From left to right: Conny Dorrestijn Prins (Non-Executive Director), Kaushalya Somasundaram (Non-Executive Director) and Tim Cockroft (Founder & Executive Chair)

Singer Capital Markets is delighted to announce the appointment of Kaushalya Somasundaram and Conny Dorrestijn Prins to the Board of Singer Capital Markets.

Former Non-Executive Director, Henry Chaplin stepped down earlier this year after 12 years of supporting the Board. Our initial intention was to appoint one Non-Executive Director to the Board. But as we met and understood the high quality of candidates put forward by Gould Associates, we decided to also replace the seat left vacant by previous Chair, Fred Vinton.

When searching for our new Board members, we prioritised three things. First, our governance structure, seeking an appointee to act as the shareholder representative for minority shareholders outside of Alantra and the Cockroft Family shareholding. Second, to provide balance to what is otherwise a shareholder and Executive Board. Third, someone to help us become the best Board we can possibly be. These three criteria led us to our excellent appointees.

Kaushalya Somasundaram

Kaushalya comes from an accounting background, having worked on audits for the likes of HSBC, UBS and Westpac. She later became Managing Director, Global Head of Fintech Partnerships and Strategy for HSBC. During this time, Kaushalya was responsible for HSBC’s investments in Fintech assets. Since then, she has held several roles in Venture Capital including most recently as an Investment Partner of the UK Fintech Growth Fund. She currently serves as a NED with Hampden & Co.

Kaushalya brings deep expertise and insight across our Risk and Audit functions and will assist the Finance team and Chair our Risk Committee.

Conny Dorrestijn

Conny is an experienced NED on the Board of Augmentum Fintech plc and previously Chair of Cobase bv and Blanco Services bv. She is a Founding Partner of BankiFi and an advisor and active mentor to various scale ups, including the ABN AMRO Tech Stars programme and and Arches Capital.

She brings a wealth of people and Fintech experience and will assist the management and leadership team, as well as Chair the Remuneration Committee.

The addition of two female Non-Executive Directors marks an exciting step forward in building a more diverse leadership at Singer Capital Markets and we’re proud to already be supporting initiatives such as the Sunday Times Female Founders platform and look forward to soon launching our ‘Women at Singer’ network. This initiative, led by Conny, will focus on nurturing the brilliant female talent within the Company and continuing to make Singer Capital Markets an attractive place for women to work. We believe that the shift towards a more diverse workforce is essential for continued growth, and we want to ensure we are at the forefront of this change.