Anthony Watson (businessman)

Last updated

Anthony Watson
CBE
Anthony Watson.png
Watson in 2021
Born
Anthony Watson

London
Nationality British
Occupation(s) Founder and chief executive officer
Employer The Bank of London

Anthony G. Watson CBE is a British business and technology executive, and human and LGBT rights activist. [1] [2] [3] In November 2021, Watson founded The Bank of London, a clearing, correspondent and wholesale bank, serving as chief executive officer. [4] Since 2013 he has sat on the board of GLAAD. [2] In April 2015, he joined the Bitcoin trading start-up Uphold.com as its president and chief executive officer. [5]

Contents

He was listed 19th in Fortune 's 2014 "40 under 40" list, [2] fourth in Financial Times ' 2014 list of influential LGBT executives, [6] and 10th in The Guardian 's 2014 "World Pride Power List", where he was described as "one of the most influential gay men in the world." [7]

Career

A Christian who studied theology, Watson initially considered becoming a minister, but discovered he enjoyed working with technology while working part-time for AOL Ireland during his degree. As a result, he started working for First-e Bancorp (Europe's first internet bank), going on to take senior roles at Microsoft, CitiGroup and Unisys. [1] [8] Between 2006 and 2009, he was the senior vice president and global head of technology services at Wells Fargo, where he ran technology for the bank across 44 Counties. [3] [9]

Watson worked as chief information officer for Barclays' retail arm from 2009, overseeing the launch of several mobile apps including the bank's Pingit service for sending and receiving money, about which he said "The feedback we have had around Pingit in the media and on Twitter was amazing, we were in the top spot for a while with that launch, only porn stars get that sort of traffic." [9] [10] In interviews, he reported being responsible for a £3 billion annual IT budget. [11]

In February 2014, Watson left Barclays to move from the UK to the USA, where in April 2014 he begin working as chief information officer for Nike. [3] [9] In that role he signed a significant deal with Juniper Networks, and completed a five-year road map for IT strategy at the company. [10]

After 10 months at Nike, Watson left the company in December 2014. [12] This was announced as being for "personal reasons." Business Insider and Fortune both quoted unnamed sources who explained he was dissatisfied with life in Portland, Oregon, where he lived in order to work at Nike's Beaverton headquarters. [10] [13] [14] However Watson has stated neither Portland nor Beaverton contributed to his decision to leave. [15] [16]

Shortly after leaving Nike, Watson joined Uphold in April 2015 as its president and chief operating officer. [5] The then six-month-old company allows customers to trade in Bitcoin and hold more stable investments (currency or commodities) that are denominated in Bitcoin. Watson has stated he believes the company will help make the financial system fairer, saying "I wanted to do something that is valuable for people broadly, not just in one industry. And what Uphold is looking to achieve really democratizes finance. It's going to help people all over the world. The financial system is inherently unfair—it's always the richest who have access, and the poorest don’t have access, or when they do, they have to pay astronomical rates." [13]

Watson has also been a director of Digital Globe Services since 2013. [3]

In November 2021, Watson founded The Bank of London, a clearing, correspondent and wholesale bank operating in the UK, USA and Europe. [17] Watson had been working on developing the bank over 4 years. The bank launched on 30th November 2021 and in doing so became the UK's 6th clearing bank. [18] Watson stated that "existing providers have failed to adequately serve business customers and says it [ The Bank of London] plans to offer features including cheaper, faster and safer transactions". [19]

Activism

At Barclays, Watson was the co-chair of the bank's "global diversity & inclusion panel". [3] In 2013 he became the first non-US citizen to join the board of directors for the LGBT charity GLAAD, and he is an ambassador for the LGBT charity Stonewall. [1] [20] [21] He is a chair of the European Diversity Awards, as well as acting chair of the judges, and is a patron of the UK charity Diversity Role Models. [22] [23] He has spoken in schools about LGBT issues and careers. [8]

Watson came out to his family at age 21, but did not come out at work until about six years later. The Guardian quoted him saying, "I remember being shocked by a colleague using the term 'filthy queer' in a meeting, so much so that I had to pull him aside and say, 'I'm gay, and you don't get to use that language here. If you want to use it at home, that's your call, but in this context, you don't get to use that language.' That's actually why I came out at the time. It's important that people take a stand on these issues." [8]

