Kreditech announced a major new hire this week. Former mBank executive Michal Panowicz will join the Munich-based company as its new CPIO (chief product and information officer). Panowicz will be responsible for Kreditech’s product and technology departments; he formerly worked for fellow Finovate alum mBank as senior director and managing director from the fall of 2011 to the spring of 2015.
Kreditech CEO and founder Alexander Graubner-Muller says he is “personally proud” to add Panowicz to the team. “Product and technology are the key value-drivers of our company and with Michal, we bring on board the experience and leadership required to realize our ambitious product vision.”
Panowicz has pledged to help Kreditech build “world-class engineering and cutting-edge digital finance products” especially for the underbanked. “In this untapped market, Kreditech has already built an impressive trajectory, with yet a huge potential to tap into,” he said.
Panowicz (pictured) is credited for helping lead the digital transformation of the third largest bank in Poland, mBank. A multiple Best of Show winner at Finovate conferences, partnering with companies like Accenture (FF13), Efigence (FE13), and i3D (FE15), mBank had earned wide acclaim for its financial innovation. Most recently, mBank earned three nominations to the EFMA Accenture Innovation Awards for its One-Click Payment Proposals, mAccountant (an automated accounting solution), and Click to Call solutions.
After leaving mBank, Panowicz joined Nordea, where he served as SVP and deputy head of digital banking. His long tenure in finance and technology includes stints at Alior Bank, Microsoft, eBay, and The Boston Consulting Group. Panowicz was educated at SGH Warsaw School of Economics where he earned an MA in Finance and Banking, and at Harvard Business School, where he received an MBA in 2006.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, Kreditech demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2014. The company this summer launched Monedo Now, an online POS financing solution designed to help empower the underbanked. This spring, Kreditech was recognized by the European Fintech Awards, taking top honors in the Financial Inclusion category. Also earning a spot in the 2016 Tech Tour Growth 50, Kreditech in March closed a $103 million Series C round, taking its total funding to $151 million.