Stripe adds former Bank of England governor Mark Carney to its board

Former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has joined Stripe's board as the second new director in two months.

The addition of Carney expands the board to a total of seven members, including the two brothers who co-founded the fintech; Patrick Collison, the company's CEO; and John Collison, its president. Stripe added Carney to its board in recognition of the growing complexity of its global business, in which it is regulated in multiple jurisdictions and partners with dozens of financial institutions around the world.

Carney is also expected to feature prominently in the “Stripe Climate” initiative, which launched one of the world's first large-scale carbon removal purchase tool in October. As the current UN Special Envoy for Climate Action, Carney will play an important role in the November climate change conference COP26 being held in Glasgow, Scotland as well as guiding Stripe’s carbon reduction initiatives.

In January, Stripe's board added Christa Davies, the former chief financial officer of Aon, the multibillion-dollar global insurance company. Before joining Aon, Davies was the chief financial officer for Microsoft’s platform and services division.

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“As Stripe enters its second decade, Mark’s unparalleled experience of the highest levels of financial services and central banking will be of enormous benefit as we work to grow the GDP of the internet,” John Collison said in a news release. “From his desire to see faster settlement systems to his commitment to climate change mitigation, Mark’s values align with ours. We’re delighted he’s joining our board of directors.”

Rumors of a possible public listing could make Stripe one of 2021’s largest IPOs, however the company continues to deny that it is planning an IPO. The company’s valuation has skyrocketed during COVID-19, although its valuation had already been on a steady climb. In 2018, Stripe had been valued at $20 billion, then at $36 billion in April as the pandemic was unfolding. Most recently Stripe has been valued at $115 billion as it seeks to engage in a new fundraising round.

In addition to the two Collison brothers, Carney and Davies, Stripe’s board includes Diane Greene, the former CEO of Google Cloud and a co-founder of VMware; Jonathan Chadwick, the former chief operating officer and chief financial officer of VMware; and billionaire Sir Michael Moritz, who is a partner at the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Moritz also joined Klarna’s board of directors in December.