SWASHBUCKLERS_2020
Alexandra Frean It took us three attempts to convince the noble Alexandra Frean that she was, indeed, one of our Swashbucklers for 2020. Thatâs one of the refreshing things about Frean. Sheâs modest and she questions decisions. We didnât expect to have to hold ourselves to account, but we loved it. But best of all, Frean is devastatingly good at what she does. As Head of Corporate Affairs for Starling Bank, longstanding
journalist and all-round legend, weâre delighted to name Alexandra Frean as our next brave and adventurous Swashbuckler.
BEING A BAD-ASS JOURNALIST AND A FINTECH SUPERSTAR Freanâs career has been nothing short of dazzling. Working as a journalist for The Times, sheâs held seriously important roles in Washington, New York and London. After 25 years, she jumped ship and joined the exciting world of fintech. Yay for us! In 2018, she hopped aboard Starling Bank, and we canât help but notice how much the brand has grown since then. The blogs, the campaigns,
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Be nice to your enemies, especially enemies who work in the media, and donât be surprised when journalists write negative things about your company. Itâs not their job to promote your brand. Their job is to hold you to account.⌠Also, never lie to journalists. Oh and, never put fish in the office microwave. that tear-jerker of a shed advert⌠we canât get enough. When we caught up with Frean, she listed this dual-career among her top achievements. Quite right! We asked about her other top achievements too. âInterviewing Dolly Parton and David Bowie (not at the same time, sadly)â, she pinged back. â[And] bringing up two sons who constantly surprise me with the things they teach me about lifeâ. Solid answers
this, communicate it to the world and get it endorsed by the Royal Voluntary Society for use by NHS Volunteersâ. Freanâs not new to volunteering. In the US and UK, sheâs done a lot of work to help refugees get back on their feet. âIn the UK, I am a volunteer host with Refugees at Home, aims to put a roof over the heads of asylum seekers and
there. Is anyone else now imaging how a Parton-Bowie collab would go? Weâre getting psychedelic space cowboy vibes. Nice.
refugeesâ, she explains. Weâre going to level with you here, sheâs done a hell of a lot more than that, but we just donât have the word count.
The Powerfull Publicist:
USING HER SKILLS FOR GOOD We asked Frean about her proudest moment in fintech to date. True to form, she highlighted the customer-centric work Starling has done in the pandemic. And she didnât take the credit. Thereâs being good at your job, and then thereâs Alexandra Frean. âTop of this list for me would be the Starlingâs Connected Cardâ, she explains. âWhen the first lockdown happened ⌠we thought about what we could do at Starling to be relevant and useful during the crisis. So we developed the Connected Card for people who were self-isolatingâŚIt was a team effort to build
FintechFinancePresents_Swashbucklers 2020
WHATâS NEXT? We asked this powerful publicist whatâs next on the horizon. Not one to disappoint, Frean fired back with this gem, âI joined Starling after more than 30 years in journalism and did the big pivot into PR in my mid-50s, so Iâm living proof that itâs never too late to embark on a new adventure. Iâm sure thereâll be plenty more life and career projects coming up, Iâm just not sure what they are - pastry chef? cabinet maker? novelist? Iâm only at the beginningâ ⌠Did anyone else get shivers then? Welcome to the crew Frean! â www.fintech.finance