Fortune has described Watson as "an outspoken gay rights activist," [13] while The Guardian has described him as "one of the most influential gay men in the world." [7]

Honours, awards and recognition

Watson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to the LGBT community, equality and diversity. [24]

Arms

Coat of arms of Anthony Watson
Arms Anthony Watson CBE.jpg
Notes
Arms, crest, and badge granted to Anthony Watson CBE by Letters Patent by Garter Principal King of Arms, on behalf of the Crown. Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary drafted and advanced the Memorial, the formal petition to the Earl Marshal. [37]
Adopted
College of Arms, 16 April 2024
Crest
Wreath Or and Azure A Harp the pillar and neck in the form of a demi winged Unicorn Or between a pair of Wings displayed barry Or and Azure the tips supporting a Rose Gules barbed and seeded proper.
Escutcheon
Or an Eagle displayed wings inverted Azure charged on the breast and each wing with a Rose Argent barbed and seeded Or on a Chief Azure a Lion passant guardant holding between the forepaws a Harp the pillar and neck in the form of a demi winged Unicorn Or stringed Argent.
Motto
EFFICITUR OCCASIO NON DATUR
Latin: An opportunity is made, not given
Orders
Encircled arms bearing the motto of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; “FOR GOD AND THE EMPIRE”, with pendent insignia suspended below signifying the barer has been honoured by the Crown and created a Commander of the esteemed order.
Badge
Within a Chaplet of Roses Gules barbed seeded and leaved proper a Harp the pillar and neck in the form of a demi winged Unicorn Or.


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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "40 under 40". Fortune . Time. 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Anthony George Watson". Bloomberg Business . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Venkataramakrishnan, Siddharth (30 November 2021). "UK clearing bank set to launch with $1bn valuation". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 Cuthbertson, Anthony (13 April 2015). "Cryptocurrency round-up: Ex Nike executive Anthony Watson joins Bitreserve and bitcoin in Africa". International Business Times . Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 Law, Denise (9 October 2014). "The 100 out and proud heroes of the business world who have risen above barriers to success". Financial Times . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Paschali, Pas (28 June 2014). "World Pride Power List 2014: Top 10". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Hudson, David (30 August 2012). "Coming out at work: 'I'm gay, and you don't get to use that language here'". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Chillingworth, Mark (18 February 2014). "Barclays loses CIO Anthony Watson to Nike global role". CIO UK . IDG . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Roberts, Daniel (11 December 2014). "Nike just lost its CIO because of Portland". Fortune . Time . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Anthony Watson, CIO". CIO UK . IDG. 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Norton, Steven (10 December 2014). "Nike CIO Anthony Watson Leaves Company, Citing Personal Reasons". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Roberts, Daniel (6 April 2015). "The former CIO of Nike is joining a bitcoin startup". Fortune . Time . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Bort, Julie (11 December 2014). "Mystery Solved: The 'Boring' Real Reason Why The CIO Of Nike Left His Fabulous Job". Business Insider . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Brettman, Alan (19 December 2014). "The departed: Nike's IT chief and top Nike contractor worked at Barclays, but both now gone". OregonLive.com . Advance Digital . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Watson, Anthony [@AnthonyWatson] (12 December 2014). "Despite what you might read, I've never said I hate or dislike #Portland or #Beaverton. Both are wonderful cities with amazing people" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 April 2015– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ Hosking, Patrick. "'Unicorn' Bank of London a game changer". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  18. ↑ O'Brien, Amy (30 November 2021). "New 'purpose-built' $1bn UK clearing bank launches in London". CityAM. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Bank of London launches to tackle UK clearing market inefficiencies". Neopay. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  20. ↑ Bort, Julie (10 December 2014). "Exclusive: After Just 10 Months, Nike's CIO Is Gone". Business Insider . Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  21. ↑ Roberts, Scott (1 November 2013). "Gay British banking chief appointed to board of GLAAD". Pink News . Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 "Rainbow List 2014, 1 to 101" . The Independent on Sunday . 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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  30. ↑ "The Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013" . The Independent on Sunday . 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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