Ion Fratiloiu has joined Channel Capital Advisors as its new chief commercial officer.
Fratiloiu (pictured) will be driving Channel’s new digital lending proposition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via various go-to-market strategies including partnerships, lending platforms and intermediaries.
Channel has invested heavily over the past three years in developing proprietary systems using APIs, Open Banking and cloud-based, artificial intelligence driven technologies to prospect, assess and monitor SME credit risk. Its technology infrastructure can then be used by partners to roll out SME lending propositions.
Fratiloiu has more than a decade’s experience in sales and commercial strategy within the finance and fintech sectors. He has previously worked at Deutsche Bank and financial market consulting firm Dealogic. More recently, Fratiloiu held the role of sales director at core banking provider Thought Machine, where he managed growth across Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East and expansions into higher-growth Tier 1 banks.
His latest role was head of commercial at Yobota, a core banking and Banking as a Service platform.
At Channel, Fratiloiu will help establish the company’s embedded finance and digital lending solutions in the SME space, driving growth across all its initiatives.
Walter Gontarek, CEO of Channel, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Ion to the team. He joins the company at an exciting time and brings with him a wealth of experience in the fintech, embedded finance and digital lending space.
“Having established our name in the credit sectors over the past 15-years, we have bold plans to disrupt SME lending with our technology-based and data-driven proposition. Our aim is to ensure that better, faster and more innovative solutions are made available to SMEs, through a variety of channels, to help break down the barriers to sustainable business finance. Recent financings completed including powering partnerships in the revenue-based finance, embedded finance and blockchain sectors.
“Ultimately, SMEs are the lifeblood of the global economy, so improving access to finance for credible, established businesses is something we’re passionate about. Ion’s expertise will help us achieve this goal.”
Fratiloiu added: “I am really pleased to be joining the Channel team. They have immense experience in the SME finance space and are putting all the pieces in place to really transform how innovative businesses can access much-needed capital.
“Fintech has transformed consumer finance in recent years, but SME finance has largely been left behind. Channel is going to change all this, combining advanced technology and risk-assessment know-how to bring an incredible embedded SME lending proposition to partners globally.”
