“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”
Archimedes (or Archie, as we would call him today).
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Archimedes changed the world when he proved the application of the lever. Giving people the ability to build more, move more and create more with the right amount of leverage.
Now, we’re here to do the same for you.
Your lever across the chasm.
Archie was founded on the principle that when great ideas succeed, the world moves forward. Unfortunately, most companies fail to achieve their mainstream potential – and that’s where we come in.
It’s our belief that fintech founders need much more than financial backing to turn their ambitions into reality. We provide early-stage fintech businesses with the levers needed – the experience, expertise and toolkits – to get them across “the chasm” and into hyper-growth.
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Anthony Thomson
CHAIRMAN
Anthony is fond of defying convention. As a serial entrepreneur and veteran fintech industry leader, he is the founder and former chair of three banks on two continents; Metro Bank, the UK's first new high street bank for over 150 years, Atom, the UK's first mobile bank and 86 400, Australia's first digital bank.
With deep roots in the GCC fintech industry, he also holds positions as an Independent Non-Executive Director of WIO Bank, the region’s first platform bank, and Board member for ila Bank, a digital, mobile-only bank based in Bahrain.
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Steve Brennen
CEO
A highly awarded marketer and seasoned growth practitioner, Steve has held senior leadership roles for some of the world’s fastest-growing and most valuable brands, including Uber, PayPal, eBay, Virgin, Zip Co. Along with leading the Archie team, he is the current Chair of ADMA, the largest marketing association in APAC.
He has launched and scaled brands in more than 20 markets, acquired over 100M consumers at an acquisition cost of under $10, and taken three brands to the #1 global position.
Focus: Brand building, growth marketing, demand generation and conversion, strategic partnerships. -
Dr Tommy Mermelshtayn
COO
Tommy is a seasoned fintech executive, with a focus on strategy, corporate development and global market expansion. As the Global Chief Strategy Officer at Zip Co, he spearheaded investments, acquisitions and joint ventures, scaling Zip from Australia into 13 international markets.
Previously, as the Head of Strategy and New Markets at Equifax ANZ, he led various initiatives across payments, open banking and credit risk assessment products.
Focus: Strategy development, M&A, planning, organisational design and executive workshops.
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Dr Paul Pester
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Paul has spent around 25 years building and leading some of the most disruptive and established consumer financial services businesses in the UK, Australia and internationally.
Paul is currently the Chair of the fast-growing UK digital challenger bank, Tandem Bank, the Chair of the market-disrupting credit card fintech, Cardeo, a non-executive Director at the National Bank of Bahrain, as well as the Founder and Chair of the digital money sharing app, Loop.
Amongst his executive roles, Paul was the first Group CEO at Virgin Money, launching the business in the UK, Australia and South Africa. He was the Managing Director of Consumer Banking & Payments at Lloyds Banking Group, as well as Managing Director of Santander UK.
As Group CEO Paul led the creation of TSB Banking Group, launching the business in 2013, leading its £1.4 billion IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.
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Dr Fawaz Zu’bi
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Fawaz has been at the forefront of the global Venture Capital landscape for the past 15+ years.
As the Founder and CEO of venture capital firm Silicon Badia, he has invested in more than 100 tech startups with a combined value of over $30B.
He is also the Founder of Accelerator Technology Holdings, one of the first accelerators in the Middle East.
Before entering into the world of VC, Dr. Fawaz held the prestigious role of the Minister of Information and Communications Technology of the Kingdom of Jordan.
Your go-to-market
experts.
Leveraging our deep domain experience in strategy, marketing, sales and governance, we'll act as an embedded growth team to craft go-to-market plans and make them happen.
We specialise in partnering with high-potential, early-stage fintechs in Australia, the UK and the fast-expanding Middle East market, where our teams’ roots are deepest, helping you access the global stage.
Grounded in real-world, market-specific experiences, our guidance will be practical and actionable. Our team possesses deep expertise in advising and fostering long-term strategic growth, particularly in the world of fintech.