Rishi Khosla
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
London, GB
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
THE MARQUE
In Their Own Right
Biography
Rishi Khosla OBE is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of leading financial technology company, OakNorth, which provides banking services to lower mid-market businesses across the UK and the United States.
As a capitalist, he sees entrepreneurs as the driving force behind innovation, economic growth, and social progress, believing that an entrepreneurial mindset can enable anyone to succeed.
Driven by this belief, in 2002 Rishi teamed up with Joel Perlman to found Copal Partners (which would later become Copal Amba). The venture grew substantially under their leadership, employing 3,000 people across 11 different markets. When Moody's Corporation acquired the business in 2014, early investors saw returns of over 200 times their initial investment.
In 2015 Rishi and Joel launched OakNorth with a mission to empower entrepreneurs through providing them with bespoke debt finance and personalized banking services. To date, the bank has lent billions of dollars to businesses across the UK and US, directly helping with the creation of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs.
Through their family Foundation, Rishi and his wife, Milan, aim to support and boost early childhood development, nurturing the agency, creativity and curiosity to unleash every child’s potential. The Foundation supports cutting-edge medical research with institutions such as Boston Children’s Hospital and Columbia University, and is also dedicated to promoting diversity within the entrepreneurial community. This includes encouraging female empowerment in disadvantaged communities, providing support for women setting up micro-enterprises.
Rishi was an early investor in PayPal and has also backed innovative technology companies such as Xometry (3D printing and manufacturing), Spiracheck (biotech), and About Energy (battery technology).
Rishi was awarded an OBE in HM The Queen’s 2020 New Year Honours list for his services to business.
The Record
Background
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2015 — Present
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
OakNorth Bank
Launched in 2015, OakNorth Bank helps the UK's most ambitious firms access the rapid, flexible debt finance they need to expand, while helping savers make their money go further. With capital ranging from £250,000 to millions of pounds, the bank has lent several billion pounds to firms across a variety of sectors, directly contributing to the creation of thousands of new jobs and affordable homes.
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2015 — Present
Co-Founder
ONCI
ONCI (OakNorth Credit Intelligence), founded by Joel Perlman and Rishi Khosla, provides advanced credit intelligence software to banks. It helps lenders make faster, smarter lending decisions by offering insights into borrowers, supporting businesses and aiding economic growth.
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2013 — 2014
CEO
Copal Amba
In 2013, financial research outsourcing company Copal Partners acquired Amba Research and became Copal Amba. In 2014, the company became known as Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services following Moody’s Corporation's acquisition of Copal Amba.
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2002 — 2013
Founder and CEO
Copal Partners
Copal Partners was founded in 2002 to help the corporate finance departments of top investment banks, and it quickly established itself as a leader in outsourced financial research.
In The News
Newsfeed
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11 May 2026 · Sifted
How UK investment can transform European scaleups
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16 April 2026 · City AM
Exclusive: Treasury and regulator to hold crunch talks with UK fintech unicorns
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15 April 2026 · Semafor
OakNorth’s US business lending unit will overtake its UK operation within a year, CEO says
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3 February 2026 · FS tech
First challenger banks join PRA-FCA Scale-up Unit
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22 January 2026 · The Telegraph
Fund giant to offload £1.9bn of UK shares
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22 January 2026 · Business Today
AI, trade shifts and SME squeeze: How fintechs see the next phase of financial services
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21 January 2026 · This is Money
Labour's jobs slump: Nearly 1,400 roles shed for each day since the Budget
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23 November 2025 · This is Money
Tax on bank profits 'will hurt growth', OakNorth boss warns
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30 September 2025 · Forbes
4 Feedback Methods That Help Gen Z Employees Grow Faster
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16 September 2025 · The Times
OakNorth helps our entrepreneurs, but non-dom rules push them out.
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6 September 2025 · Sifted
OakNorth CEO Rishi Khosla: ‘Entrepreneurs have to hide their success in Britain.
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6 May 2025 · Bloomberg
SoftBank-Backed OakNorth Partners With OpenAI to Expand AI Uses
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17 March 2025 · American Banker
UK's OakNorth to acquire Detroit-area community bank
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6 March 2025 · City AM
OakNorth: Shareholders to be handed £40m as US expansion boosts profit
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27 August 2024 · Bloomberg
OakNorth to Seek US Deals After Winning Approvals for Expansion
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7 May 2024 · American Banker
U.K. bank readies for U.S. expansion
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5 April 2024 · Bank Automation News
Digital bank OakNorth looks to US expansion
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25 March 2024 · Bloomberg
OakNorth Bank Increases Profits and Plans Expansion into US
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2 January 2024 · Fintech Futures
OakNorth names Lord Adair Turner as new chairman
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6 December 2023 · The Banker
Specialist lenders lead the UK challenger profitability pack
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26 September 2023 · London Loves Business
Skills crisis holding back seven in 10 SMEs from scaling up
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23 August 2023 · BNN Bloomberg
UK Challenger OakNorth Joins Climate Battleground With Big Banks
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16 June 2023
Tech startups remain beating heart of UK at London Tech Week
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12 June 2023 · City AM
London Tech Week: Sunak and Hunt’s charm offensive was no light touch
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12 June 2023 · City AM
Oaknorth boss: Immigration barriers are threatening the UK’s fintech sector
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8 June 2023
London leads the way for international tech investment over past decade
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7 June 2023 · Evening Standard
Talent scout: it’s time to close the UK’s tech skills gap
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28 March 2023 · The Times
Opting for HSBC is ‘lost opportunity’ for UK ambition, warns OakNorth founder
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8 March 2023 · Reuters
SoftBank-backed OakNorth leans towards U.S. IPO
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6 February 2023
Pioneering the New Era in Banking
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21 December 2022 · City AM
London’s unicorns: City’s tech start-ups are bringing in the big bucks
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20 December 2022 · Evening Standard
Looking for funding? 4 investors on what they want in 2023
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14 November 2022 · The Times
We can do more to bring technology companies to list on the London market
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14 November 2022 · City AM
OakNorth boss: Government must lure investors to lock-in homegrown tech firms
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23 October 2022 · The Times
Banks on the attack as Jeremy Hunt mulls windfall tax
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16 August 2022 · Insider
Founder of $1 billion meal kit startup Gousto joins board of SoftBank-backed fintech startup OakNort
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12 June 2022 · The Times
As Boris Johnson clings to his job, Britain’s businesses lay out their wish list
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13 May 2022 · City AM
OakNorth boss Rishi Khosla is ready for the next economic crisis
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30 March 2022 · City AM
OakNorth boosts profits by 70 per cent after lending surge
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28 March 2022 · Tearsheet
The Net Zero transition: Banks are starting to engage in the climate conversation
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Formative Years
Education
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London School of Economics
Masters in Accounting & Finance
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University College London
BSc in Economics
Areas Of Focus