Ezequiel Canestrari

COO | Board Member | Building and Scaling Financial Institutions | Growth & Execution | Fintech & Banking

London Area, United Kingdom

About

I’m a builder at heart, focused on scaling financial institutions in complex, regulated environments. My focus has been on taking ideas from early concept through to fully operational, resilient businesses, where regulation, execution and commercial outcomes all matter. Over the past years, I’ve worked at the intersection of banking, payments and fintech, leading the end-to-end journey from regulatory engagement and licence approval through to launch and commercial scale. This has included establishing operations across multiple jurisdictions, onboarding and supporting dozens of clients, and scaling transaction volumes into the millions within a short period of time. I’m particularly drawn to environments where there is real ambition to create something new, where the path is not fully defined, and where execution matters as much as strategy. I enjoy bringing structure to complexity, building strong teams, and delivering outcomes that stand up to regulatory, operational and commercial scrutiny. In my experience, building in regulated environments is often misunderstood. Success is not about slowing things down to manage risk, but about designing the right foundations early so that speed and control can scale together. The difference between teams that deliver and those that struggle is rarely strategy, it’s the quality of execution and the ability to operate with clarity under pressure. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside exceptional people and learn from some of the best minds in the industry. Those experiences have shaped how I think about leadership, decision-making and building for the long term. I also support and invest in early-stage companies, particularly where financial infrastructure, regulation and innovation intersect. I’m most interested in environments where there is a genuine ambition to build, scale and challenge the status quo.

Experience

  • Chief Operating Officer at Confidential (international fintech group)
    May 2026 - Present · 3 mos

    Building and seeking regulatory authorisation for new banking entities across the UK and EU.

  • Advisor at Kindlee (Techstars '24)
    Apr 2026 - Present · 4 mos

    Kindlee develops AI-based anti-bias tools for high-risk financial use cases. Our mission is to ensure that AI-driven decisioning in fintech and banking is fair, transparent and compliant.

  • Advisor at ComplyStream
    Jan 2025 - Present · 1 yr 7 mos

  • Statutory Director - ClearBank Europe at ClearBank Europe N.V.
    Feb 2023 - May 2026 · 3 yrs 4 mos

    Management Board Member

  • ClearBank (7 yrs 11 mos)
    • Chief Operating Officer - ClearBank Europe
      Apr 2022 - May 2026 · 4 yrs 2 mos

    • Co-Chief Executive Officer - ClearBank Europe
      Mar 2025 - Feb 2026 · 1 yr

      Responsible for Sales, Product, Operations & Technology

    • Head of Strategic Execution
      Feb 2021 - Apr 2022 · 1 yr 3 mos