Funding Circle appoints Sarah Whiteley as Chief Legal Officer

SME finance platform Funding Circle has appointed Sarah Whiteley as its new Chief Legal Officer, succeeding Lucy Vernall, who is stepping down after an eleven-year tenure with the business.

Whiteley brings more than two decades of legal, governance and leadership experience across the financial services sector. She joins from Cabot Credit Management, where she spent nearly ten years – more than six of them as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. During her time at Cabot, she oversaw legal, regulatory and compliance risk management across multiple jurisdictions, guided the business through complex FCA and CBI regulatory environments, and led major corporate governance initiatives including a group-wide governance recalibration.

Her earlier career includes over a decade in private practice at Clyde & Co LLP, where she advised listed and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. Whiteley holds an LLM from King’s College London and recently completed the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School Artificial Intelligence Programme.

Lisa Jacobs, CEO of Funding Circle, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sarah to the team.

“Her deep expertise in navigating complex risk environments and her track record in leading governance transformation will be invaluable as we continue to scale our operations and support small businesses across the UK.”

Sarah Whiteley added: “I am thrilled to join Funding Circle at this stage of its journey and pleased to join a company with such a clear focus on helping small businesses win. I look forward to bringing my experience in strategic oversight and regulatory standards to support the business as it continues to innovate and grow in a fast-moving environment.”

Whiteley’s appointment follows the departure of Lucy Vernall, who joined Funding Circle in 2014 and played a pivotal role in shaping its Legal and Compliance function as the company evolved from a fintech pioneer to a publicly listed organisation on the London Stock Exchange.

Jacobs added: “I want to express my sincere gratitude to Lucy for her incredible contribution to the business. She has been a core part of the Funding Circle story for eleven years, and we wish her the very best in her next chapter.”