EY adds FinTech expert Richard Goold to UK legal team

24 March 2016 Consultancy.uk

EY has picked up FinTech expert Richard Goold, who joins the firm from Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co, and is appointed as Partner and lead for its UK Tech and FinTech practice. He is set to formally join the firm sometime during spring of this year.

Richard Goold has been the Co-Chair of Tech at Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co since 2014 – he was appointed a Partner at the firm in 2012. Previously, from 2008, he was the firm’s Director and head of the US sales team. During his more than 15 years at the firm, Goold started his career at the firm in 2001, he developed a specialisation in the Tech and FinTech industries, and gained experience in, among others, private equity transactions, private company disposals and mergers and acquisitions.

Goold holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Business and Management from the University of Manchester – Manchester Business School.

EY's recent announcement discloses that Goold will be joining the UK arm of the firm this spring, as a Partner, affiliated to the firm’s legal services business. In his new role, Goold will leverage his extensive experience within the tech and FinTech sector to grow and lead the firm’s legal Tech team and continue to support the firm’s wider Tech and FinTech practice. The UK is globally a frontrunner in the FinTech space, with a recent report from EY (commissioned by HM Treasury) showing that the UK can call itself the FinTech capital of the world, although competition is heating.

Richard Goold - Philip Goodstone - Imran Gulamhuseinwala

Commenting on Goold’s appointment, Philip Goodstone, head of EY’s UK legal services team says that Goold is a “fantastic appointment and will be a real asset to the team.” His appointment fits well within the firm’s ambition to grow its UK legal services practice, with the UK FinTech sector gaining considerable traction at the moment. Goodstone adds: “Richard’s appointment marks a key step towards achieving this strategy. He is a rising star in the Tech sector and is well known in the FinTech market.”

Imran Gulamhuseinwala, EY’s FinTech leader, comments: “The pace of change and innovation in the FinTech industry over the last five years has been astounding. It has become a growing industry for the UK economy. Investing in our own business through top talent like Richard will ensure that we are well positioned to help companies as they seek to capitalise on this opportunity.”

A recent study by KPMG found that global investments into FinTech startups has boomed to $19 billion last year.