Matthias Kröner – German CEO

The founder of Fidor Bank, Matthias Kröner started the digital-only bank back in 2009 and has acquired over 120,000 consumers since then. The bank is unique for two big reasons, it uses community to do banking and works more like an app store rather than a traditional bank.

In fact, a key part of the bank’s unusual offering is the message board, with more than 350,000 members. The platform encourages consumers to make changes, request services, and give advice to others. It offers more than just banking services, as it has partnered with many other companies to give customers loans or even foreign exchange transfers.

The Bank is being acquired by Groupe BPCE, which is the second-largest banking group located in France. However, Kröner will still be the CEO of the company after the takeover happens.

Last year, Kröner took home the “Global Growth Company by The World Forum and Celent Banking Model of the Year 2015”. He was named one of the 100 most influential fintech leaders in 2016 by Hot Topics.

The masculine name Matthias is a variant of Matthaios, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Mattityahu that means “gift of Yahweh”. The name Matthias is found in the New Testament as a name of the apostle that was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot, who was a traitor. It was also the name of many kings in Hungary, like Matthias I, who presided in the 15th century and made many reforms in the kingdom.