Starling Bank has poached Raman Bhatia from energy firm Ovo to be its new chief executive, who will start in the role around a year after founder Anne Boden stepped down.
Boden's departure was revealed last May, though she remained a major shareholder and a new CEO was expected to lead a potential initial public offer (IPO) on their to-do list.
Today the challenger bank said Bhatia was expected to start in the role "in early summer".
The announcement comes on the same day that Ovo has been threatened with legal action by television presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell after withdrawing thousands of pounds from her account.
While that is certain not to have been company policy, Ovo's record under Bhatia is hardly flawless, as the firm was also among those ordered by Ofgem last August to improve its service and handling of complaints in particular.
Bhatia has banking sector experience as head of various HSBC's digital teams over five years up until 2019, including First Direct.
Before he takes over, chief operating officer John Mountain will take over as interim CEO.
Starling chair David Sproul said in a statement: "We see significant opportunities for Starling under Raman’s leadership as the economy stabilises, as our truly differentiated offering for personal and small business customers wins market share in the UK, and as our Engine by Starling software-as-a-service business secures further international contracts."