Startups fill C-level roles

South Pole, the leading carbon project expert and climate consultancy, has appointed Dr. Daniel Klier as the company's new CEO. Founded in 2006, South Pole is a climate project developer and solutions provider with over 850 projects in more than 50 countries, resulting in over 200 million metric tons of CO2 emissions reduction. Klier joins from sustainability data and technology platform ESG Book, where as CEO he oversaw the company's growth and established the business as global industry leader. He was previously Global Head of Sustainable Finance and Group Head of Strategy at HSBC, where he established the bank's net zero target and ambition to support the energy transition with 1 trillion dollars. Klier will be responsible for further developing and institutionalising South Pole's renewed focus on exceeding industry risk, integrity and compliance standards and lead the organisation in its next phase of growth. 

Mark Hartigan joins wefox as new CEO
Julian Teike, the founder of wefox, has handed over his CEO role to Mark Hartigan after nine years. Wefox is an insurtech platform that is connecting insurance companies, distributors, and customers, to provide simple access to digital insurance solutions. Teicke developed wefox into a global brand, growing it to 1’300 + employees. Under his management, the company raised $1.5B. Teicker will now transition to the non-executive role of President and remain Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. His successor is Mark Hartigan, who has been Chairman of the Board since 2023. 

Hartigan’s previous appointments include the role of CEO at LV= and Head of Operations for Europe Middle East and Africa at Zurich Insurance Group. He was also CEO for Zurich Global Life in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region and led their regional business in Europe. He will continue to pursue wefox’s long-term vision of revolutionising the insurance industry with a dedicated focus on delivery, while leading the company’s next phase of growth alongside senior members of the current Executive Committee.

Yokoy appoints new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) 
Zurich-based startup Yokoy, a provider of an AI-driven expense management platform for mid-market and large enterprises, has introduced Caroline Mogford as the new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Caroline Mogford has a plethora of experience in the technology industry over the last 15 years, most recently spending a year and a half as CMO at Veriff. Prior to that, she spent over five years as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Qualtrics, where she led marketing and sales development activities in the EMEA region as well as global partner marketing. During her nine-year career at Google, she was most recently responsible for international marketing for the "Google for Education" product line. She also has a sound knowledge of finance, which she acquired during almost four years as a project manager at the Bank of England at the beginning of her career. Mogford will support the company in its next phase of development as part of Yokoy's leadership team. 

Westhive fills CFO position 
Founded in 2017, Westhive is one of the largest providers of flexible office space in Switzerland. Prominent members include the strategic partner Swiss Startup Group, Philips, Concordia Insurance AT&T, the AMAG Innovation & Ventures Lab, Sparrow Ventures (Migros), as well as over 150 different start-ups and companies from a wide range of sectors. The company welcomed their new CFO Marc Mutter, who brings a wealth of experience from consulting and acquiring businesses, as well as working with startups in finance,  He was Head of Finance as a Service at Kollabo, CFO as a Service at camarque schweiz ag and Head Strategic Finance & FP&A Digital Buildings Cloud at Siemens.  

At Westhive, Mutter’s responsibilities include the preparation of reports for investors and handling all related tasks among many others. His goal is to support the growth of the Westhive team, elevate the company to new heights, and assist in its expansion within the finance sector to ensure we achieve our long-term goals. 


A new CEO for Wecan
Former UBS banker Philippe Reynier will become the new CEO of Wecan, a fintech startup that offers the first blockchain infrastructure enabling banks to manage their customers' compliance. The company offers a solution for the secure storage and exchange of structured data and documents between organisations and individuals. Reynier has been working as a consultant at Wecan since 2022 and is well connected in the crypto scene. Before moving to the fintech field, Reynier worked in various functions over the timespan of five years at UBS. Among other roles, he was Head of Digital Strategy and Head of Business Development & Special Products. Previously, he worked as a consultant and project manager at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and as head of development at the European multi-country stock exchange Euronext.  

The former CEO and founder of Wecan, Vincent Pignon, will become the new President of the Group. In addition, Nathan Douet has been appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Oliver Ernst has been appointed Head of Business Development. With these strategic changes, Wecan aims to double the number of financial institutions, as well as the engagement of transactions on the blockchain and the Wecan token in 2024. 

(Press releases / SR) 

Image: Daniel Klier (South Pole), Mark Hartigan (wefox), Caroline Mog ford (Yokoy), Marc Mutter (Westhive) and Philippe Reynier (Wecan Group).