Bitpanda appoints its first Chief Growth Officer

Bitpanda, the European digital investment platform, announces a new role of Chief Growth Officer, appointing Irina Nicoleta Scarlat to the position effective immediately.

Bitpanda, the European digital investment platform and Austria’s first unicorn has named Irina Nicoleta Scarlat as its first Chief Growth Officer (CGO), effective immediately.

In this newly created C-level role, Irina will take over Bitpanda’s business development and marketing teams, overseeing and driving the company’s expansion plans. She will be leading the company’s complete growth strategy, uniting the expertise from across multiple teams and country locations to uncover new opportunities and continue to rapidly expand the company’s global footprint.

Irina brings more than a decade of tech industry experience to Bitpanda. Her latest role was as the Global Head of Growth at Revolut, having joined the company in 2018 where she drove the growth of the local market from 20,000 to approximately 1.5M users. She built Revolut’s growth machine, led the growth teams in CEE and, later on, their Global Growth department, shaping Revolut’s growth journey from 1mn to 15mn users globally.

Before Revolut, Irina built and led Uber’s marketing function in Romania, shaping their local strategy and launching key regional projects and initiatives that grew the market to 1M users and expanded local operations to three cities. 

Eric Demuth, Bitpanda CEO, said: “Irina has a proven track record of breaking into and rapidly scaling new markets in the fintech industry. At Bitpanda, we have ambitious growth plans and as we continue in our hypergrowth journey, we are confident that with Irina leading our country management and expansion efforts, as well as our Business Development and Marketing teams, we will not only diversify into new markets but will also accelerate the growth of our current operations. Her unique experience in fast-paced environments combined with her ambition, drive and a global mindset will help us bring the world of investing closer to everyone, everywhere.”

Irina Nicoleta Scarlat, Bitpanda CGO, commented: “Europe is lagging behind the US & Asia markets when it comes to investment literacy and many people are unaware of the possibilities they have at their fingertips. I strongly believe in Bitpanda’s mission to change this by offering people instant access to financial products as well as the resources they need to properly understand them. On top of all this, Bitpanda is a company with an amazing culture, balancing hypergrowth with care for their teams, and I immediately sensed this when speaking with both the founders and executive team. I am delighted to be joining this incredible company and am confident that we’ll grow Bitpanda into the number one investment platform in Europe and beyond, together.”

This year, Bitpanda surpassed several milestones, including growing our base to more than  2.5mn users and 500 employees, as well as receiving one of the largest Series B rounds in Europe with an additional extension in May. To ensure the continued scale of Bitpanda, Irina’s experience will be used to drive the company’s expansion efforts, ensuring the business is ready for the next stage of its ambitious growth journey.

Throughout 2020, Bitpanda opened offices in France, Spain, Turkey and Italy, opening an innovation hub in Krakow in December that saw the amount of Bitpanda’s team members double. The digital investment platform now intends to expand into new European markets, with plans to open a tech hub and office in Barcelona, alongside future talent hubs in London, Milano, Paris, Berlin and Istanbul.

For more news from Top Business Tech, don’t forget to subscribe to our daily bulletin!

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Amber Donovan-Stevens

Amber is a Content Editor at Top Business Tech

Cheltenham MSP is first official local cyber advisor

Neil Smith Managing Director of ReformIT • 23rd April 2024

ReformIT, a Managed IT Service and Security provider (MSP) based in the UK’s cyber-capital, Cheltenham, has become the first MSP in the local area to be accredited as both a Cyber Advisor and a Cyber Essentials Certification Body. The Cyber Advisor scheme was launched by the Government’s official National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the...

How we’re modernising BT’s UK Portfolio Businesses

Faisal Mahomed • 23rd April 2024

Nowhere is the move to a digitised society more pronounced than the evolution from the traditional phone box to our innovative digital street units. Payphone usage has dropped massively since the late 1990s/2000s, with devices and smart phones replacing not only communication access, but the central community points that the payphones once stood for. Our...

How we’re modernising BT’s UK Portfolio Businesses

Faisal Mahomed • 23rd April 2024

Nowhere is the move to a digitised society more pronounced than the evolution from the traditional phone box to our innovative digital street units. Payphone usage has dropped massively since the late 1990s/2000s, with devices and smart phones replacing not only communication access, but the central community points that the payphones once stood for. Our...

What is a User Journey

Erin Lanahan • 19th April 2024

User journey mapping is the compass guiding businesses to customer-centric success. By meticulously tracing the steps users take when interacting with products or services, businesses gain profound insights into user needs and behaviors. Understanding users’ emotions and preferences at each touchpoint enables the creation of tailored experiences that resonate deeply. Through strategic segmentation, persona-driven design,...

From Shadow IT to Shadow AI

Mark Molyneux • 16th April 2024

Mark Molyneux, EMEA CTO from Cohesity, explains the challenges this development brings with it and why, despite all the enthusiasm, companies should not repeat old mistakes from the early cloud era.

Fixing the Public Sector IT Debacle

Mark Grindey • 11th April 2024

Public sector IT services are no longer fit for purpose. Constant security breaches. Unacceptable downtime. Endemic over-spending. Delays in vital service innovation that would reduce costs and improve citizen experience.

Best of tech to meet at VivaTech in May

Viva Technology • 10th April 2024

A veritable crossroads for business and innovation, VivaTech once again promises to show why it has become an unmissable stop on the international business calendar. With its expanding global reach and emphasis on crucial themes like AI, sustainable tech, and mobility, VivaTech stands as the premier destination for decoding emerging trends and assessing their economic...