven, CEO for European operations, Bibby Financial Services, said: “I am delighted to be joining Bibby and to lead its operations across a region that is radically changing. Europe as a whole, and the individual markets in which Bibby operates, each have their own challenges as SMEs continue to struggle to find the funding they need.
“There are signs that the eurozone’s fortunes are beginning to turn around and the ECB’s policies, including quantitative easing, are starting to take effect meaning that an improving environment for lending and growth will be around the corner. As CEO of Bibby’s European operations, I want to ensure that this turnaround in fortunes resonates with SMEs across our key markets, enabling them to be part of this growth resurgence.
“A key strength and appeal of Bibby Financial Services is its strong international network. I am looking forward to the challenge of working collaboratively across this network to drive a strong international trade finance proposition for businesses striving to capitalize on the opportunities that buying and selling in overseas markets brings.
“Throughout my career I have been resolute in my focus to deliver excellence across the client experience and instrumental to this is the need to have an engaged team of people who understand what we are trying to achieve and the important role they play in achieving it. I am fortunate to be joining a company who shares that focus.
As part of his role, Steven will become a member of the global board of Bibby Financial Services.
