Valentin Stalf, co-founder of Germany-based digital bank N26, has stepped down as co-CEO and will move to a new role on the company’s supervisory board after a six-month transition period.
Image: LinkedIn
Stalf, who founded N26 together with Maximilian Tayenthal in 2013, describes the move as a “forward-looking decision to continue to best utilise my many years of experience and knowledge to strengthen N26”. Stalf and Tayenthal jointly hold around a 20% share of N26, with Tayenthal now continuing as the company’s sole CEO.
Moving forward, Stalf states: “I will actively and passionately contribute to N26’s long-term leadership and strategic direction and will remain one of the largest N26 shareholders. The new role also offers me the opportunity to devote more time to my family office and other entrepreneurial pursuits.”
Upon officially joining the supervisory board, Stalf will work alongside Déborah Carlson-Burkart, Peter Kleinschmidt, Jörg Gerbig, and board chair Marcus Mosen.
In a LinkedIn post addressing his move, Stalf notes that under his and Tayenthal’s leadership, N26 has expanded to a workforce of about 1,500 employees and now serves millions of European customers. Stalf writes: “The company broke even in summer 2024, delivering 40% revenue growth in its last financial year. With annual revenues now exceeding €500 million, we expect to conclude 2025 profitably, driven by high customer activity and a constantly expanding product offering.”
The leadership change comes after the Financial Times reported last week that investors in N26 were seeking to remove both co-founders from their executive roles, with plans to appoint Mosen as interim co-CEO, according to its sources. When contacted by FinTech Futures, an N26 representative said that claims suggesting the founders are under pressure from investors to step down are unsubstantiated.
N26 has recently unveiled plans to introduce an array of new products, including accounts for children with cards and investment features,
Source: https://www.fintechfutures.com/
