Technology

Posted on October 4, 2018 by staff

FinTech pioneers feature on list of influential tech figures

Technology

The leaders of a number of fast-growing FinTech stars have featured on a list of Britain’s most influential tech figures.

Christopher Wylie, the data scientist who blew the whistle on Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data breach, has topped Business Insider’s annual Tech 100 ranking.

Wylie made headlines after revealing that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica weaponised the data of 50 million Facebook users during the 2016 US presidential election.

“Christopher Wylie has changed the global debate around privacy and helped people realise the power companies like Facebook have over our data,” said Business Insider’s executive editor Jake Kanter.

Others featured on the Tech 100 list include Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams, Deliveroo CEO Will Shu, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Anne-Marie Imafidon, who is helping to attract a new generation of women to the tech industry through Stemmettes.

The list also includes a number of FinTech giants, with Funding Circle CEO Samir Desai, Starling Bank boss Anne Boden and Monzo chief executive Tom Blomfield coming in at fourth, fifth and eighth place, respectively.

Deepmind founders Dr Demis Hassabis, Mustafa Suleyman and Dr Shane Legg; Improbable co-founders Herman Narula and Rob Whitehead; Depop CEO Maria Raga; and Stan Boland, chief executive of Five AI, also featured in the top 10.