Fintech firm Wise has announced its finance chief will step down from his role to focus on recovery from a bicycle crash last year.
The decision comes just two weeks after boss Kristo Kaarman revealed he would be taking an extended period of leave in the Autumn.
In a statement this morning, the London-listed money transfer firm said Matt Briers, who has been with the firm for eight years, had informed the board of his decision to quit to and a hunt for a new finance chief had begun.
Briers was forced to step away from his role last year due to the bike crash, with finance director Kingsley Kemish taking over the reins in his absence.
“Wise will likely have many CFOs in its first century and this is simply me starting the process of handing over the reins to the next one,” Briers said in a statement.
“But some of you may know that a year ago I returned back to work at Wise after a quite horrible accident where I went under the wheels of a bus, and so, with this in mind, my focus will shift to making a full recovery.”
He added that he will stay in his role into the new year to “support an orderly transition“ and the firm will “keep folks updated once we have news to share”.
The news comes just two weeks after chief Kristo Kaarmann revealed he would take a three month sabbatical to spend time with his family at the end of this year, despite an ongoing regulatory probe into his tax affairs.
The announcement of Briers departure unsettled investors in early trading, with shares tumbling nearly 4.5 per cent by 8:10am before recovering to trade down around 3.7 per cent.
Briers has overseen a period of growth for Wise and helped the steer the firm through its $11bn London IPO.
Unlike many of its fintech peers, Wise achieved relatively fast profitability under Briers’ leadership, first swinging into the black in 2017.
